David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service The cattle feeding part of the industry has been in the midst of dramatic adjustments over the last couple of months, just like the rest of the industry. USDA released its June Cattle on Feed report on Friday, June 19th and it showed some more adjustments, but this time back in the direction of normal. After 2 months of 20 percent…
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will present an online rangeland workshop on the Zoom platform on June 30 at 9 a.m. The cost is $10, and three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units are available for participants with a pesticide applicators license, one in laws and regulations, and two in integrated pest management. The workshop will cover the latest herbicide products and resources available for rangeland brush and weed control efforts.…
Expert-led sessions, live animal demonstrations, trade show planned The annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course is going virtual this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. The annual Beef Cattle Short Course will be held virtually this year. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo) While it may be hard to ‘virtually’ eat the famous prime rib dinner associated with the event, the educational aspect will still be provided as it has been for the past 65…
David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service One of the interesting trends in 2019 was the retreat in the number of carcasses grading Choice throughout a large portion of the year. The decline in Choice carcasses, combined with lower weights and fewer steers sent to market resulted in some very tight supplies of Choice beef and a wide Choice-Select spread through much of the last half of the…
Matching cattle to the land available to graze and the nutrition it offers is critical in optimizing production in an operation. New calves and mother cows gather around the watering hole. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter) Jason Smith, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist, Amarillo, who is frequently contacted to help with problems cattle operators are having, was a speaker at the recent Southwest Beef Symposium in Amarillo. “More…
Texans are using prescribed fire more than ever to manage land and mitigate wildfires. A recent statewide survey found that 402,017 acres were treated with prescribed fire in Texas during 2018. That’s an increase of nearly 50,000 acres from the previous year, due to Texans using prescribed fire to manage their land in one of the most successful and cost-effective ways, and Texans are also doing a better job at reporting the use…
A “Low-Stress Cattle Handling Workshop” will be hosted Oct. 25 in Canyon by the Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach, or VERO, West Texas A&M University, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Cattle Feeders Association. Ron Gill, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist, College Station, will discuss low-stress cattle handling. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter) The free program will be from 9-11 a.m. in the Bain Event Center,…
David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Beef production has dipped below a year ago over the last couple of weeks, leading to some higher fed cattle prices and a widening Choice-Select price spread. Over the last four weeks total beef production is more than half a percent below the same period a year ago. As we all know, not all beef is the same. Over this period,…