Farm Help

Dr. Max Thornsberry, a Pulaski County veterinarian and Region VI director for R-CALF spoke to a Richland, Mo., area gathering of beef producers, on Sept. 23, 2009. Bill Bullard, R-CALF’s CEO and Laurel Masterson, the organization’s Membership Services Coordinator also made presentations about R-CALF and what they offer to the independent cattleman. R-CALF, a nonprofit grass roots organization of independent cattle producers, represents its members on a variety of issues, including country-of-origin labeling (COOL), trade and market matters, animal health, private property rights, and the National Animal Identification System. Before the meeting opened, Dr. Max Thornsberry shared basic information about R-CALF, what it does, and how it is different from other cattle industry organizations.

As the weather gets cooler it’s time to think about managing forage and your grazing options for the fall and winter. An option that should not be overlooked is grazing row crop residue. If managed correctly, this forage alternative can produce benefits for your herd, your pasture and your pocketbook.

In recent years, new and interesting products have gained popularity in cattle feeds. The products range from old dog food, to Honey Comb cereal, to sweet tarts, to pasta, to Cheerios. As farmers look for cheap, innovative ways to get their cattle fed, these alternative options have come to the forefront. While there are many random byproduct options, as more and more farmers are using byproducts as supplemental feed, outdated or excess bulk cereal from the factories is growing into a popular choice.

Planning must begin now for next year's crop selections and pasture plans. Corn silage might be a good consideration as a feed for your livestock.

"Once we knew what he really needed, he was able to save several thousand dollars.” That’s the bottom line of a story relayed by Mark Green, District Conservationist for the Greene County Field Office of the USDA, about the benefits of testing the soil in pastures. This farmer had faithfully applied triple 17 fertilizer to his pastures for years without sampling his soil. When he got the results of his soil tests he found out that his pasture didn’t need any nitrogen or phosphorus, applying more would have been a waste of money.

When the pocketbook gets thin sometimes the first thing to get scrimped is the livestock’s diet. We glean a little bit more from the hay, a little bit more from the field, and supplementing becomes less of a priority. Whether it’s time or money that’s running low, how long can the cattle really go, lacking some of those essential nutrients, and still produce?

Each farmer, rancher and agronomist brings different ideas and levels of learning into an operation. Holistic Management is the term applied to the practice of viewing the entire operation as a whole. According to Cody Holmes, owner of Rockin’ H Ranch in Norwood, Mo., taking all things into consideration is holistic management. "Holistic management says, ‘How can I produce more grass or hay in that field without destroying something?’” Holmes practices what he calls “Holistic Planned Grazing” on the thousand acres he owns. He directs his holistic management at the point of grazing because he feels nothing is more important than growing grass.

Stress induced meat quality problems such as dark cutters cause large monetary losses to the livestock industry. The National Beef Quality Audit estimates that dark cutters cost the beef industry $5 for every fed animal slaughtered. Dark cutting beef is darker and drier than normal and has a shorter shelf life. Good quality beef has a final pH value close to 5.5. At pH values of 5.8 and above, both the tenderness and keeping quality of the fresh chilled meat is adversely affected. High pH meat is unsuitable for the premium trade in vacuum-packed fresh meats, and, depending on the commercial use of the product, dark-cutting meat may be discounted by 10 percent or more. High meat pH is caused by an abnormally low concentration of lactic acid. Post mortem production of lactic acid requires an adequate content of glycogen in the muscles at slaughter. Ante mortem glycogen breakdown is triggered by increased adrenaline release in stressful situations, or by strenuous muscle activity.

When you walk into a grocery store, you’re surrounded by choices of several branded beef lines. This is a relatively new development that's been most apparent in just the past 10 years.

The Center for Rural Affairs, a non-profit corporation located in Lyons, Neb., created the national program Land Link. Land Link offers computer database matching and consulting services, retirement planning, beginning farmer financing, farm business and environmental assessment information assists in transferring family operations to new generations. The program matches new farmers' or rancers' interests with for sale or otherwise available farms and ranches in their database. Users will receive a description of those farms/ranches along with contact information.