Maximizing At The Sale Barn
Cattle producers can improve their returns at the sale barn by maximizing their advantages, minimizing their disadvantages… and, maybe, by doing the unexpected.
Consider Grazing
Missouri and much of the Midwest has, for the most part, been blessed with good weather this year for pasture and hay growth. If favorable climate conditions continue, producers should consider grazing weaned calves this fall as an option to add weight to feeder calves before marketing. Autumn is quickly approaching and we are getting closer to weaning spring-born calves, so now is the time to make decisions regarding the fall calf crop.
A Feedlot Relationship
As a cow herd operator, you can produce a quality calf. The feedlot manager knows what it takes to finish that calf on feed so it can earn carcass premiums.
Advantages to Steer Feed-Outs
Retaining ownership of cattle through the finishing stage can be a financial risk for a lot of producers, but gathering knowledge about how cattle will perform in the feedlot and on the rail will help when it comes time to take feeder cattle to the sale barn or send them to the feedlot.
Maximizing At The Sale Barn
Cattle producers can improve their returns at the sale barn by maximizing their advantages, minimizing their disadvantages… and, maybe, by doing the unexpected.
The Power of Native Grasses
In the early 1800's, as Henry Schoolcraft explored the Ozarks, he wrote frequently of the abundant stands of thick grassees, such as big bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass and Eastern gamma grass. He was amazed that often these grasses grew so tall and thick that they would hide a man on horseback. However, as the area was settled more heavily, overgrazing, crop rotations and competition from non-native vegetation nearly wiped out these native grasses.
Beef Cattle Conference
The North Central Arkansas Beef Cattle Conference is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2009 at the North Arkansas Livestock Auction in Green Forest, Ark., according to Mark Keaton, Baxter County Extension agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Weaning Option: Fenceline
Will the future of cattle production include fenceline weaning? “I would hope so,” University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Dona Funk told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. “I really see that it works a lot better than some of the other methods, and (the calves) don’t seem to get as sick… The people that I have that are trying it really like it, and many of them won’t go back to anything else – unless, of course,” she added with a laugh, “something happens.”
Water Needs
Throughout most of our adult lives we have been told to drink eight glasses of water to maintain good health and well-being. But what water rules apply to our livestock as scorching summer temperatures rise throughout the Ozarks?
A Dairy Fix
Times are as bad for dairy producers as many of them have seen in their lifetimes; federal and state governments and producer associations are scrambling to find ways to keep the farmers in business, but nobody sees a quick turnaround.
