Farm Help

With the winter months upon us, one of farmers' concerns could be the effect lice has on their cattle. Typically, farmers in the Ozarks are seeing fewer occurrences of lice in their cattle due to a few factors; one being the insecticides used and also de-worming protocol. Despite the few numbers of infected herds in the Ozarks, lice can potentially be a problem for farmers not wishing to utilize insecticides or those who are opting for a more organic growth of their herd. With an infestation of lice, however, organic methods can be forced to take a back seat, if control and eradication is the goal.

You see them everywhere in the Ozarks: little one-to-three-acre “ranchettes” with a couple of horses “grazing” on bare-dirt stubble. Chances are the folks who own those horses don’t realize how much acreage it takes to support a horse.

The American Angus Association, other breed associations and cattle health specialists are using modern DNA technology to tackle an old problem, and it's hoped the result will be a much smaller impact than in the past on producers and the industry.

Once a heifer drops her first calf…is she one of the cows?

"Management is what is going to save you the most money,” Ann Wells, DVM, out of Prairie Grove, Ark., said.

The American Angus Association, (AAA) other breed associations and cattle health specialists are using modern DNA technology to tackle an old problem, and it's hoped the result will be a much smaller impact than in the past on producers and the industry.

Solid sidewall poultry housing has created a situation where lighting is now a major cost center. Loss of natural daylight means any light birds receive is now provided artificially with bulbs, which have an energy cost associated with them. Currently, incandescent, fluorescent, high pressure sodium, cold cathode and other lighting options are available to poultry producers, but choosing the correct one can be difficult. Since April 2006, the Applied Broiler Research Farm (ABRF) at the University of Arkansas has evaluated the energy usage associated with different light sources.  

Given the high cost of grain, equipment, fuel and manpower, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what it takes to make a profit in the dairy business. Is it profitable to go from confinement or TMR (Total Mixed Rations) to a grazing system?

Profit is not a common word in the vocabulary of many producers. So many factors beyond their control: weather, the price of corn and diesel and of course what happened at the sale barn.

Robert Seay, Benton County extension agent, said, "Today's Bermuda grass hay has nothing on the results grandpa produced. Talk from the coffee houses to the show rings further broadens the region's reputation as a source of quality Bermuda grass that makes nutritious hay for winter when livestock owners demand it most. That nutritional value is the main point sellers emphasize when producers market their product to hobby horse owners, or where drought conditions boost demand. One hundred percent of the hay is edible and has a better balance of proteins and minerals than other varieties because it has more leaf than stem.