Farm Help

"Carryover hay is like watermelons after Labor Day and pumpkins after Oct. 31," Robert Seay, Benton County, Ark., Extension staff chair noted.

It’s a given that there isn’t one particular grazing management system that is the best fit for every single producer. Likewise, every grazing system has its own strengths and weaknesses. Overall, the most important aspect of any successful grazing management system is for a producer to match their farm resources, goals, and management availability with a particular grazing system in order to maximize profits.

Along-held industry opinion is that cattle from the South are worth less than their Midwestern counterparts. Not true, said Darrell Busby, Iowa Extension beef specialist.

When applying for an agricultural loan, there is much for bankers to analyze. Bryan Jefferson, a loan officer with First Service Bank in Yellville, Ark., noted that your credit score and income, how much you can pay a month, how much you are wanting to borrow and the value of the collateral on whatever you’re purchasing, are things to be considering when preparing to apply for a loan.

Building a strong horse starts from the moment the foal is born. The first few hours in a foal’s life are crucial because they have to get the colostrum they need to remain healthy. During the first few months of their life they are getting a majority of nutrients from the mare in the form of milk as well as nibbling on some forage and grain that might be fed to the mare.  At or after two months of age you should put the foal on a creep feed diet which, along with the mares milk should keep the foals rate of gain steady, preventing them from experiencing a big growth spurt when placed on the weanling diet. This growth spurt increases their risk of developing an orthopedic disease, such as Physitis, an inflammation of the growth plate, mainly affecting the hock and stifle joints. But what about after you wean them?  Feeding the weanling can be a tricky issue as you have to make sure that they are getting enough forage, grain and water in their diet. Unfortunately, many weanlings are deficient in crucial nutritional requirements and one of the major nutrients they may be deficient in is minerals. 

With input prices skyrocketing, many farmers are looking at their budgets and finding places to cut corners. The market environment is adding to uncertain times ahead, and Eddie Stout, Vice President of Ag Lending at First National Bank of Ft. Smith, Ark., said things are not going to ease up just yet, but with careful planning you can offset some of the challenges.

Marbling has become one of the least understood concepts in the beef-consuming world. No wonder, with all the competing and contradictory messages from “experts.”

Now, more than ever, it's important for cow-calf producers to conduct pregnancy tests.

The 2007-08 Missouri Steer Feedout Finale reviewed the performance of the 243 head of steers that entered the finishing program last November in southwest Iowa as part of the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity.  Eldon Cole, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist, told the participants this was one of the most difficult feedouts he’d been involved with since they were first held in 1981.  Respiratory disease (BRD) hit the calves almost as soon as they arrived in Iowa. 

These are tough times for cattle feeders, and particularly so for Ron Shortridge.