Ozarks Farm & Neighbor Newspaper – written for, by & about farmers

Now’s the time for cattle producers to prevent winged pests from taking a bite out of profits. According to University of Missouri Extension regional livestock specialist Bill Doig, if you want to minimize fly problems in the heat of summer, it’s important to get control of them early. “Right now is definitely the peak time,” he said. “As we’re seeing all these weather systems come in, the flies are hatching and starting to take an effect on the animals.” 

With summer upon us, pink eye is more of a threat. Pink eye, or Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK), is a bacterial disease of the eye in cattle (though another form can be found in goat herds as well). The disease is not fatal, though the economic damages from decreased weight gain, decreased milk production and treatment were estimated to be at least $150 million per year in the United States alone.

Urinary calculi is a common metabolic disease among male sheep and goats. According to sheep and goat specialist Susan Schoenian, the disease occurs when calculi, which are small stones, become lodged in the urinary tract. The most common type of calculi according to Dr. Richard V. Machen, Associate Professor and Extension Livestock Specialist from Texas, is struvite. Struvite stones generally contain calcium, magnesium, and ammonium phosphate. There are several causes and risk factors for developing urinary calculi.

With summer upon us, many producers are heading to the fields to begin hay season. While it's easy to be distracted by Mother Nature’s forecasts, it is important to take the time to properly prepare and operate equipment to make the most of the available dry conditions. Whether it’s fescue or brome, orchardgrass or bermudagrass, there are several steps all producers should take to make the most of their haymaking.

In a lengthy decision, the Tax Court recently underscored the difficulties taxpayers have in convincing the IRS that family-run farms are engaged in for profit. The case, Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2007-368, ruled on two families’ limited partnerships, involving a cow and dairy farm, a cutting horse operation and dog breeding. The court held that the cow and dairy farm was engaged in for profit under the IRS hobby loss rules, but not the other activities. The taxpayers had taken significant tax deductions against their income from the activities, thus prompting an IRS audit, which they lost and then appealed to the Tax Court.

One of the main problems I see a lot of is feet. It takes special equipment or effort to be able to work on cattle’s feet. To work on feet it either takes a tip chute, ropes and lots of arm power or drugs. Personally, I don’t like the drugs, they are closer to death. This leaves ropes or the tip chute. I prefer the tip chute.