On top of dealing with harsh winter weather in feeding cows, cattle farmers must guard against too much nitrate in poor-quality hay. “Just from cases we’ve confirmed, I know of 150 cows dying in the last month,” says Tim Evans, head toxicologist at the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. High nitrate, mostly concentrated in […]
Winter feeding of forage to beef herds doesn’t rank high as a favored job for herd owners. But there’s a bright side to feeding fescue, whether in hay or grass. Fescue toxins are down. “This is the best fescue will be, now until pastures green up again,” says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage […]
Wintering cows in a year with bad hay or shortages of hay proves challenging to beef farmers with the prolonged drought last summer upsetting haymaking plans. Beef nutritionist Eric Bailey, University of Missouri Extension, answered farmers’ questions December 2nd at the Missouri Livestock Symposium in Kirksville. His topic: “Winter Feeding With Expensive Hay.” Less hay can […]
Students from all the Kindergarten classes and Preschool at Chillicothe Elementary School had a hands-on learning experience at Papa Charlie’s Pumpkin Patch on October 25th & 26th. The students learned about agriculture in the classroom through their regular curriculum and with assistance from the Litton Crusaders program. During the school year, students learn all about […]
Missourians can use social media to get expert answers to their gardening questions. Missouri Master Gardeners and University of Missouri Extension horticulture specialists teamed up to create the new Ask a Missouri Master Gardener page on Facebook, said MU Extension regional horticulturist Balek said. Visit the page at facebook.com/AskaMissouriMasterGardener. “The page lets residents tap into […]
On a beautiful fall afternoon, visitors came in transport old and new for the 32nd annual fall driving tour at the Poosey Conservation Area in Livingston County. Missouri Department of Conservation staff set up education stations along the tour route where visitors could stop and ask questions. More than 1,300 visitors drove pickups, guided wagons, […]
Management and recovery of drought will be discussed during the Beef Producers Seminar in Stanberry during the month of November. Registration begins at the Parish Hall of the Saint Peter Catholic Church on the evening of November 8th at 5 o’clock with the seminar beginning at 6:30. State Extension Beef Nutritionist Eric Bailey will talk […]
Livestock producers can stretch short supplies of hay this year by using a simple ammonia treatment on bales, says University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Zac Erwin. Erwin and MU Extension agronomy specialist Valerie Tate will lead-free hay ammoniation demonstrations Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m. to show farmers how to boost the […]
Test baled cornstalks for nitrate levels and feed them to cattle with caution, says University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Gene Schmitz. MU Extension agronomists across the state report high nitrate levels caused by this summer’s drought. County MU Extension centers offer nitrate testing. Before feeding cornstalk bales, it is important to know nitrate levels […]
The Thompson Farm calving barn became a classroom for the University of Missouri. The teachers were MU graduate students and their mentors. Their listeners were beef farmers on Sept. 17. In his field day greeting, Chris Daubert said this farm was a classroom as much as any building on the Columbia campus. Daubert, dean of […]
Eric Bailey has hit the ground running since he joined the University of Missouri last year as an assistant professor in the Division of Animal Sciences and a state beef Extension specialist. Bailey has been a regular at the Agricultural Research Centers’ field days since he came to MU in June 2017, speaking and engaging […]
Prolonged heat stress this year may bring a smaller calf crop next year. Herd owners are seeing cows known to be pregnant coming back into heat to be rebred. Pregnancy losses are due to several reasons, says Scott Poock, University of Missouri Extension veterinarian. “The first is increased internal temperature of the cow.” In July, […]
