Beef producers look at their developing heifers and wonder which one will make them the most profit over her life. With tightening margins the past few years, producers must look to data-driven decisions for their breeding stock, says Reagan Bluel, interim superintendent of the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center in Lawrence County. Bluel says […]
Record calf birthdates this calving season to track calving distribution. “Evaluating a calving distribution takes very little time but can provide valuable insight into reproductive performance and productivity of the herd,” says University of Missouri Extension veterinarian Craig Payne. Calving distribution is often expressed as the percentage of calves born at 21-day intervals since 21 […]
Researchers at the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center are inviting beef producers to take part in a program to identify beef cows that use feed efficiently. MU Extension researchers will mine data from the GrowSafe system to help producers select breeding stock cows that eat less than other cows while producing calves with similar […]
Several major meatpackers require Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification from all fed cattle suppliers. It is predicted that the requirement will trickle down to all levels of cattle producers in the next few years. Beef producers may become certified by attending one of two upcoming meetings in Princeton and Trenton taught by Jenna Monnig, Livestock […]
Now is a good time for beef producers to take advantage of stronger than normal prices for culled cattle, says University of Missouri Extension agricultural business specialist Wesley Tucker. Fat trimmings become a value-added product for hamburgers. Demand for hamburger increased during COVID-19 as more people ate at home instead of restaurants or schools. COVID-19 […]
In promoting attendance at a cattleman’s rally Friday morning, September 4, 2020, in Marshall, rural Trenton farmer Ben Thomas says the cattle industry has been suffering losses for quite some time. The rally is Friday morning, beginning at 9 o’clock at the Martin Center on O’Dell Street in Marshall. Thomas says there will […]
Weigh, test, and sample hay before buying or selling says University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Eldon Cole. Beef producers rely on good-quality hay to boost profits. “Unfortunately, our hay production is not always the greatest quality,” Cole says. “The category we excel in is ‘other grass hay’ – specifically, cool-season grass or mostly fescue. […]
The University of Missouri Extension began a three-year project in March to help beef producers improve whole-herd record-keeping. MU Extension specialists in Columbia, Albany, and Savannah worked with three northwestern Missouri producers to record and compare whole-herd production data, said livestock specialist Shawn Deering. By comparing individual and herd data to regional and national standards, […]
The University of Missouri and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will postpone their annual series of management-intensive grazing schools in 2020 due to safety concerns about COVID-19. Organizers will look at the situation in late May to consider options, said MU Extension forage specialist Craig Roberts. NRCS and MU Extension specialists hold more than […]
The 2019 Beef Producers Seminar will be held on Thursday, November 14, 2019, at the St. Peter Catholic Church, Parish Hall in Stanberry, Missouri. Registration begins at 5:00 p.m. with the seminar to start at 6:00. Mark Russell, Executive Director of the Missouri Beef Industry Council, will be discussing and demonstrating some of the challenges, […]
A church in Stanberry will be the location for a beef producers seminar coming up Thursday, November 8th. Three University Extension specialists will have presentations that night. Shawn Deering of the MU Extension office in Albany provides details. That’s Shawn Deering, a regional livestock specialist for MU serving the counties of Daviess, Harrison, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Farmers are looking to drought-stressed corn for silage and balage to stretch limited hay supplies. Chopped corn silage offers beef producers better options than balage, says University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Gene Schmitz. Silage allows better control of the amount of high-energy feed for wintering cattle, Schmitz says. Balage offers less flexibility and control […]
An informational workshop for beef producers is scheduled in Trenton June 7th, with the Barton Farm Campus hosting visiting livestock specialists and educators from two universities. The workshop is expected to focus on topics such as marketing, economic analysis, and risk management in the cattle-raising business. Representing the University of Wyoming are Bridger Feuz who is […]
Livestock owners increasing their herds must grow demand for meat. Current herd size expands meat supplies and domestic meat consumption to record levels. With more supply, expect lower prices, University of Missouri economist Scott Brown told the Womack Agricultural Outlook Conference in Columbia. But that didn’t happen as forecast in 2017. Growing beef demand worked […]
