Thompson Farm, Spickard, makes a home for beef reproduction research from the University of Missouri. That doesn’t protect it from harsh weather of hot droughts and frigid calving season faced by all beef farms recently. Weather cut beef herd size and boosted costs for labor and feed, farm manager Jon Schreffler told a meeting of […]
Two years of abnormal weather changed plant growth, which changes livestock digestion and in the end, cows die. The words “it’s very complex” kept popping up in a University of Missouri emergency teleconference of state and regional MU Extension specialists. This winter farmers find groups of cows dead, often falling on newly unrolled baled hay. […]
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 […]
University of Missouri Extension of Mercer County will host a Private Pesticide Applicator Training next week. Growers are welcome to attend the meeting in the Hal England Center basement the morning of February 22nd at 8:30 regardless of needing recertification. Mercer County Extension especially encourages growers to attend if their license has expired or will […]
Do the math on temperatures and rainfall for all of 2018. On average, you get “near normal,” says Pat Guinan, University of Missouri Extension climatologist. “Weather was anything but that,” Guinan adds. Record-setting numbers hide in an average. For starters, look at the “non-spring” of 2018. April was the second coldest on record going back […]
Heifer prices kept going up in the fifth of six fall sales of Show-Me-Select replacement heifers, December 7th. The 74 head averaged $2,334 with the previous high being $2,099 on 64 head at Fruitland, Mo. “Heifer quality was top-notch.” said Kendra Graham, the sale coordinator, “Buyer turnout was high and they were willing to pay […]
Managed grazing makes better use of forage in a year of high-priced hay. After a drought with short grass and little hay, fall pastures grew fast with good rains. Management-intensive grazing (MIG) extends fall grass supplies. Or the grass can be saved for winter grazing, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist. Controlled […]
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 […]
What a sale!” said sale coordinator Erin Larimore about the $2,099 average price for replacement heifers at the Show-Me-Select sale in Fruitland, Mo., December 1. The fourth of six fall sales kept the upward trend in prices. Two sales remain for heifers raised with protocols from the University of Missouri Extension animal scientists. Larimore, a […]
“It was a great night to be a buyer,” Eldon Cole said after the Southwest Missouri Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale. Average price on 311 heifers was $1,586. That’s almost $200 per head below Cole’s prediction. The University of Missouri livestock specialist has managed 39 heifer sales. He knows well-managed heifers and what they bring to […]
Five directors were elected to the 2018-2019 American Angus Association® board of directors, as well as a president and chairman and a vice president and vice chairman of the board, during the 135th Annual Convention of Delegates hosted at the 2018 Angus Convention in Columbus, Ohio. A total of 298 delegates from 41 states and […]
Odd fall weather and fescue pasture growth set up potential poisonous pastures causing fescue foot in cow herds. Fall growth after a drought produces more toxins in infected tall fescue grass. The poison develops after rains start regrowth following a drought, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension specialist. Roberts urges herd owners to keep […]
