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 […]
Keep safety in mind when decorating with holiday greenery. Evergreens, holly, mistletoe and other traditional yuletide plants can pose risks, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. In days of old, people rarely brought holiday greenery into the home before Christmas Eve, Trinklein says. Doing so was considered bad luck for the coming year. […]
A Mercer County native and a Milan rancher will be honored during the Missouri Livestock Symposium this weekend in Kirksville. University of Missouri Extension Specialist Valerie Tate of Linn County talks about recognition for Duane Dailey of Columbia and Oscar Mensa of Milan. The Kirksville Middle School is the location for the Missouri […]
With a strong start on bidding, the first lot of heifers averaged $2,250 at the Kingsville Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale, November 24. Big bidding set the stage for higher prices early in the sale of 237 head of bred heifers. Final average was $1,832. The sale at the Kingsville Livestock Auction topped the two previous […]
At the Kirksville Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale, 133 heifers averaged $1,716. It wasn’t the strong sale expected, said Zac Erwin, sale coordinator. A lot of things worked against bidder enthusiasm. “I was hoping for a stronger market,” Erwin said after the sale Friday night, Nov. 16. “But it wasn’t a bust by any means.” The […]
Major farm management decisions concern capital and labor. Too little attention goes to the labor side of farming, says agricultural economist Joe Horner. To help decision-makers, he plans three University of Missouri Extension workshops across Missouri. Farm labor management isn’t like the old days when a farmer could hire neighbor boys to help. Also, present-day […]
the Missouri Department of Agriculture announced it will not pursue Special Local Needs (24c) labels for the use of Engenia, FeXapan, and XtendiMax for the 2019 growing season. This announcement follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to extend the registration of these three Dicamba products for another two years with additional safeguards. The Missouri […]
Missouri beef herd owners learn profits and risks of sending their calves to a feedlot. They’ve entered 50 Missouri Steer Feedouts run by the University of Missouri Extension. To cut risks in learning, they enter samples of five to 20 head, said Eldon Cole, MU Extension livestock specialist. The Missouri Steer Feedout for winter-spring born […]
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 […]
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 […]
Replacement heifers to upgrade cow-calf herds will be offered in six Show-Me-Select sales this fall. Also, owners can restock cow herds culled in the drought. With strength in beef demand and rains growing pastures, herd owners can rebuild. Dry weather’s impact on forages had farmers concerned. “Optimism of cow-calf herd owners should return,” says David […]
The University of Missouri Extension recently rolled out an educational program to give the public science-based information about Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, otherwise known as CAFOs. The program includes a webpage and a series of five-minute videos, says Teng Lim, MU Extension agricultural engineer. “MU Extension faculty often respond to great, but similar, questions in rural […]
The University of Missouri Extension will offer a free farm tax workshop in November at locations throughout the state. This workshop explains major tax changes affecting farms and ranches that went into effect in December 2017. The workshops are 6:15-8:45 p.m. on Nov. 12 and Nov. 19. Extension specialists will present the workshops remotely through […]
Mother Nature has much to say about soybean yield and grain quality almost every year, says University of Missouri Extension soybean specialist Bill Wiebold. This year was no exception. Several important soybean-growing regions in Missouri experienced severe drought this year. The most worrisome effect from drought is yield loss, but producers face several other effects […]
Oscar Mensa, a long-time rancher from Milan, Missouri, will be honored at the 2018 Missouri Livestock Symposium on Friday, November 30, 2018, when he will be inducted into the Missouri Livestock Symposium’s Livestock Person of the Year Hall of Fame. Mensa is the 16th person to be selected for this honor. Those selected have made […]
Missouri Community Betterment (MCB) honored 19 communities, nine youth groups and 10 community leaders at their 55th Annual Conference held in Columbia, Mo. on Oct. 15, 2018. Nearly 200 volunteers, community leaders and youth from across the state were in attendance to celebrate community and economic development efforts, network with each other and connect with […]
The University of Missouri Extension will hold workshops throughout the state on how to attract and keep quality farm laborers. “This one-day workshop was developed by MU Extension to help you improve your labor management and finances and protect your business,” says MU Extension agricultural economist Ryan Milhollin. Attendees will learn tips to recruit, train, […]
University of Missouri Extension researchers are among the recipients of a new five-year, $4.34 million grant from USDA to study water and nutrient recycling, says MU Extension agricultural engineer Teng Lim. The grant, “Water and Nutrient Recycling: A Decision Tool and Synergistic Innovative Technology,” includes five universities: MU, University of Arkansas, Colorado School of Mines, […]
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 […]
