Robin lives in a valley that is dotted with grazing pasture and selected irrigated vegetables. She has neighbors who graze yearling heifers to sell in the fall and another neighbor who grows pickling cucumbers. Her heifer neighbors, Barry and Claire, had their yearlings comin’ on strong. The grass held up, and they supplemented them. Their heifer market was good, but one of the requirements of their buyers were that they were guaranteed “open” as opposed to bred. To their dismay, one of the cattlemen in the valley had his bulls – good bulls, no doubt, but still bulls – within “wafting distance” of the 600 yearin’ heifers.

Investment in U.S. farmland is still competitive with alternative investments, but the era of extremely low interest rates and extraordinarily high commodity prices is drawing to a close, according to a new report from the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research (FAR) and Advisory Group.

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Craigs Station Ventures (CSV) joined to break ground on a $12 million cold milk separation facility in York. The collaboration is the first in which DFA is partnering directly with a farmer group for a project that will benefit all of the cooperative’s farmer owners.

Zinpro Corp. has come up with the Step-Up Management Program for the beef cattle industry. Developed by the company in conjunction with the Beef Cattle Institute and Kansas State University, the program provides a systematic approach to identify and manage beef cattle lameness.

The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) has appointed Tommy Perkins as its new executive vice president. He will begin his appointment in early October.

Merck Animal Health, as it has done for the past decade, recognized 15 individuals with the 2013 American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award. The company’s Office of Corporate Philanthropy funded a $100,000 grant to AABP for the 2013 awards, making it possible to increase the number of awards this year.

The September USDA Cattle on Feed report shows a Sep. 1 feedlot inventory at 9.88 million head, down 7 percent from last year and the smallest September feedlot inventory since 2003.  

DeLaval recently sold its 10,000th Voluntary Milking System (VMS) to Glenirvine Farms in Fergus, Ontario, Canada.

Before you start planting for the 2014 season, you might want to check out new products from Latham Hi-Tech Seeds. In the lineup are corn seeds that offer improved drought resistance, enhanced protection against rootworm, corn borer and herbicide, and refuge-in-a-bag benefits.