Last spring we purchased a 9-month-old heifer, an unusual move for our farm. She was 200 GTPI points higher than anything tested in our herd, positive for all the traits we watch in genetic selection and comes from a cow family we really admire. She came from a farm nearby at a dispersal sale, and she sold at a price we felt was very reasonable given all of this.

In order to strengthen the ongoing partnership between the dairy and beef segments of the cattle industry on animal care issues, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the beef checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program announced on Feb. 16 they will jointly be offering more training opportunities for farmers and ranchers in 2016.

Dr. Courtney Daigle, who specializes in animal welfare, has joined Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the department of animal science at Texas A&M University in both research and teaching roles.

“Tireless.” “Committed.” “Influential.” “Forward-thinking.” These are just a few of the superlatives used to describe the nominees for induction into the 2016 Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.

Chicago Fed: Farmland values, credit conditions feeling pressure  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago district farmland values were mostly lower ending the fourth quarter of 2015, pressured by lower crop and livestock prices, according to David Oppedahl, business economist, writing the bank’s AgLetter.

It appears there is a way for beef producers to improve the feed efficiency of their herd while at least maintaining, if not improving, fertility and longevity.

“I believe in the future of agriculture …” If you donned a blue corduroy jacket during your high school days, those words hit a special place in your heart. They mark the beginning of the FFA Creed, a five-paragraph essay that eloquently explains the mission of one of the nation’s largest and oldest youth organizations, the FFA.

Adding value to cattle doesn’t have to mean added paperwork and special programs. Sometimes it’s as simple as producing exactly what the market says it wants. Darr Feedlot, near Cozad, Nebraska, aims for a specific target: a safe, humanely handled, upper two-thirds choice, yield grade (YG) 2 carcass.

Footbaths are commonly used on dairies to reduce the incidence of infectious claw disorders such as digital dermatitis (hairy heel wart) and foot rot. A common practice on many dairies involves adding chemicals to the footbath and mixing these chemicals within the bath. This can result in poor mixing of the chemicals and is also labor-intensive.