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Beef producers are keenly aware of the amount of time, effort, labor and resources it takes to keep a cow herd fed. Feed represents the largest portion of a beef cattle operation’s operating expenses.
According to a 2016 University of Idaho Extension cow-calf budget (500-cow herd), the annual operating expenses per cow are approximately $505.
Ranchers and livestock farmers have always wanted to improve their cattle, sheep, horses, hogs and poultry. How best to do this has been debated for centuries. One of the original purposes of agricultural research stations and land-grant colleges was to study ways to improve different breeds.
As a beef producer, you are asked to be an economist, nutritionist, range scientist, mechanic, and the list goes on. While these skill sets are needed to run a successful operation, it can be a daunting task to stay well versed in all of these areas.
For seedstock producers, sale day is the most important day on their operations.
Three seedstock operators offer their experiences in putting together their sales.
Purchasing a bull can be one of the most important investments made in a cattle operation, and finding the right breed, breeder and bull sale can make all the difference in the success of a program.
With calving season near, hopefully the barns are ready and you’re finding ways to stay warm between calf checks. The beginning of calving season always seems to start before you are ready, but by the end of the season, warmer weather and green grass seems to not show up soon enough.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is no light topic for anyone involved in U.S. beef production, with good reason. Economic analysts estimate an FMD outbreak stateside to cost the industry billions of dollars in a 12-month time span in the event of a crisis.
Jan. 1, 2017, marked a turning point for the U.S. livestock industry regarding the acquisition and handling of antibiotics. Amendments to the preceding Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) now necessitate veterinarian oversight of many commonly used antibiotics that were previously available over-the-counter, and “production use” statements have been removed from product labels.
As of Jan. 1, 2017, the FDA’s Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) became law and changed the way medically important antibiotics have been used in animal agriculture for decades.
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