Pro Livestock Marketing is launching the first comprehensive online sales portal for livestock and breed stock.  ProLivestockMarketing.com has designed a virtual sales barn that will allow people to buy and sell cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, rodeo stock, show animals, specialty animals, semen and embryos across the country and internationally. The site will help increase opportunity for ranchers, farmers and breeders by eliminating geographic boundaries and connecting buyers as sellers directly online.

Neogen has made field semen collection even easier with extensive improvements to its battery-powered ElectroJac® collection unit, including a new wireless remote control. Neogen’s new ElectroJac 6 combines the proven features from previous versions with customer-requested improvements.

Novus International, Inc., announces the release of NEXT ENHANCE®, a source of plant extracts that affects the rumen environment to consistently boost both efficiency and weight gain in beef cattle.NEXT ENHANCE is a source of cinnamaldehyde and garlic oil (containing the active ingredient diallyl disulfide), which have been shown to favorably modify rumen fermentation. This allows dietary carbohydrates and proteins to be more efficiently used by the animal.

You can’t afford to leave dollars on the table, especially in today’s competitive market. Progressive producers know healthy animals cost less to maintain and can be more productive in the long run. Why? Because history has proved how powerful disease prevention can be. Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. believes helping to prevent disease is a more effective way to maintain animal health than simply treating diseases as they arise.

JANUARY 1 CATTLE NUMBERS The USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service on January 27 reported estimates for numbers of cattle as of January 1. U.S. beef cow numbers were estimated at 29.9 million head, down 3 percent from a year ago. Dairy cows, at 9.2 million, are up 1 percent. Total inventory of all classes is 92.7 million head, lowest since 1952. Biggest declines in beef cows were in Texas (660,000, 13 percent), Oklahoma (288,000 head, 14 percent), and New Mexico (53,000 head, 11 percent). Those three states lost 1,001,000 cows. The remainder of the U.S. gained 34,000 cows.

According to the Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), President Barack Obama’s proposed budget includes elements such as an effective increase in the public lands grazing fee assessment, which would force family-owned ranches to shell out more cash to Uncle Sam. Dustin Van Liew, PLC executive director and NCBA director of federal lands, said increasing the grazing fee through an arbitrary tax is unwarranted and is further evidence that the president and his administration are out of touch with production agriculture.

In the winter of 2010-2011, 312 cattle were fed at Fairleigh Feeders, Scott City, Kansas, through the National Hereford Feedout. This was the seventh year for the National Hereford Feedout, which allows producers from across the country to test Hereford or Hereford-cross steers and heifers.

Thanks to Hereford breeders' commitment to the Whole Herd Total Performance Records (TPR) Program, the American Hereford Association (AHA) has created a new expected progeny difference (EPD). The new trait, called mature cow weight (MCW) is designed to allow breeders to select sires that will either increase or decrease mature size of cows in the herd.