Latest News From BEEF

NDSU Extension and SDSU Extension to Host Alternative Beef Cow Systems Symposium
NDSU Extension and SDSU Extension to Host Alternative Beef Cow Systems Symposium

Producers interested in expanding their herd or considering alternative production practices due to limited perennial pastures and rangeland are the target audience for the Dakota Alternative Beef Cow Systems Symposium.

Winter Cattle Yard Preparation Checklist
Winter Cattle Yard Preparation Checklist

University of Nebraska extension provides a checklist to prepare your feedyard for winter weather.

Developing a Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine
Developing a Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine

Oklahoma State University's College of Veterinary Medicine will to create a Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine to address challenges in rural communities including impacts to veterinary medicine and animal agriculture.

Differences Between High-, Medium-, and Low-Profit Cow-Calf Producers
Differences Between High-, Medium-, and Low-Profit Cow-Calf Producers

Cow-calf costs and returns data from the Kansas Farm Management Association Enterprise Analysis for individual producers finds annual returns over variable costs averaged $71.02 per cow over a 46-year period.

Proper Vaccination Increases Calf Welfare and Value
Proper Vaccination Increases Calf Welfare and Value

In beef calf preconditioning programs, the importance of vaccinations to minimize respiratory illness, related to bovine respiratory disease (BRD), cannot be overstated.

Be proactive in managing through financial stress
Fraud Alert: Don’t Fall Victim to These Common Schemes

Farmers routinely handle high-dollar transactions — and the nature of the payments, often through unsecure methods, leaves them susceptible to foul play.

Keeping Cows Maternal
Keeping Cows Maternal

The “maternal” discussion is far more complex than a healthy live birth and seedstock producers are using more data and knowledge to create better dams each year.

What's A Good Bull Worth?
What's A Good Bull Worth?

Determining the value of a bull is an important question, and one that is a challenge to answer. Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University, offers some calculations to help determine a value.

Windbreaks for Cattle Protection and Snow Diversion Explained
Windbreaks for Cattle Protection and Snow Diversion Explained

Shelter for livestock during the winter months can influence the success of calving and a livestock operation.

Johne’s Disease: What You Need to Know
Johne’s Disease: What You Need to Know

Johne’s disease is gaining greater attention among beef cattle producers and veterinarians who work with beef cattle. Here's an in-depth look into the disease and how to best avoid it.

Industry Surveys Gauge Sentiment of Angus Genetics
Industry Surveys Gauge Sentiment of Angus Genetics

Angus Media, CattleFax survey producers to gather insights on current management, future intentions of cow-calf and feedlot sectors.

Brazil Supreme Court Suspends $2 billion JBS Fine
Brazil Supreme Court Suspends $2 billion JBS Fine

JBS parent company J&F Investments has paid about 28% of the fine levied against the giant meatpacker in 2017 over a political bribery scandal.

Veterinarian Reviews Steps for Cattle Producers Before and After Calving
Veterinarian Reviews Steps for Cattle Producers Before and After Calving

Being prepared ahead of calving season is the best way for producers to assure they will bring home the newborn calves successfully.

Anaplasmosis: An Ongoing Battle
Anaplasmosis: An Ongoing Battle

With limited options to address the disease, pharmaceutical stewardship must be considered when using antimicrobials in the treatment and control of anaplasmosis to maintain long term effectiveness of these products.

John Nalivka
Nalivka: Prepare for a Changing Beef Industry

Activists will intensify their calls to end grazing and beef production over the next several years as climate change and carbon emissions become the priority as opposed to just protecting the environment.

BT_Stocker_Cattle
What Are the Benefits of Compensatory Feedlot Gains Following Grazing?

New research at Oklahoma State University is adding to our understanding of stocker cattle nutrition programs and its affect on finishing performance.

BT_Winter_Cattle_Snow
Tips To Successfully Control Cattle Lice

Proper timing, product dosage and application are key for combating lice and keeping cattle productive.

 House Passes Bill to Preserve Veterinary Use of Xylazine 
House Passes Bill to Preserve Veterinary Use of Xylazine 

 The House of Representatives passed the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act on Tuesday. It will help fight illicit use of the product in humans while preserving access to the drug for animals.

Genetic Focus on Improving Beef Sustainability
Genetic Focus on Improving Beef Sustainability

New selection traits are being developed to reduce maintenance energy requirements, increase feed efficiency and decrease methane emissions.

Trust In Beef™ Deepens Expertise With New Partners
Trust In Beef™ Deepens Expertise With New Partners

Ducks Unlimited and ABS Global further the program’s capabilities to support ranchers in enacting climate-smart change with technical assistance and genetic innovation.

Grants Seek to Address Liver Abscess Formation in Cattle
Grants Seek to Address Liver Abscess Formation in Cattle

Four grants have been awarded by ICASA totaling roughly $1.15 million to identify why liver abscesses occur and develop diagnostic tools to enable informed decision-making to treat the condition.

Cow Herd Report Card II. Measures of Performance
Cow Herd Report Card II. Measures of Performance

To optimize performance and production, ranchers must understand the factors that impact post-partum interval length (PPI), the time from calving until the cow resumes a fertile estrous cycle.

Dairy and Beef: A Merger of Many Merits
Dairy and Beef: A Merger of Many Merits

Beef cross calves are currently generating healthy profits for dairies. They also are a welcome addition to the beef supply chain, according to Dr. Zeb Gray, Beef Technical Feedlot Specialist with Diamond V.

Winter Cow Syndrome: What You Need to Know
Winter Cow Syndrome: What You Need to Know

Some individual cows or groups of cows experience significant decline in body weight and condition over the winter known as “winter cow syndrome.” The best strategy of prevention is twofold.

 Three Common Categories of Pregnancy Losses in Beef Cattle
Three Common Categories of Pregnancy Losses in Beef Cattle

“Although pregnancy losses in beef cattle are a fact of life, late-term losses are likely the most discouraging,” says Gerald Stokka, NDSU Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist.

Elanco Animal Health Shares Updates On Cattle Implant Portfolio
Elanco Animal Health Shares Updates On Cattle Implant Portfolio

Elanco has updated its Component line of cattle implants to comply with new CVM regulations. To help ease this transition, Elanco is outlining the changes to its cattle implant portfolio.

What to Know About Feeding Road Ditch Hay to Cows
What to Know About Feeding Road Ditch Hay to Cows

Road ditch hay can provide needed forage. With a few precautions and a forage analysis, it can help you meet your cow’s nutrient requirements this winter.

Don’t Let Cold Weather Freeze Cattle Performance This Winter 
Don’t Let Cold Weather Freeze Cattle Performance This Winter 

Help cattle weather the elements and combat cold stress when the temperature drops.

Feeding Corn Silage to Cattle Can Add Value
Feeding Corn Silage to Cattle Can Add Value

Corn silage is an excellent source of energy for cattle and replacing a portion of corn in cattle diets with silage should be a economical solution.

Pros and Cons of Using Darts to Treat Cattle
Pros and Cons of Using Darts to Treat Cattle

Remote drug delivery devices to treat cattle are increasingly popular among producers, especially for use with cattle on pasture. Many veterinarians, however, continue to question whether such tools warrant use at all.

Tyson CEO Confesses Company Culture Was Lazy After Pandemic
Tyson CEO Confesses Company Culture Was Lazy After Pandemic

"We got fat and lazy," Tyson Foods Inc.’s leader candidly shared about his company’s underperformance in an interview following the opening of Tyson's new $300 million plant in Virginia, Bloomberg reported.

How Does Cattle Handling and Stockmanship Influence Animal Performance?
How Does Cattle Handling and Stockmanship Influence Animal Performance?

Low-stress cattle handling methods have been discussed and promoted for many years, but could implementing low-stress handling techniques influence animal performance and improve your bottom line?

Tufts University Makes Students' Cellular Ag Dreams Come True
Tufts University Makes Students' Cellular Ag Dreams Come True

In his Value Creation in Cell Ag class, Tufts senior Adham Ali was tasked to work with a group of peers to design a product using cellular agriculture (or cell ag for short) to make life easier for consumers.

Protein Supplementation: What to Know Before Purchasing
Protein Supplementation: What to Know Before Purchasing

In developing a protein supplementation strategy, it is important to consider what is the goal of feeding the protein supplement and that not all protein sources are equal.

Using Genetic Testing to Make Profitable Marketing Decisions
Using Genetic Testing to Make Profitable Marketing Decisions

Genomic tests are a tool that can be used to create strategic marketing plans by taking a small ear tissue sample to compare genome traits of a calf to others in their breed.

Weaning Weight Versus Reproductive Efficiency
Weaning Weight Versus Reproductive Efficiency

What has more value to the profit potential of a commercial cow-calf operation that sells calves at weaning, percent calf crop weaned or weaning weight?

'One Black Mark'
'One Black Mark'

Liver abscesses in finished beef-cross cattle continue to frustrate feeders and packers. Severe liver abscesses negatively impact cattle performance in a number of ways.

South_Dakot_Sunset_Cattle
Want More Calves Born in Daylight? Feed The Cows at Night

Beef cows fed at dusk or later results in more daytime births. Research indicates that to achieve that benefit, feeding at night should be started at least one month prior to calving season.

Chip-less, Battery-free Sensing Technology Could be Next Phase of Animal Monitoring
Chip-less, Battery-free Sensing Technology Could be Next Phase of Animal Monitoring

A team of Irish researchers has developed a breakthrough innovation to monitor activity and health characteristics of dairy cows – and it doesn’t involve and wires, chips, batteries, or electronics of any kind.

Get Ready for the Next Cold Snap
Get Ready for the Next Cold Snap

When cows get below their lower critical temperature and get into cold stress, they can adapt by increasing feed consumption to increase their basal metabolic rate and increase heat of fermentation.

Dairy Management Inc.'s Lisa McComb Appointed Chair-Elect of Animal Agriculture Alliance Board
Dairy Management Inc.'s Lisa McComb Appointed Chair-Elect of Animal Agriculture Alliance Board

The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced new upcoming board leadership, along with several board seats have renewed through 2026, following its fall board meeting, held Nov. 7 in Washington, D.C.

USMEF Strategic Planning Conference Wraps Up with New Leadership and Logistics Insight
USMEF Strategic Planning Conference Wraps Up with New Leadership and Logistics Insight

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) successfully concluded its Strategic Planning Conference with the election of a new dynamic officer team, including Randy Spronk, Steve Hanson, Jay Theiler and David Bruntz.

Red_Angus_Heifer_Nebraska
Genomic Testing for Selecting Replacement Heifers

With a long window and investment to determine a heifer’s fate in the herd, producers should take advantage of genomic testing to get accurate information on maternal, performance, and carcass traits.

Smith Named K-State Animal Sciences & Industry Distinguished Alumnus
Smith Named K-State Animal Sciences & Industry Distinguished Alumnus

Dr. Bob Smith was recognized as the 2023 Kansas State University Department of Animal Sciences and Industry Distinguished Alumnus on Monday, November 13.   

How Iowa State University is Developing the Future of Production Animal Medicine
How Iowa State University is Developing the Future of Production Animal Medicine

A recent American Veterinary Medical Association study found less than 4% of veterinarians nationwide predominantly practice production animal medicine. Here's what Iowa State University is doing to help change that.

NCBA Again Strongly Opposes Paraguayan Beef Imports
NCBA Again Strongly Opposes Paraguayan Beef Imports

NCBA has repeatedly raised concerns with USDA over Paraguay’s history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and the outdated information used to justify Paraguay’s access to the U.S. market.

Omega-6 Fatty Acids May Help Mitigate Early Embryonic Loss
Omega-6 Fatty Acids May Help Mitigate Early Embryonic Loss

A Texas A&M AgriLife project will feed omega-6 and omega 3 fatty acids to beef cattle to determine what role they may play in managing early embryonic loss.

Genetic Selection: No Better Than the Information Behind It
Genetic Selection: No Better Than the Information Behind It

For seedstock producers, reporting performance data is critical in EPD accuracy.

BT_Weaning_Calves_Cows
Low Stress Weaning Strategies

Low stress weaning techniques can pay dividends to producers adding value through a preconditioning program.

Understanding Cattle Stress: Oklahoma State University Researchers Focus On Genetic Predisposition
Understanding Cattle Stress: Oklahoma State University Researchers Focus On Genetic Predisposition

Using cutting-edge artificial intelligence and sensor technologies, Oklahoma State University researchers have embarked on a groundbreaking project aimed at studying stress in cattle.