Latest News From Cattle

Figure 1. Key areas to examine for body condition scoring
Selk: Back to the Basics—Revisiting Body Condition Scoring

Better understanding of the relationships between body condition scores and rebreeding efficiency of beef cattle has added a powerful management tool to the cattleman’s arsenal.

Now is the time to make plans for the 2021 grazing season.
Now is Time to Plan for 2021 Grazing Season

Pastures stressed by drought and/or overgrazing this fall more than likely will experience a delay in grazing readiness in 2021, irrelevant of the amount of snow received this winter and rainfall received next spring.

Greg Henderson
Taxing Meat: A Fool’s Errand

Criticism of beef production is rampant worldwide, and a new international report will only further fuel activists who want your business shut down.

Red Angus
Red Angus Releases New Index to Identify Profitability

The Red Angus Association of America released an updated suite of bio-economic selection indexes, including the Profitability and Sustainability index, abbreviated ProS, that covers economically relevant traits.

Rising feed costs
Justin Sexten: Less Is More

Even for those who enjoyed timely summer rains, the marginal economics of the cattle business and rising feed costs continue to cause nearly everyone to search for ways to do more with less.

Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh
K-State Mourns Loss of Esteemed Agricultural Economics Professor

The charismatic Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh was well known as a leading expert on agricultural policy and agricultural economics. For more than four decades he was a top adviser to politicians of both major political parties.

Cattle sorting
Neogen launches Igenity® Feeder, a Commercial DNA Sorting Tool

Neogen announces the launch of Igenity® Feeder, a DNA tool designed to assist cattle producers in the stocker and backgrounder phase to manage feeder cattle according to their genetic potential for carcass traits.

Sustainability initiatives are taking shape.
Elanco Releases Healthy Purpose™ 2030 Sustainability Commitments

Elanco's new protein, planet and pet pledges aim to provide improved access to nutritious protein, reduce the company’s footprint on the planet, and support healthy pets that support people’s wellbeing.

Elanco Animal Health Unveils Sustainability Commitments
Elanco Animal Health Unveils Sustainability Commitments

Two years after becoming an independent company, Elanco Animal Health Incorporated unveiled its first sustainability commitments on Tuesday.

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Beef Industry Pioneer Bill Pratt, 77, Passes

Beef industry pioneer, inventor, entrepreneur and founder of Micro Chemical, Inc., William Cline "Bill" Pratt, 77, of rural Canyon, Texas, passed away Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

Western Landowners Urge Trump to Sign ACE Act
Western Landowners Urge Trump to Sign ACE Act

The America's Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act advances several provisions that recognize and address the challenges ranchers face in managing land for livestock and wildlife.

Search is On for the Best Farm-Themed Costume in 2020
Search is On for the Best Farm-Themed Costume in 2020

Halloween 2020 may look a little different, but regardless of what your community says about trick-or-treating, there is no reason why your kids shouldn’t have fun dressing up this year.

Chute-Side Cost Savings
Chute-Side Cost Savings

A strong vaccination program can have a sizable impact on a herd, both in dollars spent and on the herd’s health.

Angus VNR: Cattle Sense

Working with livestock isn't a skill we're born with; it’s learned through discipline and practice. That's from cattle consultant Kip Lukasiewicz, sharing practical ways to rethink cattle handling.

Beef cows
Glenn Selk: Dressing Percent And Cull Cow Marketing

Cull cows represent about 20% of the gross income in commercial cow calf operations, so understanding the major factors impacting cull cow prices is important to your bottom line.

Calf-in-the-cowshed.jpg
U.S. Cattle Industry Faces Emergence of its Own Novel Virus

At a point in history when a novel virus dominates the news cycle and impacts our lives daily, another novel virus has emerged in the United States – this time, in the cattle population.

Feedlot cattle
Retail Beef Market Embraces Changes, New Cuts

As the COVID-19 pandemic brought beef shortages, consumers may have noticed some different cuts of beef when their traditional selections were sold out.

KBC_Tarpoff_Virtual_Chute_Work.png
Kansas Beef Council Releases Virtual Chuteside Cattle Demo

This video showcases the key principles of BQA and applies them in a relatable real-world setting.

Certified Angus Beef strip steaks
CAB: Another Billion In The Books

While the Certified Angus Beef ® brand saw its first sales decline of pounds in 16 years, 2020 was still the fifth year in a row of sales in excess of one billion pounds.

Kansas Flint Hills
Lechtenbergs To Receive Don L. Good Impact Award

The Livestock and Meat Industry Council at Kansas State will recognize Kelly & Marcie Lechtenberg and family as the 2020 Don L. Good Impact Award winners in virtual presentation Sunday, Oct. 11.

KSU calves
Invest Time Into Caring For Calves

It is important for cattle producers to take the time to observe newly weaned calves for the early stages of illness.

CRI Feeders
Scott Anderson is 2021 TCFA Chairman

Scott Anderson, co-owner of CRI Feeders in Guymon, Okla., has been elected the 2021 Texas Cattle Feeders Association Chairman.

Justin Sexten Performance Livestock Analytics
Justin Sexten: Stuck In The Middle

Whether you are looking to market spring-born calves, yearlings off grass or buying the next turn, everyone is looking to capture the value added by their management.

Beef packing plant
Nalivka: Beef Industry Transformation

The future of cattle economics from genetic selection to herd management, and marketing will be increasingly tied to the final product and continually searching for efficiencies across that entire process.

Wheat pasture
Derrell Peel: Lack of Moisture Threatens Winter Grazing

Wheat pasture development and growth is likely to slow or even reverse if forecast weather conditions are realized.  This, in turn, may reduce stocker cattle demand in the coming weeks.

Colorado sunset
Dallas Horton, DVM, Passes Sept. 29

Dallas Horton, 81, well known cattle feeder and veterinarian, passed away at his home on September 29, 2020 after a year-long battle with cancer.

Squeeze Chute Work
Squeeze Chute Work

Low-stress squeeze chute operation is important because research has shown cattle that become agitated in the chute have tougher meat and more dark cutters, and up to 40% of administered vaccines won’t be effective.

Photo of mutilated cow posted to Fee Stubblefield's Facebook page.
Oregon Cattle Mutilations Remain A Mystery

Oregon officials continue to investigate multiple cattle mutilations where the tongue, glands and sex organs have been removed with little or no signs or evidence of a struggle.

Feedlot cattle
Cattle Antimicrobial Resistance Research

A Texas Tech researcher has received funding from both USDA and NCBA for a project to evaluate the distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes and the occurrence of horizontal gene transfer in high-risk cattle.

Duck Bar Ranch, Neb.
Livestock and Sportsmen Groups Enter Conservation Partnership

NCBA and the Public Lands Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ducks Unlimited and Safari Club Int. to outline the groups’ shared commitment to conservation of natural resources through sustainable use.

Allflex blue collar tags
Koffman To Lead Allflex Livestock Intelligence in North America

Allflex Livestock Intelligence announces the appointment of Paul Koffman to North America Lead, with responsibility for the company’s livestock identification, monitoring and traceability businesses in North America.

Range and pasture represent one-third of the continental U.S.
Integrity Beef Sustainability Pilot Project Completes Two-Year Study

The Integrity Beef Sustainability Pilot Project completed its innovative two-year study to validate, track and trace beef sustainability claims across all segments of the supply chain.

Skunks and other wildlife, such as bats and foxes, are the most common reservoirs of rabies.
3 States Report Rabies In Cattle

Several cases of rabies in cattle, including dairy and beef animals, have been reported this year.

The new school of veterinary medicine is taking shape.
Texas Veterinary School Takes Shape

Construction of the School of Veterinary Medicine is on time and progressing as planned, according to Billy Breedlove, vice chancellor of Facilities Planning and Construction at the Texas Tech University System.

Feeder heifers
Texas Tech Investigates Antimicrobial Resistance in High-Risk Cattle

An award to Texas Tech from USDA is part of a near-$3 million investment from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to mitigate antimicrobial resistance across the food chain.

If you're looking for continuing education opportunities, check out the five upcoming webinars AABP has scheduled for this June and July.
5 Professional Development Webinars Announced

If you're looking for continuing education opportunities, check out the five upcoming webinars AABP has scheduled for this June and July.

Federal lands grazing
Three Ranches Apply For Hammond's Grazing Permits

At least three ranches have applied for BLM grazing permits on 41 square miles of Oregon range that was previously allotted to the Hammonds who were the subjects of a controversial legal case.

Cargill Idles High River Plant, Reopens PA
Cargill Idles High River Plant, Reopens PA

Cargill is temporarily closing its High River, Alberta, beef plant due to an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility. Meanwhile, the company says it has re-opened its processing facility in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Derrell Peel: Meat Production Threatened With Disruption
Derrell Peel: Meat Production Threatened With Disruption

The U.S. meat industry faces unprecedented threats as COVID-19 sweeps through labor forces nationwide.  Production of beef, pork and poultry are simultaneously threatened by labor availability and processing capacity.

Cupid Shuffle shown by Ryder Day
Cupid Shuffle Is A Milestone Champion

Cupid Shuffle became the first Hereford chosen as Grand Champion steer at the Fort Worth Stock Show since 1982, bringing back memories of Conoco, the first crossbred picked as champion in a major show 51 years ago.

Abbey Schiefelbein, Kimball, Minn.; Katie Lybarger, Garnett, Kansas; Colton Ivers, Austin, Minn.; Hannah Williams, Kearney, Neb.; and Annie Schoetmer, Batesville, Ind.
2020-2021 Henry C. Gardiner Scholarship Winners Announced

Five Kansas State University animal science students have been selected to receive the annual 2020-2021 Henry C. Gardiner scholarships.

Research Connects Drug Treatments and Antimicrobial Resistance in BRD
Research Connects Drug Treatments and Antimicrobial Resistance in BRD

A new study from KSU on the treatment of non-responding cases of BRD sheds light on the relationship between drug treatments and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

Wade Taylor, DVM (left), and Tom Noffsinger founded the PAC group.
Integrate Cattle Info

Production Animal Consultation (PAC) Veterinarians Aim to Fine-Tune Beef-Cattle Management from Birth to Slaughter.

Fly Control Strategies for Beef Cattle
Fly Control Strategies for Beef Cattle

The wet spring has certainly provided favorable breeding conditions for flies. As we progress into the summer it is evident that fly pressure is and will be heavy.

Dealing with the Big 4 Parasites in Cattle

Worms, flies, ticks and lice are all costly to beef producers.

More Options Made Available in Texas to Control Cattle Fever Ticks

Cattle producers in Texas can now use hand-held sprayers to control Cattle Fever Ticks, in addition to spray boxes according to a temporary rule change by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

A Cattle Fever Tick spray box in action in South Texas.
More Options Made Available in Texas to Control Cattle Fever Ticks

Cattle producers in Texas can now use hand-held sprayers to control Cattle Fever Ticks, in addition to spray boxes according to a temporary rule change by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Pinkeye and Foot Rot a Rancher’s Headache
Pinkeye and Foot Rot a Rancher’s Headache

Producers have several options for controlling flies.

For almost 25 years, we have been working to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) from Michigan’s northeastern Lower Peninsula.
New Michigan Zoning Order Aims to Fight Bovine TB

For almost 25 years, we have been working to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) from Michigan’s northeastern Lower Peninsula.