Latest News From Feedyard

Feedlot Cattle Health Summits Scheduled for Scott City, KS, and Kearney, NE
Feedlot Cattle Health Summits Scheduled for Scott City, KS, and Kearney, NE

Production Animal Consultation (PAC) will host two beef industry summits in April, allowing people from the beef industry to gather and exchange ideas.

Tips for Dealing with Wet, Muddy Feedlot Conditions
Tips for Dealing with Wet, Muddy Feedlot Conditions

Following last month's blizzard, warmer temperatures and recent rains have created muddy feedlot conditions that present challenges for cattle and cowboys. Nebraska extension offers these strategies to cope.

Register Today: Managing mud in feedlots - Online Discussion Monday, Feb. 5 at Noon (CST)
Register Today: Managing mud in feedlots - Online Discussion Monday, Feb. 5 at Noon (CST)

UNL Feedlot Extension has organized an online discussion for noon (CST) Monday, Feb. 5 to talk with cattle producers about the challenges they're facing in dealing with the muddy conditions.

Beef-on-Dairy: Why Feedlots Crave This Important Information
Beef-on-Dairy: Why Feedlots Crave This Important Information

As beef-on-dairy animals within the feedlot system continue to rise, feedlots are craving two key pieces of information to help ensure these crossbred cattle thrive.

Answering the Cattle Nutrition Protein Question
Answering the Cattle Nutrition Protein Question

New equations will better estimate protein utilization by beef cattle, benefit producers.

Encourage the Next Generation to Chase Big Dreams
Encourage the Next Generation to Chase Big Dreams

Methodical grind. There’s no question talent makes a difference, but what makes the biggest difference is commitment -- the daily decision to choose to work hard and show up. 

Winter Cattle Yard Preparation Checklist
Winter Cattle Yard Preparation Checklist

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

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.

Calf Run: Best Feedlot Practices For New Arrivals
Calf Run: Best Feedlot Practices For New Arrivals

The goal of any feedlot receiving strategy is to make the transition from calf origin into the feedlot or backgrounding yard as seamless as possible in order to achieve best cattle performance.

Could BRD Cases Decline In High-Risk Cattle With Delayed Vaccination?
Could BRD Cases Decline In High-Risk Cattle With Delayed Vaccination?

While vaccination is widely considered a critical component of cattle health management, could the timing of vaccination impact the efficiency of the product?

How to Increase Water Access for Feedlot Cattle in Hot Weather
How to Increase Water Access for Feedlot Cattle in Hot Weather

The use of shades in feedlots has made a big difference in the effects of heat on fat cattle, but a few other strategies can help keep cattle cool, enabling cattle to keep gaining, even in the dog days of summer.

Proposed Bill Would Allow FDA to Probe Feedlots
Proposed Bill Would Allow FDA to Probe Feedlots

The Food and Drug Administration would have authority to inspect large feedlots linked to salmonella outbreaks and other foodborne illnesses under the Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act.

BT_Feedlot_Cattle_Shade
Fatigued Cattle Syndrome: What It Is and What to Do About It

As temperatures ratchet up, the disorder is more frequently seen in fed cattle ready for slaughter. Veterinarians offer their take on what contributes to the problem and seven recommendations to help prevent it.

Flash Flooding Hits Texas Panhandle, Several Feedyards Now Face Massive Cleanup and Cattle Losses
Flash Flooding Hits Texas Panhandle, Several Feedyards Now Face Massive Cleanup and Cattle Losses

The area was hit especially hard by historic rains on Friday. It is home to several feedyards, with owners and operators trying to assess the number of cows lost due to flood waters rising so quickly.

Feedlot Cattle Health Summit in Kearney Neb., July 12
Feedlot Cattle Health Summit in Kearney Neb., July 12

The PAC Summit for Industry Leaders will be held July 12, 2023, at the Holiday Inn in Kearney, Nebraska. The event features an exciting line-up of speakers and topics.

Reduce Muddy Conditions for Livestock Health
Reduce Muddy Conditions for Livestock Health

There are few options once muddy conditions are in place, so preventive practices are key. Here's some tips for protecting livestock health and managing muddy conditions.

12 Ways to Prevent the Spread of Disease in Feedlots
12 Ways to Prevent the Spread of Disease in Feedlots

Sound management, health protocols and facilities maintenance can help achieve the ultimate goal of keeping cattle healthy and productive.

Is Grass-Fed Beef Healthier or Better for the Environment?
Is Grass-Fed Beef Healthier or Better for the Environment?

Oklahoma State University meat scientist Gretchen Mafi has studied the scientific differences between beef that comes from animals finished on a grain diet versus those animals finished on grass.

Understanding Diseases Associated with Histophilus Somni
Understanding Diseases Associated with Histophilus Somni

Veterinarians and researchers have hypothesized why H. somni is becoming more widespread and increasingly prevalent, but there is not a clear culprit.

BT_Feedlot_Bunk_Cattle
Acidosis and Feed Connection

When cattle diets are changed without an adaptation period or if cattle have sudden access to a new feedstuff, health problems can follow.

Elanco Enhances PenPoint™ Offering for Feedyards
Elanco Enhances PenPoint™ Offering for Feedyards

PenPoint Sort is a bolt-on chute technology system that helps simplify the difficult task of objectively measuring and sorting cattle.

Strategic Feedlot Bedding
Strategic Feedlot Bedding

Providing bedding is one of the time-tested strategies for dealing with winter weather. But how does bedding affect the bottom-line?

New $7.2 Million Feedlot Innovation Center Breaks Ground at the University of Nebraska
New $7.2 Million Feedlot Innovation Center Breaks Ground at the University of Nebraska

The $7.2 million facility located at the University of Nebraska’s (UNL) Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead, Neb. has officially broken ground.

BT_Feedlot_Bunk_Cattle
DOJ Recommends 10-Year Sentence for Easterday

The Justice Department says it has filed a memo in federal court with its recommended sentence for Washington rancher and cattle feeder Cody Easterday who pleaded guilty in a $244 million "ghost cattle" scheme.

Sustainability is not Going Away. What are You Going to do With It?
Sustainability is not Going Away. What are You Going to do With It?

Check out the "Easy Button" offered by the USRSB for starters. It's a quick self-assessment tool, with options for cow/calf and feedyard operations. You're probably already using some of the recommended practices.

Heartache: Bovine Congestive Heart Failure A Growing Concern
Heartache: Bovine Congestive Heart Failure A Growing Concern

Sudden deaths late in the feeding phase are both frustrating and expensive. Simplot Land & Livestock says its research suggests genetic selection can greatly reduce the incidence of bovine congestive heart failure.

Panhandle Ranch, Environmental Technology Co. Plan New 'Sustainable' Feedlot
Panhandle Ranch, Environmental Technology Co. Plan New 'Sustainable' Feedlot

A developer of an advanced waste treatment technology says it will partner with a cattle ranch to build a 15,000 head sustainable beef feedlot near Dalhart, Texas.

Peel: Drought Impacts Advancing Rapidly
Peel: Drought Impacts Advancing Rapidly

Drought impacts have accelerated sharply in the southern plains in July, with the volume of feeder cattle in Oklahoma auctions up 24% the last two weeks and the volume of cows and bulls up nearly 124%.

Groups Urge EPA To Target CAFOs
Groups Urge EPA To Target CAFOs

Environmental and advocacy groups are urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use its authority to conduct more oversight of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).

feedyardbunk
Did High Heat And Humidity Really Cause Cattle Deaths In Kansas? The Latest Look at Potential Losses

Feedyards battled through the intense conditions to keep their cattle safe this week. The heat and humidity proved devastating, and estimates point to western Kansas feedlots seeing losses of 100 to 500 head per day.

Packing Plant Fool's Gold
Packing Plant Fool's Gold

Monday morning packers are convinced the solution to low cattle prices is more carcass hooks. Reality, however, suggests proposed new packing plants are out of step with cattle inventories and available labor.

Post-Mortem: What is this Metabolic Problem?
Post-Mortem: What is this Metabolic Problem?

These images depict a steer calf that had been on feed for 272 days with no treatment history when it was found dead in the pen.

Managing Heat Stress: How to Help Cattle Through High Summer Temps
Managing Heat Stress: How to Help Cattle Through High Summer Temps

In hot summer conditions, heat transfer failures cause accumulation of body heat resulting in heat stress, reduced performance, animal discomfort, or death. Here's some tips to help get your cattle through high temps!

Genetics Valued Over Hide Color
Genetics Valued Over Hide Color

Genetic merit should matter more, while hide color should matter less, according to a recent survey conducted by the Red Angus Association of America.

Meeting Water Needs of Cattle in the Feedlot
Meeting Water Needs of Cattle in the Feedlot

Late May and June typically produce the first heat events of the season when temperature, humidity and feed intake will significantly impact water consumption by feedlot cattle.

Merck Animal Health Introduces Herd Health Tool and Feedlot Diseases App
Merck Animal Health Introduces Herd Health Tool and Feedlot Diseases App

Merck Animal Health has introduced two new tools to bring important cattle health information to cattle producers’ fingertips.

BT_Beef_Steak_1
Food Without Fear: How Beef Checkoff-Funded Research Keeps Consumers Safe

Checkoff-funded research has helped manage food safety risks over the past decades, influencing many safety interventions that are still in place today.

Drought’s Impact On Cow Inventories in the Central Plains
Drought’s Impact On Cow Inventories in the Central Plains

Maps show the severity of drought in eight Central Plains states and where they began 2022 in beef cow numbers. These eight states represent 52% of America's beef cows, and accounted for 67% of last year's herd culling.

Progressive Leadership Earns Five Rivers Cattle Feeding the 2022 BQA Feedyard Award
Progressive Leadership Earns Five Rivers Cattle Feeding the 2022 BQA Feedyard Award

The world’s largest cattle feeder, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding recognizes the importance of being a leader and an advocate for the beef industry – Kuner Feedlot wins 2022 BQA Feedyard Award.

BQA
NCBA Names 2022 Beef Quality Assurance Award Winners

The winners of the 2022 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards, sponsored by Cargill, were announced during the annual Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show, held Feb. 1-3, 2022, in Houston.  

Unique Ear Tag can help Detect Sick Cattle in the Feedyard
Unique Ear Tag can help Detect Sick Cattle in the Feedyard

SenseHub Feedlot offers those who manage and care for cattle an innovative new approach to detecting illness, including bovine respiratory disease.

Cattle Outlook Optimistic for 2022
Cattle Outlook Optimistic for 2022

Cattle markets have improved significantly in the final weeks of 2021, with market analysts projecting those positive trends to continue in 2022.

ICASA Grant Examines Feedlot Heart Disease in Beef Cattle
ICASA Grant Examines Feedlot Heart Disease in Beef Cattle

Colorado State University will receive grants totaling nearly $1 million to study ways to reduce the risk of feedlot heart disease (FHD), a disease which has increased in recent years.

Speer: Is Fair What We Really Want?
Speer: Is Fair What We Really Want?

Consumers have access to greater differentiation and higher-quality beef products now, more than ever. As a result, beef spending has outpaced the competition since 2000. Cattle prices have risen as a result.

Vaccine Handling and Storage
Vaccine Handling and Storage

The highest quality vaccine that producers purchase may be of little value if not handled and stored properly.  Don't overlook key principles when preparing and administering vaccines and other animal health products.

Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Inductees Announced For 2022
Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Inductees Announced For 2022

Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame winners have been announced, with inductees and award winners honored during the 13th annual banquet prior to the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA trade show in Houston in February.

U.S. Premium Beef Named CAB Progressive Partner
U.S. Premium Beef Named CAB Progressive Partner

For their influence on the beef business, shifting toward quality and value-based marketing, U.S. Premium Beef earned Certified Angus Beef’s (CAB’s) 2021 Progressive Partner Award.

Brangus Launches Vigor Program
Brangus Launches Vigor Program

The International Brangus Breeders Association announces the launch of the Brangus® Vigor Feeder Calf Program, a Process Verified Program (PVP).

Deep Sense of Satisfaction Fuels Eckert’s Tenure
Deep Sense of Satisfaction Fuels Eckert’s Tenure

37 years of dedicated service to the cattle industry fuel this award winner

BT_Feedlot_Cattle_Heifers
New Tool Predicts Animals That Can Benefit From Treatment For BRD

The technology was developed exclusively for feedlot and backgrounded cattle for use on arrival.