Angus — The Business Breed


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MANAGEMENT...


Making Pasture Improvements Can Increase Digestibility, Enhance Gains

Rotational grazing increases forages’ quality and quantity.

It’s time to start thinking about turning your cattle out to summer grass. Regardless if you own or rent your pasture, it is important to make sure you are getting the most efficient use of your resources.

The first thing to consider is the stocking rate for the specific area where you live. Stocking rate, simply stated, is the number of acres per animal unit (cow-calf pair or steer) it takes to sustain and grow an animal. For example, in the more lush part of the Midwest like Missouri or Illinois, stocking rate might be three to four acres per animal unit month (AUM). However, in the more arid climates of New Mexico, the stocking rate might be 30 acres per AUM. Read more.


Strip Grazing Fencing Techniques

Cattle eat a corn, soybean and turnip salad every day.

For good utilization of turnips or other brassicas, or some of the new cocktail mixes of forage species, it works best if you use portable electric fencing to move the cattle across the field in small strips, according to Tom Larson, who farmed for many years in Nebraska. Larson used polywire, and it worked well.

“This is the key to grazing forage turnips, for example, being able to divide the field into small portions and move the fence daily. I had an 8-acre rectangular field. Along one side, I ran a hot wire along the existing fence. Perpendicular to that I ran a polywire to split the field. [The pasture] was about 600 feet (ft.) wide and I’d use 700 feet of polywire, since you don’t want a straight line. It works best if the dividing fence is a bit crooked,” he explains. Read more.


Switch from Fescue to Alfalfa

Producers tell merits of alfalfa hay and offer tips to switch from growing fescue to alfalfa.

“Good hay doesn’t have to come over the state line,” said University of Missouri (MU) Extension livestock specialist Eldon Cole. Plenty of good hay grows in Missouri’s Ozark region.

Cole spoke at the recent MU Extension Alfalfa Tour hosted at the Ash Grove farm of Rick and Justin Williams, in Greene County.

Greene County is in the heart of Missouri agriculture territory, said MU Extension specialist Tim Schnakenberg. The county’s rolling hills and large livestock numbers create a strong market for quality alfalfa, Schnakenberg said. He works with producers to help them decide whether to grow or buy hay. Read more.


Farm Custom Rates Updated in MU Extension Guide

MU Extension guide is a pricing resource for farmers and custom operators.

For some jobs, farmers need help. Custom operators provide a wide range of services. The jobs vary from tillage and planting to spreading fertilizer and harvesting grain and hay. Big jobs might be building fence or moving dirt.

A University of Missouri (MU) Extension price guide lists nearly 150 services. The guide, which was updated this past winter, is available free online.

2016 Custom Rates for Farm Services in Missouri (G302) lists prices for most services, says Ray Massey, MU Extension agricultural economist. Read more.


Kris Ringwall

Kris Ringwall

Beef Talk

Wean early and save 25% of pasture forage.

Did you know you can save more than 25% of available forage by weaning calves early?

The current dryness affecting the land has caused all livestock producers to review options. For some in a drought situation, the only real solution is rain. Producers need to take charge whether the season is dry or wet.

The Dickinson Research Extension Center has and will continue to manage during dry times. The center is in a semiarid climate and dryness is not a stranger.

Managing grazing time and stocking rate is critical. As a result, the center has measured available biomass on the range when cows have their calves removed in mid-August vs. early November. Read more.


New Products

Industry affiliates provide a wide array of products and services to assist you on the farm and ranch. Here’s an assortment of new products to hit the market recently.


Angus Advisor

Click here for July herd management tips from cattle experts across the nation. Advice separated by region.


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