June 21, 2021 | Vol. 14 : No. 6
The best businesses are the ones that are properly managed in ways that result in profit. However, if you’re a livestock producer, this is probably where you’re thinking, “easier said than done.” At the core, though, livestock production is no different than any other business out there. Effective management requires good metrics. Metrics come from measurements.
Grazing a piece of ground rather than haying it can have advantages in profitability and soil health. Bart Lardner, research scientist at the University of Saskatchewan, was involved in a three-year study stockpiling forage to graze later — letting it grow and then grazing it late fall and into the winter.
Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo, chief animal welfare officer for Elanco Animal Health, often talks to producers about low-stress cattle handling and why some methods don’t work, offering ethical considerations, as well.
When it’s hot and sunny, cattle seek shade. If they can’t find any, it could cost you money. In 2003, scientists estimated heat stress cost the U.S. beef industry $369 million a year. The condition occurs when an animal can’t dissipate heat as fast as it’s incurred. Providing shade when needed is one way to mitigate stress and produce high-quality beef.
Rural landowners are often interested in raising livestock to slaughter for personal consumption, local marketing or for normal commodity markets. There are several options producers can use to finish cattle, ranging from finishing completely on forages to conventional drylot programs using high-concentrate diets. Hybrid systems have been studied as an alternative to high-concentrate total mixed rations fed in confinement. These systems use the roughage supplied by pasture along with additional energy from supplemental concentrates. They may not meet the requirements for “grass-fed beef” claims by the USDA, but they do provide free-choice access to pasture.
The price of corn in the United States has been increasing this year and is now approaching record highs. In early May, according to The Wall Street Journal, corn prices are up 50%, with the cost of a bushel at $7.73, and prices are closing in on highs not seen since 2012 when drought decimated crops across the Midwest and sent prices soaring to $8.31 a bushel, the Journal reported.
In this month’s edition we highlight industry-first long-range ear tags for livestock, Texas Beef Council’s newly launched website, Gallagher S6 & S12 Lithium energizers, a weighing system, a new foliar nutrition product, a new farm-oriented app, Northern Tool + Equipment pressure washer and MLS tubs.
