Opinion: Get Ready For The Next Media Attack
Like a pack of blood-hungry wolves circling for the kill, the popular media is using its success with lean finely textured beef as a launch pad to again attack the beef industry. For round 2, however, the industry is better prepared.
Audit Shows Shifts In Retailer, Foodservice Concerns
For those who thought it was impossible for packers, retailers and foodservice operators to agree on much of anything, the soon-to-be-released Beef Quality Audit may come as a surprise. Indeed, as cattle producers have largely solved many of the problems that spurred the launch of the audit back in 1991, other, more current concerns have surfaced. Here’s a sneak peek.
Pressure Points In Genetic Selection Will Vary
Every year, commercial cow-calf producers hit the road to attend bull sales, looking for the next group of herd sires that will move their genetics forward. But unless you have a carefully thought out breeding objective for your ranch, and have committed it to paper, you run the risk getting sidetracked in your selection criteria.
Identify, Cull Temperamental Heifers Early
Temperamental cattle can make your life difficult, and in more ways than just being hard to handle and a possible danger to you or your employees. Temperamental cattle are also less productive, with reduced growth rates, reduced carcass quality and reduced immune function.
Opinion: Overreach, Or Grubbing For Greenbacks
Without a doubt, the amount of government regulations, both proposed and adopted, over the last few years have reached epic proportions. In wave after wave, industry after industry, government regulations have the potential to put a stranglehold on the long-term viability of businesses large and small. But there may be more than simply an attempt by the federal government to control all aspects of our lives.
Outlook Shines For Cow-Calf Producers
It’s two sides of the same coin. But the tale told in the flip and the call is as different as the red or black ink on the ledger. If the coin lands on tails, it’s the cattle feeders’ version of the accountant’s story, with losses projected for the rest of the year. But if it lands heads up, it’s the cow-calf producers’ turn to collect the bet, with this year and next shaping up to be perhaps the best ever in recent history, says Kansas State University’s Glynn Tonsor.
BIF Names Commercial, Seedstock Award Winners
In a field that represented some of the very best ranching operations in the U.S., two operations emerged as the 2012 winners of the Beef Improvement Federation’s Commercial and Seedstock Producers of the Year. These prestigious awards recognize ranches that have made use of genetic improvement tools to not only better their own cattle, but the entire industry.
Animal Science Heads Gather To Chart Future
For more than two decades, animal sciences departments have seen a slow but steady decline in government funding for research. While one leading scientist says that’s partly researchers’ fault, the fact remains that the plant side of the ag research community has been far more successful in snagging the lion’s share of research funding. Beginning this week, animal science department heads are going to change that situation
The System Worked, BSE Expert Says In Tuesday Press Conference
Noting that USDA is very early into an epidemiological investigation that likely could take time to fully play out, a BSE expert said the discovery of the nation’s fourth case of BSE, this one in a California dairy cow, “really does illustrate that our surveillance system is working very well.”
Employee Survey Polls Cowboys & Ranch Managers
Cowboys are people too. While you’re trying to wrap your mind around that concept, consider this: “Com-munication is the key word,” says Jen Livsey of Corpus Christi, TX. “Employees like to know what they are (supposed to be) doing, how well they are doing at it, and why they are doing it.”
In Severe Weather, Chance Favors The Prepared
Springtime and the weather is, well, chancy at best. This time of year is when severe weather events are at their worst. While you can’t do much to stop the wind, rain, hail, tornadoes and other dangers when the skies darken, you can be prepared to better pick up the pieces and pick up your life after the storm.
Planting Underway; Severe Weather A Concern
March will go down in the weather history books as the warmest in the last 50 years and among the top five warmest ever. Spring-like temperatures have warmed the soil and encouraged farmers to fill the planters and start rolling. However, meteorologists warn that much of the nation’s breadbasket is not yet past the time when freezing temperatures are possible. What’s more, they predict the severe weather that has already pummeled parts of the country will only get worse.
Boundaries And The Family Business
A well-managed ranch can, in many respects, be determined by looking at its fences. Tight wires and straight fenceposts show that the boundaries between pastures are firm, and management systems well thought out. But in the business of running the family ranch, boundaries can lead to conflict and ultimately to failure.
EPA Is Criminalizing Agriculture, Lawyer Charges
A wide array of groups and individuals who want nothing more than to put agriculture out of business are lining up at the courthouse door. An attorney who has devoted his life to arguing agriculture’s cause says the challenges are great.
Ag Students Are Changing; That’s Good For Ag
Roughly half the students in Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences don’t come from a background in production agriculture. Not only is that good, but it’s an important group of potential students to recruit and bring into the agricultural sciences, says the college’s dean.
