Blog Contributors

Mike Apley

Mike Apley, DVM, PhD, is a professor in clinical sciences at Kansas State University in Manhattan.

Jan. 26, 2012

Cephalosporins Aren’t Withdrawn From The Market

FDA’s Center forVeterinary Medicine (CVM) released a final rule in early January prohibiting some extralabel uses of cephalosporins in food animals. Let’s discuss which antibiotics are included in this group, the rationale, and changes coming down the road. But, first of all, it’s important to understand that the....More

W. Mark Hilton

W. Mark Hilton, DVM, is a clinical associate professor of beef production medicine in the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN.

Feb. 29, 2012

Four Steps Before You Buy That Bull

Bull purchases represent a significant investment in a beef herd. Whether that investment results in a “nest egg” or a “goose egg” depends highly on a bull buyer’s preparation....More

Harlan Hughes

Harlan Hughes is a North Dakota State University professor emeritus and author of the monthly "Market Advisor" column that appears in BEEF magazine. He also consults and lectures widely, making presentations on ranch business management at various state, regional and national beef...

Apr. 24, 2012

Expect Record Revenue & Costs In 2012-2014

My current price projections are for record-high average calf prices for the next five years. What’s more, I expect those increases will exceed a projected 3% annual increase in production costs....More

Wes Ishmael

Among the industry’s most insightful thinkers, Wes Ishmael concentrates on industry price and market perspectives for BEEF magazine. Along with his monthly “Cattle Economics” column, he also writes the BEEF Stocker Trends electronic newsletter, coordinates the National Stocker...

in Cattle Economics Apr. 24, 2012

What is Beef Demand Doing?

If you judge beef demand by wholesale values, you likely turned a little queasy in March, thinking about those extra replacement heifers prowling the pasture....More

Steve Kay

Steve Kay is editor and publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly (www.cattlebuyersweekly.com ) subscription newsletter, the number-one marketing and business newsletter for the meat and...
Apr. 19, 2012

Industry Was Too Late On LFTB Issue

April 12, 2011, was the day that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched the “pink slime” term into the blogosphere with a crude, but compelling, depiction on TV of how BPI manufactures its lean finely textured beef (LFTB). That’s also the day the industry and BPI should have gone on the offensive against this and other gross....More

Scott Laudert

Scott B. Laudert, Ph.D., is a beef cattle technical consultant and former Kansas State University Extension livestock specialist based in Woodland Park, CO.

Troy Marshall

Troy Marshall is a multi-generational rancher who grew up in Wheatland, WY, and obtained an Equine Science/Animal Science degree from Colorado State University where he competed on both the livestock and World Champion Horse Judging teams. Following college, he worked as a market analyst for...

May. 18, 2012

Marketing Undergoing Subtle But Major Shift

There have been a multitude of attempts to try to fix the problems created by a commodity system; everything from grids, to branded programs, to age and source verification, have created ways to recognize and capture value. While these programs have grown demand and increased total dollars available to purchase cattle and beef, they....More

Amanda Radke

A fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, SD, Amanda grew up on a purebred Limousin cattle operation in which she and husband Tyler are active. She graduated with a degree in agriculture journalism from South Dakota State University and was active from a young age in advocacy for the U.S. beef...

in BEEF Daily May. 23, 2012

Weigh In On Industry Challenges

As a young beef producer, I have my fair share of concerns about the cattle business. Obtaining the credit to purchase cattle, land, feed and equipment is a constant struggle. Maintaining a steady cash flow to pay the bills is of equal concern. In addition to increased input costs, new pressures from animal rights activists and....More

Dave Sjeklocha

Dave Sjeklocha is a feedlot consulting veterinarian at the Haskell County Animal Hospital in Sublette, KS.

Mar. 28, 2012

Pain Management Is An Issue Industry Must Continue To Address

What products do we have that are labeled for analgesia (pain control) in food animals? The answer is none. It isn’t that scientists aren’t working on this issue, however. One of the primary reasons we have no drugs labeled for analgesia in food animals is because we’ve struggled to identify a method to measure pain....More

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