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September 1, 2007

Cover Story

10 winter-feeding tips

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Clint Peck Contributing Editor

Want some “hot” advice on ways to cheapen cow-herd rations as fall and winter approach? After visiting with John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist, and ranchers from diverse locations, here's a top-10 list of cost-saving tips adaptable to about any winter grazing situation and geographic location...

Features

Choosing The Stocker Business

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Wes Ishmael Contributing Editor

Like the cattle they grow, this year's National Stocker Award finalists share some similarities. Namely, each adds value to mismanaged cattle, presenting...

Crabby Returns

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Larry Stalcup

Ron Banks doesn't have time to fix somebody else's mistakes. We grow cattle, explains the owner of Rendezvous Cattle. That's it. That's why he won't buy...

Are You Vaccinating Calves Or Shooting Blanks?

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Burt Rutherford Senior Editor

Preconditioned cattle usually aren't, says John Peirce, and it doesn't take very long after they arrive at a feedyard to know exactly how much preconditioning...

Pasture Cools

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mike Fritz

Robust demand for recreational tracts, strong livestock profits and high grain prices continue to fuel the strong bull run in the pasture and rangeland...

Let The Games Begin

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Burt Rutherford

It's a high stakes game of chicken between the Bush Administration and Congress, says ag-labor consultant James S. Holt, and employers are the ones who...

Pressure Is As Pressure Does

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Burt Rutherford Senior Editor

It's a philosophical shift, says Dawn Hnatow, one that takes time and a little experience to achieve. But if you do make that leap of faith, you'll thank...

Wean 'Em Easy

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Burt Rutherford

Kelly Nordlund is fixing fence a lot less these days. He has his cows to thank. That, and a small piece of yellow plastic. For the past five years, Nordlund,...

In-Pasture Processing

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Larry Stalcup

As a feedyard manager, Warren White knows the value of preconditioning and low-stress cattle handling. Healthy calves are simply more valuable to a feedyard...

Making The Call

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Wes Ishmael Contributing Editor

It all boils down to looking in the mirror, believes Dale Blasi, a Kansas State University stocker cattle specialist. He's talking about cow-calf producers...

Sweet On Swaths

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Alaina Burt Managing Editor

Jim Gerrish recalls his first try at swath grazing. He was concerned about the quality of his alfalfa swaths left out on the field all winter. What he...

UK Corrals FMD Outbreak

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Meghan Sapp

There are few words in the English language that get consumers and farmers quaking in their boots like foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). When FMD struck the...

WarmingTo Change

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Meghan Sapp

In the U.S., the discussion on climate change has been slow in coming, with most folks all the way up to President George W. Bush saying that hotter summers,...

News Makers

Our new look!

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Click around our freshly retooled Web site www.beefmagazine.com. Launched last month, the redesign offers one-stop buttons to information-rich, category...

Environmental honors

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, compiled by BEEF staff

Regional award winners vying for top honors in the 2007 National Environmental Stewardship Award Program have been announced. Now in its 17th year, the...

Editor's Roundup

Odds and ends

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, by Joe Roybal editor

Leigh Rubin calls himself a sit-down comedian, and it's likely you've chuckled more likely guffawed upon viewing his reality-bending cartoons before....

BEEF XPress

This month in brief

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Cash flow is a critical, early indicator of a ranch's financial health, and it's projected to take on even more significance in the next few years as...

Bin-busting corn

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

USDA's Aug. 10 crop production report projected a U.S. corn crop of 13.1 billion bu., a 3-million bu. jump over July's projection and the largest corn...

Checkoff survey

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Among U.S. beef producers, 70% approve of the beef checkoff program. That's according to a survey of 1,225 beef and dairy producers commissioned by the...

Free at last

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Idaho is again brucellosis-free, meaning that testing is no longer required for cattle leaving the state. Idaho lost its status in January when the disease...

Market Advisor

Benchmarks for the ethanol era

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, by Harlan Hughes contributing editor

Having conducted Integrated Resource Management (IRM) cash-flow analyses for individual ranchers for 20+ years, I fully understand a ranch must cash flow...

Cattle Economics

Identify the market, then add value

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, by Wes Ishmael contributing editor

For all the opportunities that come with value-added markets, they can be the tail wagging the proverbial fleabag if you lose sight of the core product...

Vets' Opinion

Optimize is the word

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, by Dave Sjeklocha contributing editor

I've never cared for the phrase maximum performance when it comes to production agriculture. Maximum means the best or greatest possible with no expressed...

Research Roundup

Reduce hay-feeding cost

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, compiled by Alaina Burt managing editor

A tapered-cone feeder can reduce winter feeding costs when compared to shredding large bales with a bale processor. North Dakota State University researchers...

BEEF Tech

Feeders that reduce waste

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, compiled by Alaina Burt managing editor

Pequea's line of portable and skid-mount bunk feeders reduces waste by keeping hay elevated and away from ground moisture. Accommodating up to 52 head...