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September 1, 2008

Cover Story

Changing Of The Guard

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Alaina Burt Managing Editor

Dave Baker, Iowa State University (ISU) farm transition specialist with the Beginning Farmer Center (BFC), points out six farm-succession challenges every beginning rancher should consider, and every established operator should keep in mind...

Features

Top-10 Winter Checklist

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Amanda Nolz

While warm summer temperatures make the challenges of icy, frigid weather seem far away, now is the time to make the preparations that will minimize those...

Cows & Distillers

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Joe Roybal Editor

With prices for feed, fuel and pasture driving up cow costs and drought seemingly always just around the corner ranchers are looking for ways to sharpen...

Pregnancy Diagnosis

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Whitney Camp

Considering the rising cost of feed associated with maintaining a cow through the winter, removing non-pregnant cows from the herd prior to winter would...

Get 'Em GONE

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Wes Ishmael Contributing Editor

Used to be that keeping and feeding cull cows was a no-brainer: there's lots of compensatory gain to be had with mature cows in their worst condition...

Five Places To Save Five Places To Spend

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Clint Peck

Like never before, ranchers are faced with increasing costs of production, and it's causing many of them to rethink their production strategies. But,...

CSI: The Pasture

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Burt Rutherford Senior Editor

Watch just about any crime scene show on television nowadays and you'd think tracking down a mysterious and lethal compound is as easy as plopping a sample...

Drought Lessons

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Becky Mills

Unfortunately, producers in the Southeast are becoming experts at managing around drought. Most have suffered through two years of extremely dry weather,...

Coming To America

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Loretta Sorensen

A philosophy that 100% grass-fed beef produces the highest quality meat has led Gearld Fry and a group of co-investors to import an entire herd, consisting...

Managing Cattle To Manage The Range

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Burt Rutherford Senior Editor

Allan McGinty likes rocks. An interesting situation, given that McGinty is one of the Southwest's leading authorities on semi-arid range management. But...

COOL'S Devilish Details

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Steve Kay Contributing Editor

The devil is always in the detail, and USDA's interim final rule on mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) is no exception. In the week after USDA...

Riding The Winds

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Larry Stalcup

Been trying to keep up with feeder-cattle futures lately? If you have, and you're not sitting down, best find a chair, because the volatility can be dizzying....

Pastureland Cool-Down

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Fritz

U.S. pasture values climbed an average 6% to $1,230/acre this year. That's sharply behind last year's 16% pace and extends a flattening trend that followed...

News Makers

BEEF Completes Landmark Stocker Survey

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Wes Ishmael Contributing Editor

There's a treasure trove of information here, some of it benchmarking what we've long believed about the stocker industry, and other data offering new...

Barley For Beef

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Greg Lardy

Cattle producers may be able to feed lower test-weight barley as feed, Greg Lardy, North Dakota State University Extension beef cattle specialist, says....

Editor's Roundup

For better or worse

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, by Joe Roybal editor

Earlier this year, despite the steady and alarming rise in the cost of food and fuel hitting their clientele, America's food retailers were optimistic....

BEEF XPress

This month in brief

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

This month, Steve Kay joins BEEF as a contributing editor with a regular column entitled Meat Matters. Owner and publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly newsletter,...

Public supports ethanol

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Registered voters by a 2-1 margin favor increased use of ethanol, a Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies poll found. The poll...

RFS waiver denied

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson denied the request by Texas Gov. Rick Perry for a waiver of 50% of the Renewable Fuel...

Breeds of Cattle, 2nd Edition

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

This book belongs in the home or office of every beef cattle aficionado. The second edition, by Herman R. Purdy, R. John Dawes & Don Hutzel, is completely...

No early out

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

USDA Secretary Ed Schafer says USDA won't allow early out for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts without penalty. Schafer says market conditions...

E-Verify renewed

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

The House of Representatives has voted to reauthorize the E-Verify program, a voluntary program also known as the Basic Pilot Program, which allows employers...

Midyear numbers

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Total cattle numbers declined slightly from last year, according to USDA's midyear cattle inventory report. The total cattle herd is pegged at 104.3 million...

Market Advisor

Marketing 2008 calves

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, by Harlan Hughes contributing editor

Part V in a series of changing corn environment. The corn market is proving to be as volatile as predicted. With the impact of the Midwest floods less...

Cattle Economics

Value of gain historically high

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, by Wes Ishmael contributing editor

There's no minting money in the current high-cost environment of the cattle business. But steamy prices also offer more lucrative potential to adding...

Vets' Opinion

Eight biosecurity tips

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By W. Mark Hilton contributing editor

Ask a swine producer about the role of biosecurity and herd health on the average hog farm, and a protocol and 20-minute lecture are surely to follow....

Research Roundup

Vaccination timing and stocker cattle

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, compiled by Alaina Burt managing editor

Delaying vaccination with a modified-live virus (MLV) product in newly received beef calves improves gain and immune response, University of Arkansas...

BEEF Tech

New intranasal vaccine introduced

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, compiled by Alaina Burt managing editor

For years, conventional wisdom held that vaccinating newborn calves didn't produce much in the way of a positive benefit and, in fact, interfered with...

Articles

Will MCOOL hurt ground beef sales?

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, by Steve Kay contributing editor

Think of beef and most people bring to mind a juicy steak. But the beef industry's most valuable product is ground beef, sold as such, in patty form or...

Weaning management

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, by Clint Peck contributing editor

Weaning time is harvest time in cow-calf country. This can be a stressful time for the cow, the calf and the rancher. Probably the most critical weaning...