EPDs predict differences expected in performance of future progeny of two or more bulls within the same breed for traits including birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, and maternal milking ability. Most breed associations publish EPDs at least annually, but normally, the EPDs of bulls from different breeds can’t be compared because most breed associations compute their EPDs in separate analyses and each breed has a different base point. The across-breed adjustment factors presented in this table allow producers to compare the EPDs for animals from different breeds....More

Citing concerns raised in “thousands of comments,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced yesterday evening, April 26, 2012, it will withdraw its proposed rule regarding youth in agriculture....More

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.”...More

Farmers intend to plant almost 96 million acres of corn this year, the most since 1937, according to the March 30 USDA Prospective Plantings report. Specifically, the report projects 95.9 acres will be planted to corn. That’s about 1.2 million acres more than the average guess heading in....More

With today’s level of volatility, it’s hard enough to plan for the next five years. But four industry experts – a packer, an animal health executive, a banker and an economist – were recently asked to offer their thoughts on what would be needed for the U.S. beef industry to remain competitive and profitable for the next 15 years....More

Cattle feeders held strong during the month of March but a moderating futures market and seasonally expanding feedyard supply in the coming weeks will facilitate a shift more to the packers’ advantage. Thus feeders are facing the reality of softer prices coupled with a sharply volatile grain complex during the summer. In the absence of price protection, that could make for some ugly closeouts. Just how quickly that influence will translate upstream into the feeder market is the question....More

It’s well known that many beef cattle living at high altitudes are afflicted with pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, and that these animals are at risk of dying from congestive heart failure if they are not moved to lower altitudes and medically treated. The health issue is commonly called brisket disease because fluid often collects in the lower chest cavities of cattle affected, swelling the brisket area....More

Jim Jenkins had a problem. Right there underfoot. Actually, it was under the feet of 4,000 yearlings that were tromping a lot of dried distillers grains (DDGs) into the ground as they jostled for position after the feed wagon went by....More

Today’s cattle rustlers usually aren’t as bold as the gun-slingers of the Old West; you can’t hang them from the nearest tree, either. In fact, Rodger Huffman, Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) livestock inspection and predator control programs manager, says few cattle thieves these days ever stand trial. “More often than not, the victims know the people stealing from them – relatives, neighbors or hired help; they are typically not random thefts,” he says...More

Grass tetany goes by many names – grass staggers, milk tetany, wheat pasture poisoning, and barley poisoning, to name a few. Just as varied as its name has been the speculation as to the cause of this condition. Grass tetany affects mature cattle that graze lush forage following the freezing of early-spring pastures or the sudden growth after rainfall following a drought. The condition mostly occurs in the eastern U.S. in areas with cool-season grasses....More

“It doesn’t matter how much the cattle gain, what you buy them for or how good a veterinarian you are. If your cattle get out and you don’t have insurance, you can lose everything you’ve spent years building,” says Todd Rose of Rose Law Firm, Paris, TN. He's tried more than 150 jury trials in Tennessee and the Southeast, many of them involving catastrophic injury. He spoke at the recent Mid-South Stocker Conference....More