Weaning of spring-born calves has occurred for many cow calf producers. Right after weaning is a good time to analyze the business and see what it cost to produce a pound of weaned calf.
Cow costs and thus the cost to produce a weaned calf have shot up over the last 15 years. From 1987 to 2001, t Continue reading…
The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder, and cheatgrass is starting to emerge from the soil. As fall begins, another generation of cheatgrass begins to take over roadsides, rangeland, and farmland across Nebraska.
Cheatgrass, a native of parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe, began Continue reading…
Many parts of Nebraska have recently had at least one night of below freezing temperatures. In some areas, temperatures have warmed back up and the sorghums have begun to regrow. The hydrocyanic acid (or prussic acid) in this new growth can be highly toxic to grazing cattle.
Prussic acid toxicity Continue reading…
Gases produced during manure decomposition can build up in confined spaces and be released in deadly concentrations during agitation and pumping of slurry pits and removal of bedded-pack manure. Recent deaths of cattle in the Midwest have been attributed to lethal concentrations of hydrogen sulfide Continue reading…
“The future ain’t what it used to be!” This quote by the late Yogi Berra rightly applies to the cattle business today. Market movement to the downside in the last two years has dramatically changed financial circumstances for cattle producers. These changes in market value are having an impact on Continue reading…
I just got the forage test results back from the lab and the nitrate score was 3,000. Am I in trouble?
Every year I get multiple questions similar to this one. Unfortunately, with just this information I’m unable to give a useful answer. So – the first question I ask is “Was this reported as nit Continue reading…
Nebraska Dairy Extension is hosting a Calf Rearing Workshop for Dairy and Beef Production in November – one workshop, two locations. The cost is only $30/person. This one day workshop will be held in two locations so you can attend the location that best fits your needs. Materials, lunch and refres Continue reading…