By Gregg Hanzlicek, DVM, Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
Vitamin A deficiency can present with many different clinical signs, but the most common signs are weak or stillborn calves. In this article, we will discuss some possible reasons why this may occur in our spring-calving beef herds. Continue reading “Vitamin A: A major player in stillborn and weak calf syndromes”
By Keith Harmoney, range scientist, Hays
I was recently asked how the drought of 2022 will affect forage growth in 2023 and how drought-stricken pastures should be managed during the fall and winter prior to next growing season. These questions point me to results of a grazing study during the driest year on record at the KSU Agricultural Research Center at Hays in 1956. Looking back at 1956 and nearly 80 years of grazing studies to date, the stocking rate study being conducted that year also produced the lowest pasture yields that have been recorded at the Research Center.
In fact, grazing animals were removed in August of 1956 from the high stocking rate treatment of the study because animals simply did not have enough forage left in pastures to graze through October, the time that animals were supposed to be removed according to the study protocol. The heavy stocking rate pasture was essentially a tabletop. However, the driest year on record at Hays in 1956 was followed the next year in 1957 by an above average season of precipitation. In 1957, all of the pastures of the different stocking rate treatments in the study responded with above treatment average forage production from the above average precipitation, even in the heavy stocked pastures.
Continue reading “Learning from droughts in the 1930s and ’50s”
By Jennifer Ifft, agricultural policy extension specialist
On October 18, 2022, nearly two-thirds of all Kansas counties were reported as experiencing extreme or exceptional drought. Cattle producers can take many actions to mitigate the impact of drought, including purchasing forage insurance, or Pasture, Rainfall, Forage (PRF) insurance. The deadline to purchase PRF for 2023 is December 1, 2022, but the premium would not be billed until September 23, 2023. In this article, we discuss the what PRF is and report PRF payouts to-date by drought status for all 105 Kansas counties. In 2022, nearly 2.9 million acres were enrolled in PRF in Kansas; USDA reported 15.6 million acres of pastureland in Kansas in 2017. PRF premiums for 2022 totaled about $14 million and PRF has already paid out over $20 million in indemnities.
Calf Management
Wean calves:
Weigh all calves individually. Allows for correct sorting, herd culling, growing programs, replacement heifer selection, and marketing plans.
Participate in Whole Herd Rewards, Performance Plus, and(or) other ranch record/performance systems.
Finalize plans to merchandise calves or to background through yearling or finishing programs.
Select replacement heifers which are:
Vaccinate replacement heifers with first round of viral vaccines.
Plan replacement heifer nutrition program so that heifers will be at their “target weight” (65% of their mature weight)
by the start of the breeding season.
Forage/Pasture Management
Observe pasture weed problems to aid in planning control methods needed next spring.
Monitor grazing conditions and rotate pastures if possible and(or) practical.
Plan winter nutritional program through pasture and forage management.
For stocker cattle and replacement heifers, supplement maturing grasses with an acceptable degradable intake protein/ionophore (feed additive) type supplement.
General Management
Avoid unnecessary stress. Handle cows and calves to reduce shrink, sustain good health, and minimize sickness.
Analyze forage for nitrate and nutrient content. Use these to develop winter feeding programs.
Repair, replace, and improve facilities.
Plan your marketing program, including private treaty, consignment sales, test stations, production sales, etc.
Objective: To determine the growing calf response when fed Enogen Feed corn silage containing an alpha amylase expression trait.
Study Description: Crossbred steers of Tennessee origin (n = 352) were used to determine the effects on performance when fed Enogen Feed corn silage with either Enogen Feed corn or control corn at ad libitum intake. Continue reading “Syngenta Enogen Feed Corn Silage Containing an Alpha Amylase Expression Trait Improves Feed Efficiency in Growing Calf Diets”
Objective: To evaluate the effect of two implants that have different lengths of effective use on stocker cattle gains within an intensive early double-stocked native tallgrass prairie grazing system
Study description: Stocker steers (n = 281) were implanted with Revalor-G (Merck Animal Health, Madison, NJ) or Synovex One Grass (Zoetis, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI) and grazed on tallgrass native range for 90 days during the summer. The steers were individually weighed, after an overnight shrink, on the day of implanting, at midpoint of grazing, and the end of the grazing period. Total gains and average daily gain were evaluated. Continue reading “Evaluation of Two Implants for Steers on Early-Intensively Grazed Tallgrass Native Range”
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of feeding consumers of varying degree of doneness preferences steaks cooked to multiple degrees of doneness on their perceptions of beef palatability.
Study Description: Paired Low Choice frozen steaks from the posterior half of the strip loin were randomly assigned a degree of doneness of rare (140°F), medium-rare (145°F), medium (160°F), medium-well (165°F), or well-done (170°F). Consumer panelists, prescreened to participate in panels based on their degree of doneness preference, were served steak samples cooked to each of the five degrees of doneness under low-intensity red incandescent lighting to mask any degree of doneness differences among samples. Continue reading “Visual Degree of Doneness Has an Impact on Palatability Ratings of Consumers Who Had Differing Degree of Doneness Preferences”
Make plans to attend the first ever Stock Growers Field Day on Tuesday, March 26
The Stock Growers Field Day will be highlighted by a market outlook from CattleFax and by a presentation on increasing production efficiency from the well-known reproductive physiologist, Dr. Rick Funston. The field day, held in Beloit, Kansas, will be a collaboration from K-State Research and Extension, the Kansas Livestock Association, and the Kansas Bull Test.
Continue reading “Inaugural Livestock Field Day to be Hosted in North Central Kansas”
by A.J. Tarpoff DVM, MS. Beef Extension Veterinarian
Neonatal calf scours (diarrhea) is a multifactorial issue. The risk and occurrence can change year to year based on many different factors. Due to the cold, wet and windy weather of late, it sets up for some unique challenges in combating calf scours this year.
Causes
Scours can be initiated by infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and even protozoan parasites. It is important to note that most of the pathogens of concern are shed at low levels through the feces by healthy members of the resident cowherd. Continue reading “Management tips to reduce the impact of calf scours”
New Mexico and Texas will host beef cattle reproduction workshop in Ruidoso, N.M.; registration is open now.
Registration is open for the 2018 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle symposium to be hosted at the Ruidoso Convention Center, Ruidoso, N.M., Aug. 29-30. More detailed program information and online registration is available at www.appliedreprostrategies.com.