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Beef Tips

Category: January 2019

K-State’s Winter Ranch Management Series Set for February

Posted on by Sandy Johnson

The seminar series will focus on management and profit strategies for beef producers and allow producers to ask questions of their local, district and state extension specialists.

 MANHATTAN, Kan. – Strategies to mitigate environmental factors impacting reproduction is the theme of the 2019 Kansas State University Winter Ranch Management Seminar Series. Hosted at four sites across the state of Kansas the meetings will feature presentations and comments by extension educators on profit-enhancing strategies. Continue reading “K-State’s Winter Ranch Management Series Set for February” →

Tally Time – Resolve to get a Personal Assistant for your Cow/Calf Operation in 2019

Posted on by Sandy Johnson

By Sandy Johnson, extension beef specialist, Colby, KS

Most of our farming and ranching enterprises would welcome a little more help from time to time.  That additional help can be hard to find or find with the skills desired.  In other cases, hiring help may put too much strain on the budget.  One-way cow/calf producers can make the time they do have go a bit further is by using an electronic personal assistant called the Management Minder.  It keeps track of key dates and activities as they relate to managing the herd and shows them to you on an electronic calendar.  Reminders automatically pop-up on your smart phone based on your inputs. There is some investment of time initially to set it up, but from that point on, it’s on the job working for you.  You can find the Management Minder at www.KSUBeef.org/managementminder. Continue reading “Tally Time – Resolve to get a Personal Assistant for your Cow/Calf Operation in 2019” →

Counting the Cost of Silage Losses in your Operation

Posted on by Sandy Johnson

By Mike Brouk, ruminant nutritionist

Silage is often the base forage for the diets of growing cattle and the cow herd.  This past year, due to the drought, thousands of acres of drought-stricken corn and sorghum were harvested as silage.  A hidden cost of silage is associated with the shrink due to fermentation, storage, and feedout.  Total shrink from harvest through feeding can result in the loss of 5 to 40% of the dry matter harvested.  This is generally a hidden cost on most operations due to the lack of accurate records to measure shrink.  However, a few basic principles can help reduce losses. Continue reading “Counting the Cost of Silage Losses in your Operation” →

Management of Mold and Quality Issues of Late-Harvested Forages

Posted on by Sandy Johnson

By Sandy Johnson, Extension Beef Specialist, Colby, Steve Ensley, DVM, K-State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, and John Holman, Agronomy, Garden City

In some areas of Kansas, summer moisture produced good tonnage of forage sorghum and other forages intended for winter livestock feeding. Heavy windrows extended drying time and some forage that was on the ground for weeks received both rain and snow. As a result, much of that forage had evidence of mold. In heavy windrows, the mold may have only been on the top and bottom of the windrow with the center well preserved. In other cases, and especially in thin windrows, the hay may be moldy throughout and the leaves and stalks nearly black. In some reports, mold was bad enough to turn equipment black during baling. Continue reading “Management of Mold and Quality Issues of Late-Harvested Forages” →