In case you missed it, the recording of the 2024 Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Lecture by Peer Ederer, Founder and Director of the Global Observatory for Accurate Livestock Sciences is now available. His talk was entitled Scientific Evidence Behind the Role of Livestock and Meat Production in a Global Society
Continue reading “Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Lecture”
Jason Warner, extension cow-calf specialist
Fall is a wonderful season for agriculture and a time to, hopefully, reap the bounty of the year’s production. With grain harvest, weaning calves, and pregnancy checking all in full swing, combine that with a little Wildcat football and volleyball and there’s no shortage of things to do. If producers have access to crop residue fields following grain harvest, then preparing to turn cattle out to graze such acres is one task that deserves to be near the top of the priority list. Grain sorghum or milo residue represents an excellent opportunity to extend the grazing season into the winter thereby reducing the need to feed harvested forages. However, there are several important management considerations that need to be kept in mind with grazing sorghum residue. Continue reading “Making the Most of Grazing Grain Sorghum Residue”
By Gregg Hanzlicek, DVM, Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
In a 2017 USDA NAHMS survey, cow-calf producers were asked about their knowledge of Johne’s disease. Over 70% reported “never hearing of it” or “recognized the name, but not much else”. Veterinarians have been discussing Johne’s disease with dairy producers for many years. This is not true concerning cow-calf producers.
Johne’s disease (pronounced Yo-knees) was first discovered in the U.S. in 1908. It is caused by a bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, known as MAP. In cattle and small ruminants, this organism causes chronic, non-treatable bowel disease. Continue reading “Johne’s Disease: No Longer Just a Dairy Disease!”
by Justin Waggoner, KSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Garden City, KS
Body Condition Scoring is one of the most valuable management tools at the disposal of the cattle manager. The number associated with a condition score gives us a direct indication of a cow’s previous plane of nutrition and future
reproductive capability. Although the individual body condition scores are important. We don’t manage individual cows, we manage groups of cows. Thus, it is important for us to look beyond the individual scores and look at the distribution of body condition scores within the herd. Continue reading “Body Condition Scoring — A Herd Management Tool”
by Justin Waggoner, KSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Garden City, KS
The most commonly recognized leadership styles are authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire. However, there may be seven to 12 different leadership styles that include styles such as transformational, transactional, servant, charismatic, and situational. Although some of these leadership styles are unique, there is also some degree of similarities or overlap as well and in some situations, a leader may change their leadership styles to fit the situation (situational). The concept of situational leadership was first recognized by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard (author of the “One Minute Manager”).
They recognized that successful leaders often adapted their leadership style or styles to the individual or group they were leading. Collectively these different leadership styles remind us that not all leaders lead the same way and some leaders even change leadership styles. There is no one way to lead, motivate and inspire individuals or groups to succeed.
Leadership is complex and we still have a lot to learn about leadership.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu
by Justin Waggoner, KSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Garden City, KS
One of the greatest challenges cattle producers often experience during weaning is getting newly weaned calves to consume feed in bunk. Unfortunately, successfully addressing this challenge is essential to success. Simply stated,
“Cattle that don’t eat don’t perform.” Preparing calves, understanding how much dry feed calves will likely consume and developing a feeding strategy/plan is one of the best ways to ensure success in the weaning pen.
Feeding both cows and calves a small amount of the supplement or weaning ration prior to weaning, in the weaning pen or pasture can be used help acclimate calves to both the feeds and the environment. Additionally, feed intake of weaned
calves is often low (1.0 to 1.5% of bodyweight, dry basis) immediately following weaning. Calves also have relatively high nutrient requirements. Thus, the weaning diet must be nutrient dense to meet the nutrient requirements of the calves at the expected intakes previously mentioned. Unfortunately, the dry feeds calves are often most familiar with (typically grass hays) are not necessarily nutrient dense. At the K-State Agriculture Research Center, Hays, KS, a feeding
management protocol for weaning calves has been developed that works well for transitioning weaned calves to a total mixed ration. The protocol is summarized in the table below. Essentially, high-quality grass hay and the weaning ration
are offered each at 0.5% of the calves’ current bodyweight, dry basis, on the day of weaning. The weaning ration is placed in the bottom of the bunk and the hay is placed on top. The amount the weaning ration is steadily increased, while the
amount of hay offered remains constant. In addition, on day 4 the hay is placed on the bottom of the bunk. Over a period of 7-10 days the dry intake of the calves is steadily increased and should reach approximately 2.2-2.5% of the calves bodyweight by 10-14 days following weaning.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu
by Justin Waggoner, KSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Garden City, KS
Good customer service is essential to any business or organization. It does not matter if it is a restaurant or a tow truck service, having staff members that leave customers or anyone that encounters your business with that “wow that was great” feeling directly influences the bottom line. Customer service has become more important than ever as consumers are now gathering information and making purchasing decisions based on the experiences of others reviews. Continue reading “Customer Service Matters”
Cassandra Olds, extension entomologist
As we move into the latter part of the growing season, it is time to consider late summer and fall pests as well as your plans for next year. Both stable and horn fly populations tend to decline over the dry, hot part of summer but can resurge in late summer into fall if sufficient rainfall occurs. Continue reading “Late summer and fall insect pest control in cattle and horses”
Jenny Ifft, Agricultural Policy Extension Specialist
Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) insurance is a tool for managing rainfall or drought risk. While individual producer experience varies, PRF has made substantial payouts during drought years. In 2023, producers paid an average premium of $5.11 per acre and received an average payout of $10.06 per acre. The deadline to sign up for PRF insurance for the 2025 calendar year with a crop insurance agent is December 1, 2024. Some producers may be concerned about the degree to which PRF will cover actual forage losses on their operation. This article summarizes these concerns and two approaches to considering them. Continue reading “Forage Risk Management and PRF Insurance”
AJ Tarpoff, DVM, Extension Veterinarian
Feedlot congestive heart failure (CHF) has been recognized as a growing threat to our feedlot industry. It is important to differentiate this condition from other known causes of heart failure in cattle. Congestive heart failure is a non-infectious condition that occurs at low to moderate elevation (separating it from traditional high-altitude disease) and has observable signs such as edema (fluid) build up in the brisket area, jugular vein distension, abdominal swelling, difficulty breathing, sway back, and abducted elbows. This condition is considered 100% fatal. Continue reading “Feedlot Heart Failure: Where are we, and what have we learned?”
