BeefTalk: The Stress and Strength of the Prairie
Beef production on the prairie takes place within an environment that is not always kind. In fact, the prairie environment might aptly be described as harsh.
Producer expectations do not always hold up, stressing us to the point that our joy of life may be compromised in our misery. In the end, we need to survive the stress to get to our strengths.
Angus Association Issues Research Update on Hydrocephalus
Jonathan E. Beever, Ph.D.
Earlier this year the American Angus Association, via Dr. Steffen at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, posted a request for reporting of calves having a phenotype referred to as hydrocephalus. As Dr. Steffen described in the request, these calves have a severe phenotype that includes an extremely large cranium with little or no brain and spinal cord present. Prior to the posting of this request, 15 calves matching this phenotype had been submitted. Since that request, there has been continued reporting of additional calves.
Importance of calving distribution and planning for synchronization
Ivan G. Rush
Tri State Livestock News
I hope everyone is braving the late winter weather as well as possible. I know conditions are really tough in much of the northern high plains causing stress on cows, calves and people. I am always hesitant to discuss calf losses due to blizzards as I am fearful someone that is not familiar with the cattle industry or those that are opposed to our industry, will pick up those comments and exploit them as “see those cattlemen are not caring for their cattle.”
Montana horse bill vetoed
Cattle Business Weekly
Montana’s Governor Brian Schweitzer has vetoed a bill that would encourage the horse processing industry to establish itself in the state.
HB 418 prohibits Montana courts from granting injunctions to stop or delay horse processing plant construction based on permit or licensing challenges, or on environmental grounds.
Strategies of supplementation
We have discussed in this column supplementation strategies and how to determine if the diet is deficient in protein, energy, minerals, etc. As producers strive to keep input costs in check, there may be some ways to continue to attack fuel and labor costs that are related to the nutrition program. How you deliver a supplement, especially if the diet is deficient in protein, may lead to a reduction in input costs.
More questions than answers surround area cattle deaths
Tri State Livestock News
The first cows started dying Feb. 28 on Avery and Elizabeth May’s ranch on Potato Creek east of Kyle, SD.
In the weeks that followed, more cows dropped dead, without first showing any obvious symptoms. Most of them were big, healthy cows, Avery said. “There’s no warning,” Elizabeth said. “They just drop.”
Challenges of a rural vet
Dr. Shelley Lenz, owner of the Killdeer Veterinary Clinic in Killdeer, N.D., refuses to be typecast into the role of overworked, underpaid rural veterinarian.