Free Farm and Ag Law Clinics Set for January
Nebraska On-Farm Research Network Meetings Begin Feb. 15
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Health Among Producers
Agriculture is a rewarding business, but it does come with stressors – weather, cattle and grain prices, debt, etc. -- that can stack on top of each other. It’s important to recognize the value a person brings to an operation compared to the markets, number of acres you own, or the number in your bank account. Farmers and ranchers tend to struggle with a lack of routine, or lack of structure that comes with the business and having to always be flexible when dealing with the unknown. Producers tend to push through these adversities without giving themselves grace.
Spanish:Calculating Annual Cow Costs Webinar Series: January 19, 26 and February 2, 9, 16, 23
Knowing annual cow costs is the foundation for evaluating and making management decisions that can improve profitability for a cow-calf enterprise. Significant increases in input costs are challenging producers to examine cost of production and identify where there may be opportunities to adjust the production system. Calculating costs and breaking them into categories gives understanding into where there may be opportunity to make changes.
Spanish:Windbreaks for Protection and Snow Diversion
Summary
Spanish:2023 Beef Feedlot Roundtable Series
The 2023 Beef Feedlot Roundtable Series is an event that you won’t want to miss! We encourage feedlot owners, managers, employees, and allied industry to join Nebraska Extension February 7-9th as we dive into a series of timely topics covering feedlot management. Highlights from the program include the use of roller compacted concrete, implications of increasing hot carcass weight, and new requirements on implanting with speakers from UNL Extension and producers.
Spanish:Translating and Applying Genomic EPDs
Expected progeny differences (EPDs) are a widely utilized tool in making genetic decisions centered around breeding objectives. With the progression of DNA technology, the industry has been able to incorporate genomics into the numbers that calculate EPDs. Prior to inclusion of genomic information, we relied on pedigree-based relationships that operate on the averages. This assumes a 50% contribution from the dam and 50% contribution from the sire. However, we know that offspring can relate more heavily to one parent or the other and that relationship varies from trait to trait.
Spanish:Summary of the Beef Heifer Replacement Forecast for 2023 Production Season
This is a summary of the sixth annual beef cow replacement value forecast for Nebraska. The entire forecast can be found at this link, and past summaries are also available on the Farm¢ents site. The information presented in the forecast is intended as a guide to modify, depending on each producer’s circumstances, expectations of future production costs, and cow and calf values.
Spanish:TDN Translation: Understanding Energy of Forages
Total digestible nutrients (TDN) are the common energy reference for both feed content and animal requirement, so how are the two connected and what can we know to better examine TDN of feedstuffs and use energy economically?
The initial measure of energy begins with gross energy (GE), which is the term for all energy contained within a feed and consumed by the animal. By subtracting all the energy that passes through to manure from GE, you get digestible energy (DE). Digestible energy is the measure of energy converted into TDN within feedstuffs.
Spanish:Cow-Calf Cost of Production Workshops to be held in the Sandhills in January and February
Two-day workshops will be held in January and February that will provide a hands-on learning experience for producers to learn how to calculate a unit cost of production for a cow-calf operation.
Having information to make effective business decisions is important for ranch success. Enterprise analysis and unit cost of production (UCOP) are tools that can help ranchers identify where value is being created on the ranch, where costs are occurring, and what changes could be made to improve profit.
Spanish:2023 Cow-Calf College Beef Seminar
The 2023 Cow-Calf College Beef Seminar is set for January 19th at the Clay County Fairgrounds in the Activities Building. Registration starts at 9:00 am with programs scheduled from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. This year’s program is focused on strategies to manage forage resources during drought, including eastern redcedar control and adjusting pasture stocking and rental rates. The hands-on format will allow participants to engage with specialists and peers throughout the day.
Spanish:2022 Year in Review
I’ve written and read many “Year in Review” columns in my career. It’s the end of the year, so it’s time for another one. This column started out in just a couple of papers at the first of the year, and now it is in several more, so you might not have seen every column this year.
Helping Cows Cope with Cold Stress
Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement and can pull down her body condition. Thin cows can result in weak calves being born in the spring and/or poor breed up. Winter storms have already swept across the Plains, giving indications this could be a long, cold winter for cows already thin due to summer drought stress.
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