Feed aggregator

Sunday, October 1, 2023

In 2017, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) and Nebraska Extension made a commitment to implement a multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative (BSI) to develop and support implementation of beef production systems in Nebraska. In addition to the BSI, a parallel project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) implemented a study of the best practices for incorporating beef cattle onto cropping systems while improving ecosystem services to ensure sustainability.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Calves with blemishes are usually cut off when taken to a sale barn and sold for a reduced price.  What can a producer do with these calves to add value? 

First, let’s look at what determines price.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

This article was first published by "In the Cattle Markets" in September 2023.

The annual fall feeder run is about to begin. Given cattle prices, forage conditions, and the economy the question of whether heifers will be retained to rebuild the beef cow herd remains uncertain. Consider these factors that give pause to whether this expansion will occur with as much momentum we might think. Continue reading on the Center for Ag Profitability website.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Manure stockpiles must be built following some regulations, but where those regulations end, manners should remain. I suspect that just about everyone reading this article has been told on more than one occasion, “Mind your manners!” Or, perhaps as a parent, it’s this very simple instruction that you now give to your kids as they head out the door to spend time with someone outside the household. Continue reading on the UNL Water website.

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In a dry edible bean plot at the UNL PREEC Mitchell Lab, Maria Alvarado, UNL graduate student, left, Kainyon Tay, head of the legume program in Chile, and Carlos Urrea, UNL dry bean breeder, look for desirable bean plants. (Photo by Chabella Guzman) Continuing international collaborations on dry bean genetic research, UNL's Carlos Urrea hand-selects quality dry bean plants during harvest in Nebraska to send to researchers across the world for cross-breeding.

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Wildfires affect America’s farm and ranches, damaging and destroying homes, barns, agriculture production facilities, crops, and livestock.  Below are some tips to help avoid or minimize fire damage to your property.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Would you like to grow your grass knowledge and better understand range and pasture resources? Nebraska Extension will host a six-session webinar series on Monday and Thursday evenings beginning October 3 through November 9 from 7:30 - 8:45 p.m. CT that will explain the basics of knowing, growing and grazing grass. 

Topics will include:

•           Identifying key grass species you want more of in your pastures.

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By the close of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, USDA, through the delivery of FSA programs, will have invested more than $19 billion in America’s agricultural producers with more economic support on the way in fiscal year 2024. This week, FSA will issue more than $581 million in 2021 and 2022 drought and wildfire emergency relief to eligible ranchers, and $1.17 billion in crop disaster assistance.

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Producers that attended the Nebraska Grazing Conference (NGC) August 8-9, in Kearny, NE. may have noticed a difference from previous proceedings. This year “TechCorner” was added to the exhibition, highlighting new and emerging products in precision livestock management (PLM) such as virtual fencing, data management software and smart water monitoring. In addition to PLM exhibitors, Wednesday morning’s programs were focused primarily on precision grazing management, of which the virtual fencing (VF) technologies were spotlighted in presentations and panelist discussion.

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Partnering with Nebraska On-Farm Research Network, North Platte farmer Cameron Kolling is conducting research this year on interseeding a variety of cover crops in corn.

Soy2023, the Biennial Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Soybean Conference, was held Aug. 10-13 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over 160 scientists from national and international public and private sector institutions gathered to exchange ideas and research outcomes, and to share this information with soybean growers for improved production practices.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln team working on the MICRA project includes (from left) Taro Mieno, agricultural economics; Daniel Schachtman, agronomy and horticulture; Saleh Taghvaeian, biological systems engineering; and Seunghee Kim, civil engineering. (Photo by Nick Kumpula, Research and Economic Development) The research team will experiment with soil amendments and biochar to measure their impact on soil water-holding capacity to find ways to improve preservation of soil moisture in farm fields.

Historical potato production reports for Nebraska are available at USDA. Nebraska's potato production in 2022 was up 4% from the previous year, and acreage also increased by 5%.

When it comes to stalks residue, grain sorghum stover will retain nutrient grazing value longer than corn, so prioritize grazing corn residue first to achieve optimum nutrition. Extension educators review important factors to consider when entering a land lease agreement, overgrazing pastures in preparation for interseeding legumes, and using drought-stressed crop residue as a feed source.

In the final week of this series, let’s look at “change” as the central piece that brings everything together and gives meaning and purpose to the rest of the C’s.

Change is often the primary goal of leadership—to make the world (or at least your little corner of it) a better place. What usually sparks change is the feeling that something needs to be done, that things aren’t working as well as they should by just following what we’ve done in the past.

The Soil Health Exchange is a new discussion forum, designed to give producers and ag stakeholders an avenue for direct communication with some of Nebraska's leading soil health experts for help with their soil health concerns, interpreting test reports and more. The Soil Health Exchange is a new discussion forum designed to give producers and ag stakeholders an avenue for direct communication with some of Nebraska's leading soil health experts for help with soil health concerns, interpreting test reports and more.

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Cattle prices have responded to lower cattle inventory.  If you are keeping up with cattle production news media, nearly every week, someone declares how much feeder calf prices have increased since last year.  Sales of 500- to 600-cwt feeder calves are getting close to $300/cwt.  Expecting a gross revenue of $1,600 or more for feeder steer calves this fall is not out of the question.  Yet, with increasing costs of maintaining a cow, some cow-calf producers may wonder:  to increase revenue in 2023, is it worth it to retain calves for feeding during a backgrounding o

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

As we near the feedlot fall run, and cattle are newly received into the feedlot, there are key considerations to keep in mind to achieve best cattle performance. The goal of a receiving strategy is to make the transition from calf origin into the feedlot or backgrounding yard as seamless as possible. The first 14 days upon feedlot arrival are critical in calf development and set the performance trajectory of the calf for the remainder of the feeding period. The main goal at receiving is to help with any bovine respiratory disease (BRD) concerns and improve upon the health of the calf.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Grain production regions allow cattle producers to harvest grain crops as grain (dry or high moisture) or green chop to be preserved as silage for cattle feeding (feed crop).  Corn grain production is particularly well suited for this purpose.  Harvesting the ears and shank (earlage) or husk, grain, cob, and shank (snaplage) represent options intermediate to harvesting grain or chopping the whole plant. 

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Stockmanship and low-stress cattle handling is a topic that receives a lot of attention. Even the latest report of the National Beef Quality Audit (2022) identifies cattle handling as an area for “focused improvement,” due in part to the persistence of bruising.

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