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Updated: 48 min 46 sec ago

New Extension Land Link Program Connects Land Seekers with Retiring Landowners

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 13:57
Monday, March 1, 2021

A new Nebraska Extension program will work to connect new and beginning farmers and ranchers with retiring landowners who are interested in transitioning their land to a new owner.

Nebraska Land Link is now accepting applications from interested land seekers and landowners, with the goal of providing land access using lease agreements, lease-to-own arrangements, buy-sell arrangements or other creative methods that are mutually beneficial for both parties.

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Nebraska Extension to Host Beefwatch Webinar Series on Drought Management

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 10:32
Monday, March 1, 2021

In March, the BeefWatch Webinar series will focus on planning for and managing during a drought. Each session will feature industry experts and plenty of opportunity to interact to get your questions answered. More information about the BeefWatch Webinar Series can be found on our webpage: https://beef.unl.edu/beefwatch-webinar-series

Each webinar is free and will begin at 8:00 PM Central Time.

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Managing Postpartum Anestrus in Beef Cows for a Successful Breeding Season

Mon, 02/22/2021 - 16:55
Monday, March 1, 2021

As calving season is kicking off for many producers, we need to start thinking about how to manage cows during the early postpartum phase for a successful breeding season. Due to calving distribution, one thing to worry about is late calving cows and how limited breeding season lengths can be challenging for them. Therefore, effective planning for reproductive health and limiting the impact of anestrus will ensure that cows are set up for the breeding season.

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Will Record Cold Temperatures Bring Bigger Calf Birthweights?

Mon, 02/22/2021 - 14:44
Monday, March 1, 2021

The relationship between average daily air temperatures during the last trimester a cow is pregnant and calf birthweights has been documented in research done by the University of Nebraska from 1992-1998 (Climate Affects Calf Birth Weights and Calving Difficulty).

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2021 Feedlot Roundtable Webinars

Wed, 02/17/2021 - 11:45
Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Beef feedlot managers, owners, employees and allied industries will learn new information related to feedlot management at Nebraska Extension’s 2021 Beef Feedlot Roundtables via webinar in February and March.

“We are hoping feedyard employees and managers find useful information here to use in their own operations and can find a flexible time one of these two weeks to join us,” said Galen Erickson, beef feedlot nutrition specialist. “These will replace our in-person meetings we normally provide across the state annually in February.”

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Grazing and Forage Management During and After Drought

Fri, 02/05/2021 - 13:42
Monday, February 8, 2021

Winter is a good time of year to begin making grazing and forage plans for the upcoming season. Of course, there can be a tremendous amount of uncertainty on what type of growing conditions we will see in the spring and summer. This is especially true if we had droughty conditions the previous summer or little fall and winter precipitation.

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Will Seasonality Patterns for Beef Export Sales and Commitments Hold in 2021?

Fri, 01/29/2021 - 11:27
Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Trade occurs when price differences between the two locations are large enough after accounting for transportation cost, exchange rates, tariffs, etc. Exports vary throughout the year since prices reflect current and future supply and demand situations. Seasonality in cattle production, meat demand, and market disruptions are some examples of why wholesale beef prices increase and decrease within a year.

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Calving Management and Reducing Calf Losses in Beef Herds

Fri, 01/29/2021 - 10:19
Monday, February 1, 2021 Factors Causing Calving Difficulty Spanish: 

How Valuabull?

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 19:24
Monday, February 1, 2021

The spring bull sale season is underway.  Catalogs are being studied, EPDs and individual animal performance numbers are being compared, and choices are being made as to which bulls will be the next herd sires. One of the primary drivers in the choice of which bull will be bought is the bull’s price. The perceived breeding value and the expected value of a bull’s offspring are evaluated by the potential purchaser and compared to the bull’s price. As long as the perceived value the bull is expected to bring to the operation exceeds the bull’s cost then the bidding continues.

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How Valuabull?

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 19:23
Monday, February 1, 2021

The spring bull sale season is underway.  Catalogs are being studied, EPDs and individual animal performance numbers are being compared, and choices are being made as to which bulls will be the next herd sires. One of the primary drivers in the choice of which bull will be bought is the bull’s price. The perceived breeding value and the expected value of a bull’s offspring are evaluated by the potential purchaser and compared to the bull’s price. As long as the perceived value the bull is expected to bring to the operation exceeds the bull’s cost then the bidding continues.

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Managing for Heterogeneity on Rangelands in the Nebraska Sandhills

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 16:57
Monday, February 1, 2021

The Nebraska Sandhills is one of the most intact grasslands in the Great Plains of North America. The topography and soil substrate of the Sandhills has limited farming development and allowed for this region to be one of the prime native working landscapes for cattle production in the United States. While range managers use the Sandhill’s nutrient rich forage for grazing to support livestock, pride is also taken in the abundant wildlife and plant habitat this ecosystem provides.

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Sandhills Rangeland Monitoring Cooperative (SRMC) Hosts Rangeland Monitoring Webinar February 25th

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 16:39
Monday, February 1, 2021

The SRMC is a collaborative project between UNL Extension, USDA-NRCS, and cattle producers in the Sandhills of Nebraska. The SRMC conducts and evaluates monitoring data on a growing number of ranches in the Nebraska Sandhills, connecting ranchers, range managers, scientists, and the public in a network of knowledge exchange relating to rangeland health and management.

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Improvements to Livestock Risk Protection Insurance Implemented in January 2021.

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 14:12
Monday, February 1, 2021

After remaining relatively unchanged since inception in 2002, several enhancements and improvements to the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance program have taken place over the last 18 months.  Several changes that affect the cattle industry took effect on January 20, 2021.

They include:

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Winter Interseeding Legumes

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 13:59
Monday, February 1, 2021

From a forage perspective, winter is typically a time for using the resources we have on hand and planning ahead to next year’s growing season.  However, there may be some opportunity to take this time to improve your pasture with some alternative legume seeding options.

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Calving Season – Not the Time to Skimp on Nutrition

Wed, 01/27/2021 - 11:34
Monday, February 1, 2021

The 2020 drought across the Great Plains has made hay scarce for many producers. Additionally, the pandemic has affected oil prices which in turn has impacted ethanol production and subsequently reduced the supply of distillers grains, a supplementation staple for many beef producers in the region. This tight feed supply may have resulted in pregnant cows entering the calving season with little to no extra body condition reserves.

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February 2021 Beefwatch Webinar Series Registration Now Open

Wed, 01/20/2021 - 09:02
Wednesday, January 20, 2021

The BeefWatch Webinar Series is designed to highlight management strategies in grazing, nutrition, reproduction, and economics to increase cow/calf and stocker production efficiency and profitability. Each session will feature industry experts and plenty of opportunity to interact to get your questions answered. More information about the BeefWatch Webinar Series can be found on our webpage: https://beef.unl.edu/beefwatch-webinar-series.

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The New Face at Nebraska BQA

Thu, 12/24/2020 - 10:54
Friday, January 1, 2021 Spanish: 

The Likelihood of Regional Triggers Under the Industry’s Proposed '75% Rule'

Thu, 12/24/2020 - 09:45
Friday, January 1, 2021

This article was first published by In the Cattle Markets.

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Unit Cost of Production Workshop Valentine, Nebraska February 3 and 4

Tue, 12/22/2020 - 09:17
Friday, January 1, 2021

A two-day workshop this February will provide hands-on learning for cow-calf producers to learn how to calculate unit cost of production (UCOP). The meeting will take place February 3 and 4 (Wednesday and Thursday) at the Niobrara Lodge, 803 E Highway 20, Valentine, NE, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. CST.

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Annual Cow Costs – The Big Three

Tue, 12/22/2020 - 09:14
Friday, January 1, 2021

When looking at annual cow costs and doing an economic analysis, three categories tend to make up the largest percentage of total costs:  feed, labor/equipment and cow depreciation.  Other expenses occur, such as breeding expense and veterinary costs, but they tend to be significantly less than the “Big Three.” To conduct an economic analysis, break the ranch into enterprises to understand where value is being created and costs are occurring. Land ownership, hay production, cow-calf and replacement heifer development are four of the major enterprises on many ranches.

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