Nebraska Extension Offering Land Application Training in January and February
Livestock producers with livestock waste control facility permits received or renewed since April 1998 must be certified, and farms must complete an approved training every five years.
Spanish:UNL Beef Roundup Webinars January 21 and 28
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New Cow-Calf Budgets Available for Nebraska
As a part of the UNL multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative and a complementary project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), five geographically identified Nebraska producer panels were formed to provide input and feedback on University research and extension projects involving integrated beef systems. These panels have met a combined eight times over the last two years. One of the tasks being worked on is the development of representative cow-calf enterprise budgets for typical cow-calf herds in different geographic regions across the state.
Spanish:Burning Your Bottom Line: How Hot Hay Changes Forage Quality
Hay put up too wet can lead to a number of issues, most notably mold and heat. Moisture keeps otherwise dormant microbes and fungi active, decreasing forage quality and creating heat. Too much heat can actually create a risk of combustion.
Spanish:Manure: Waste or Valuable Agricultural Resource?
Stories about manure often illustrate two opposing sentiments. Is manure a “Waste” that pollutes our water resources and creates undesirable nuisances for communities? Or, is manure a “Resource” that reduces the demand for importing greenhouse gas intensive inorganic fertilizers and improves the health of our soils?
Spanish:West Central Cattlemen’s Day Series Offered at Seven Locations
Nebraska Extension will be hosting a series of winter meetings for cattle producers in seven locations across western Nebraska. The program is designed to help producers evaluate management practices that could improve their bottom line. Extension Specialists and Educators will discuss a variety of topics including heifer development, nutritional considerations during cold weather, benchmarking and measuring costs, considerations for retained ownership, parasite control, and more.
Dates and locations include:
Spanish:Differences Between High-, Medium-, and Low-Profit Cow-Calf Producers: An Analysis of 2014-2018 Kansas Farm Management Association Cow-Calf Enterprise – A Review
This study by Whitney Bowman, Dustin L. Pendell Ph.D. and Kevin L. Herbel can be found at the Kansas State University AgManager.info website. Review and summary by Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Educator.
Spanish:Use the Numbers (correctly) this Bull Sale Season
This bull sale season, profit-minded cattle producers will utilize expected progeny differences (EPD) and economic selection indices when selecting their next group of bulls. These tools are far more accurate at predicting the average difference in offspring than visual appraisal or actual weights. This is beyond contestation.
Spanish:Considerations for Temporary Fence Around Cropland
Cattle Risk Management Workshop Offered on December 9, 2019
Nebraska Extension will be hosting a risk management workshop for cattle producers on Monday, December 9, 2019 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. CT at the Tumbleweed Cafe meeting room. Cattle producers will learn strategies designed to reduce risk exposure to achieve a profitable outcome in uncertain times. Topics covered during the workshop include marketing tools available to protect against unfavorable price declines, programs for protecting against weather related forage losses, and current issues facing the cattle industry.
Spanish:“Know Your Numbers, Know Your Options”
Making decisions for your farm and ranch can be stressful. However, having good financial records can help make the decision making process easier.
Spanish:2019 Women Managing Agricultural Land Conference
Female agriculture landowners, farmers and ranchers, and industry professionals looking to increase their business management skills are encouraged to register for the 2019 Women Managing Agricultural Land conference. The conference will be held Dec. 11 at Nebraska Innovation Campus, 2021 Transformation Drive in Lincoln.
Spanish:Improving the Bottom-line of Breeding: Three State Beef Conference
In a joint effort, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa Extension are hosting three meetings to address how to set up an economical and successful breeding season. The registration fee is $25 per person. It includes a meal and a copy of the conference proceedings.
Presentations include:
Pre-calving nutritional strategies: Am I staying ahead or getting behind?
Dr. Travis Mulliniks, Range Cow Nutritionist, University of Nebraska
Do Your Herd and Your Bank Account a Favor - Test Your Hay!
Every year I get calls for help with balancing rations and most don’t have a hay analysis. All hay of the same species is NOT created equal. For instance, smooth bromegrass hay can range from 48 to 58% total digestible nutrients (TDN) with crude protein (CP) ranging from 6 to 11% CP. This can be the difference between a growing heifer losing 0.25 lb/d or gaining 0.37 lb/d. If you were targeting the heifer gaining 1 lb/d you would need to supplement between 1.5 and 3 lb/d of dried distillers to reach this goal.
Spanish:Early Low Temperatures May Impact Sugar Beet Quality
Temperatures dropping below 15 degrees in early October may have put some sugar beets in western Nebraska at risk of decaying at the crown. When decay begins in the beet before it can be processed, it makes the beet unacceptable for sugar production for human consumption.
Spanish:Are You a Great Person to Work For?
In a recent conversation with a ranch owner, he said they were once again looking for an employee for their operation. It was also mentioned that employee resignations seem to be a pattern. He then said, almost tongue in cheek, “I couldn’t be part of the problem with this situation, could I?”
Spanish:Soybean Stubble for Cows
After soybeans are harvested, cows sometimes are put out on the residues to graze. Some bean residues are even baled. But how good is this feed?
We’re all familiar with the usefulness of grazing corn stalks, but I see more and more residue from soybean fields grazed every year. Cows seem to like licking up what’s left behind after combining. But frankly, I’m a little concerned that some folks may think their cows are getting more from those soybean residues than what truly is there.
Spanish:Manure Transfer from Permitted Livestock Operations
Timing Manure Application to Avoid Neighbor Nuisances
Helping Cows Cope with Cold Stress
Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement and can pull down her body condition. We think many cow/calf producers experienced this last year. While we don’t know what mother nature has in store for us this year, it is good to think ahead and have a plan. A good start is to evaluate body condition score (BCS) now, and if cows are not at a 5 to 5.5 BCS, then taking steps to improve BCS before cold weather hits can help reduce the impacts of cold weather on the cows.
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