University of Nebraska Extension - Holt/Boyd News Column for the Week of February 25 2024

LaDonna Werth, Extension Educator Phone: 402-336-2760 E-mail: LWerth2@unl.edu

Helping Children Learn About Kindness

Learning to be kind and to help is important for building strong friendships. Children who have strong friendships with other children care about how they feel. They stick up for them when others tease them, and they try to make them feel better when they are hurt or sad.

Helping others is not only a key to good friendship. It is also an important social skill that will help children in all types of relationships. Even at a very early age, children can tell when others are in distress, but they still must learn how to help others. Parents and other adults can help children learn these skills.

Different kinds of helping
Children can help others in many different kinds of situations. The most common ways to help are those that take place every day. Children can learn to give praise when others do well and thank them when they help. They can also encourage others and take an interest in what other children are doing. All of these kinds of help take place as a part of daily life.

Other kinds of help may not be needed every day, but it is always important for children to learn what to do in these situations. When a child is being teased or yelled at, others should step in and stick up for the child or suggest doing something else. When another child is sad or lonely, helpful children will try to comfort the sad one by thinking of something to do or talking about times when they too were unhappy. Children can help others in many ways, and learning how to help will make them feel better about themselves and build stronger ties with friends.

Learning to put yourself in others’ shoes
It is critical for children to learn how to put themselves in someone else’s shoes if they are going to learn to help others. During the school-age years, children can begin to see things from another person’s point of view. They begin to understand that others may not view things just as they do, and they can think about how they would feel if they were in that person’s situation. Picking up on how others may be thinking and feeling allows children to understand how others might need help. For example, when a child sees another child get hurt, he or she can think about how it would hurt and understand the need for help.

In our daily lives, we can encourage children to care about others’ feelings and thoughts by helping them think about how they might feel in a certain situation. When we see people in real life or in books and on television going through good and bad situations, ask children to pay attention to how others are feeling and thinking. For example, when someone gets hurt on television, we can ask, “How do you think that person is feeling?” and “What is he or she thinking about?” These questions focus the child’s attention on how others feel and think. Also, when children talk about school or the playground, about who pushed who or who got in trouble, ask them to think about how those children must feel and what they might be thinking. Learning how to put themselves in others’ shoes and imagining how they are thinking and feeling is an important first step in learning to help others.

Teaching helping
Parents and adults can help children learn about helping others in many ways. In general, you can let them know how important it is to help. When others are unhappy or in trouble, talk about it with your children. For example, if there is a news story about someone in an accident or someone who is hungry or homeless, talk about why it is important to help these people. Children’s values come from the values they hear from others.

Children also learn how to help by doing what they see adults do. When you as an adult help someone, you can make a point of showing the child how it works when someone is helpful. For example, a little brother or sister might fall down and start crying. As you help, talk about how you understand that the child is hurt. Explain your own feelings of distress at seeing someone else hurt. And as you comfort the crying child, talk about the good feelings you have when you can make others feel better. By sharing your thoughts and feelings, children can both see and hear about your kindness, and they will have a better idea about how to help. You may want children to pay special attention to everyday situations where other children are crying, frustrated, or lonely. These are important times to help.

You can also teach children how to help by telling them how good they are when they are helpful. When children show care or have ideas about helping others, take note of it. You might say something like, “You are being a big help to your little brother today,” or “You’re really helpful to our family.” By praising children when they help, we teach them how important it is to be helpful and how others notice it.

Children also learn about helping by taking care of others. When children have a chance to look after younger brothers and sisters or to help other playmates, they get good practice in helping. School-age children are too young to babysit all alone, of course, but they can look out for others for short times while adults are in another room. Explain clearly to children what they are to do. “I want you to look after your sister while I do some laundry.” Tell children that they are really in charge of caring for the little one.

There are many other chances to encourage children to help each other. They can teach others how to do chores, such as how to sweep, how to set the table, or how to fold clothes. They can teach others how to care for themselves or get dressed or how to play games and do homework. By learning to help brothers, sisters, and playmates, they are learning how to be good friends to each other. Children can also learn to help by caring for adults. Doing chores for grandparents, neighbors, or others who need help can also teach them about helping.

Finally, we teach children about helping others by treating them with love and kindness. When their cares and hurts are treated with kindness, they experience the good feelings that come from being helped. From this, they understand for themselves the value of helping. They know that when they show kindness, they are making others feel good.

Discussion Questions
The following questions could be used to talk with children.

1. Sometimes children call other kids names or tease them. Have you ever seen other kids get teased? What could you do to help?
2. Do you think it’s important to help your friends? Why?
3. It can help to think about how others feel. How can you tell how others are feeling? What can you do to put yourself in their shoes?
4. How would someone feel whose best friend moved away? What could you do to help them?

Activity
Ask children to think about how they would think and feel if they were in the following situations and how they would want to be helped.

• You are a new kid in school.
• You have just lost a favorite pet.
• You can’t do some of the math problems in school.
• You aren’t very good at playing sports.

Source: Robert Hughes, Jr., Ph.D., former Professor, Department of Human Development Family Studies, College of Human Environmental Sciences - University of Missouri (2018)

Pasture Lease Consideration

As pasture grazing leases are getting finalized for the 2024 season, it is important to make sure that some of the key details are clear and in writing.

Traditionally, pasture leases are for five or six months from April or May through October. Specific starting and ending dates can be used, but there could be exceptions based on spring weather conditions or if there were drought conditions the previous year that might warrant delaying turn-out to allow some recovery of grasses.

A lease clause that provides details on what would happen if drought occurs during the season is a must. Most often, this is handled by reduced stocking rates or a shorter grazing period. Other situations that could affect the amount of pasture available includes severe hail, grasshoppers or wildfire. In fairness, of course, pasture rent owed should also be adjusted accordingly if the grazing period is shortened. Consider pricing leases based on grazing animal unit months (AUMs) rather than a flat rate per acre or cow-calf pair. This can make it easier when adjustments are made to the length of time grazing occurs. In some cases, an abundance of pasture growth might result in extra grazing.

Other pasture and grazing management details that could be part of a written lease agreement would include fence maintenance and repair, weed control or any issues associated with the livestock water supply. Some landowners might also have specific preferences in how grazing rotations are done through several pastures.

Start your communications early and make written agreements for fairness and equity. A fillable lease form for pasture is available on Ag Lease 101

Source: Jerry Volesky – UNL Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist (CropWatch – January 30, 2024)

Winter Hay Worries

Grass tetany and nitrate poisoning are issues that we typically associate with animals grazing. However, both issues can be a problem in winter when animal diets are limited by what they are fed. Is your herd safe from possible hay worries?

Tetany occurs when an animal’s diet doesn’t have enough magnesium to meet nutritional needs. Complications with milk production and increased magnesium demand can make this imbalance even worse during lactation.

Grass, alfalfa, and cereal grains harvested for hay can all be low in magnesium. Getting a hay test with mineral analysis can easily show if this is an issue we need to worry about. If tests come back showing less than 0.15% magnesium, the hay is deficient. Other mineral interactions that can worsen tetany are low calcium (<0.40%) and high in potassium (>2.5%).

If your test comes back with issues, consider switching over to a high calcium and magnesium mineral. Most options use magnesium oxide, which is bitter tasting and can reduce animal consumption. Consider mixing with a protein or energy supplement or mixing with distillers grain or soybean meal to improve consumption if it’s not at target levels (for a 10-13% magnesium mix, this is four ounces per head).

Another concern to keep an eye on is nitrates. Forages high in nitrate that were harvested for hay will not see a significant reduction in nitrate levels after curing. Any hay that we suspect being high in nitrate should be tested and if high, fed as a reduced portion of the diet to prevent an issue with toxicity.

Tetany and nitrates in the winter aren’t problems that often jump right to a producer’s mind, but they can be a serious issue, especially when an animal’s diet is limited to what they are fed. Properly testing hay and adjusting mineral and diets to minimize risk can keep your winter hay worries at bay.

Source: Ben Beckman – UNL Extension Educator (CropWatch – January 30, 2024)

Managing and Developing Young Beef Bulls

There are as many ways to feed and develop young beef bulls as there are seedstock producers. There are various reasons that bulls are managed and fed the way they are. Whether bulls are developed on the ranch, in a commercial facility, or at a central bull test, they are usually fed to gain 2.8 to 4.0 pounds daily from weaning to one year of age.

One of the most common complaints from beef producers is the run-down condition of young bulls after their first breeding season. Most young bulls will lose condition and weight during their first breeding season. However, minimizing the loss of body weight and condition will extend the bull's usefulness and productivity, especially during their initial breeding season.

Developing young beef bulls to be "just right"
Can bulls be over-conditioned and/or under-conditioned before the first breeding season? The answer is yes. If we use the 1 to 9 scale for body condition, over-conditioned would mean BCS of 7 or greater. One might think over-conditioned young bulls are better than under-conditioned bulls. If bulls are over-conditioned and they are expected to lose condition during the breeding season, at least they will still be in good condition at the end of the breeding season. Over-conditioned bulls entering the breeding season may be less active during the breeding season, especially if the breeding season occurs during the heat of summer. The same could be said for under-conditioned bulls in that their activity may be limited.

It is like the porridge being to hot, to cold, or just right. The idea is develop and manage young bulls so that they are just right for the breeding season. In other words, they are in their working clothes and toned up ready to perform their duty. In most cases, feeding and managing bulls to be in body condition score 6 (1=emaciated; 9=obese) at the start of their first breeding season is adequate. Body condition score 6 equates to body fat of about 20% to 23%. This body condition is the same as the target body condition of heifers at their first calving.

Managing average daily gain in beef bulls
As bulls fed to high ADG (3.5 ADG and greater), the likelihood of increasing body fat also increases. As bulls are pushed to higher ADG, care must be taken to insure and control digestive upsets that can impact the liver in the form of liver abscesses, feet in the form of founder, and rumen integrity. Not managing the feeding program to eliminate digestive upsets has the potential to reduce the longevity of young bulls.

We have used distillers grains and corn gluten feed in our bull development diets. Distillers grains and corn gluten feed have been used as both a protein and energy source. In the process of producing ethanol and fructose (corn syrup), the starch in corn is removed. The remaining byproduct is greater in protein, energy, and phosphorus compared to corn. Removing some starch in the diet and replacing it with essentially a high-fiber energy source reduces the incidence of digestive upsets. In addition, if some corn byproducts are used, it is likely that phosphorus can be removed from the supplement. In most cases calcium will be needed in the supplement. In growing bull diets, it would be critical that the calcium to phosphorus ratio not be below 1.6:1. As always, feeds that are used in the diet need to be priced competitively into the diet.

Caring for bulls after breeding season
Care of young bulls after the breeding season is important. Bulls should weigh 75 to 80 percent of their mature weight at the start of the second breeding season. If mature weight of the young bulls is estimated to be 2,000 pounds and at the beginning of their first breeding season, they are 1300 (65% of mature weight) pounds and they lose 200 pounds during the first breeding season, then to be 75% to 80% of their mature weight by the start of the next breeding season, it calculates that they need to gain 400 to 500 pounds.

Between the end of their first breeding season and the start of their second breeding season, these young bulls need to gain about 2 lb/day. Native grass quality is peaking and starting on the decline in July and August and bulls will gain about 1.5 lb/day without supplementation. Young bulls will need some supplemental energy and protein before the second breeding season.

Consider trying to get bulls back to their working clothes and target weight well ahead of the start of the second breeding season. For a spring breeding season, consider feeding these bulls some protein and energy beginning about Christmas time. Starting this early allows you to put weight back on gradually with smaller amounts of a high energy feed. This doesn't have to be accomplished in a dry lot and could be fed on pasture or when the bulls are grazing corn stalk residue.

Care and development strategy doesn't require that young bulls be pampered in an artificial environment. It does suggest to at least give them a chance to be productive and remain in the herd as long as you want them there by providing adequate, but not excessive feed. The bull battery is an expensive investment, manage the young ones so that you get a reasonable return on that investment.

Finally, make sure bulls that will be used in this breeding season have gone through a Breeding Soundness Examination. Yearling bulls purchased from Seedstock producers have gone through a BSE. If bulls are developed on the ranch, have a veterinarian perform a BSE. Bulls who experience extremely cold conditions with low windchill and are not provided protection and bedding, can have damage to the scrotum and testicles resulting in no or low semen production. It is best to have a BSE performed well before the start of the breeding season to determine if additional bulls need to be purchased.

Source: Rick Rasby - Nebraska Extension Specialist, Kacie McCarthy - UNL Cow-Calf Specialist (BeefWatch – February 20, 2024)