Erin Laborie
For more information, contact Erin Laborie, Engagement Zone 4 Extension Educator - Livestock Systems.
May 2026 Beef Update
Happy National Beef Month! Thank you for your commitment to caring for the land, livestock, and rural communities of Nebraska!
In this month’s Beef Update:
- New Website for Long-term Wildfire Recovery
- Beef Quality Assurance Trainings
- Drought Resources
- Silage for Beef Cattle Conference
- Summer Stocker/Yearling Tour
DROUGHT RESOURCES
- 2026 Drought Planning Trigger Dates
- Replacing Summer Pasture with Feeds for Cows Grazing Pasture
- Limit Feeding with a Bale Feeder, Bunk and a Bucket
- Tips for Managing Cow-calf Pairs through a Drought
- Replacement Heifers vs. Finishing Heifers – Feeding Replacement Heifers in Confinement
- Irrigated Annual Forage Options for Drought and Wildfire Forage Shortages
- I Need a Ration for My Cattle- Now What?
April 2026 Beef Update
In this month’s Beef Update:
• Wildfire Recovery for Farmers & Ranchers
• Cash Rental Rate Reports
• Nebraska Ranch Practicum
• Beef Quality Assurance Trainings
• 7th International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare
• North American Manure Expo
March 2026 Beef Update
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Considerations of Causes of Low Pregnancy Rates in Young Beef Cows Webinar
- Farm & Ranch Succession Workshop
- Pesticide Application Trainings
- Nebraska Ranch Practicum
- Beef Quality Assurance Trainings
- Women in Livestock: Learning the Why Behind the Work Webinar
February 2026 Beef Update
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Pesticide Applicator Trainings
- Land Application (Manure) Trainings
- 2026 Nebraska Custom Rates Survey
- Feedlot Roundtables
- Midwest FEEDS Practicum
- Women in Ag Conference
December 2025 Beef Update
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Understanding the Tyson Plant Closure Webinar
- UNL Winter Stocker Tour to feature Maddux Cattle Company
- Presentation Recordings and Proceedings Available from Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium
- Fundamentals of Feeding the Cow Webinar Series
- Women in Ag Conference
November 2025 Beef Update
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Husker Nutrition Conference
- Nebraska Elite 11 Veterinarian Program
- Hay Probes Available at Extension Offices
- Nebraska Custom Rates Report
- PregCard Program
- Range Beef Cow Symposium
- Nebraska Beef Summit
- Nebraska Sheep & Goat Producers Annual Conference
- Cover Crop Grazing Conference
- Strip-grazing Standing Milo with Cows Webinar
October 2025
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Join the PregCard Program
- Beef Quality Assurance Trainings
- 2026 Nebraska Custom Rates Survey
- Fundamentals of Feeding the Cow Webinar Series
- Husker Nutrition Conference
- Southwest Nebraska Cattlemen Cow Nutrition Seminar
- Range Beef Cow Symposium
Nebraska Sheep & Goat Producers Annual Conference
September 2025
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Hay Samples Needed for Vitamin A Research
- Webinars on New Livestock Budget Calculator
- Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium
- Returning to the Ranch Workshop
- Knowing, Growing, and Grazing Grass Webinar
- BQA/BQAT Certification Trainings
August 2025
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Cattle Comfort Index (CCI)
- Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House
- 2025 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Report
- Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium
- Returning to the Ranch Workshop
- BQA/BQAT Certification Trainings
July 2025
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Helping Cattle Cope with Summer Heat
- Summer Grazing Field Day
- Nebraska Grazing Conference
- Fly Control for Pastured Cattle
- New Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch
- Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House
The new Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch website provides land managers with a variety of resources to monitor drought, manage the ranch before and during drought, learn about assistance programs, and more. Check it out at https://ranchdrought.unl.edu/.
June 2025
In this month’s Beef Update:
- Livestock-Related Custom Rates Report
- Toxic Plants Webinar Series
- Drought Management Webinar
- Stocker/Yearling Tour
- Cow-Calf Field Day
- Nebraska Grazing Conference
May 2025
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Drought Preparation Webinar Recording Available
- Nebraska Ranch Practicum
- Informational Weed Meeting
- Beef Ambassador Contest & Beef Advocacy Training
- BQA/BQAT In-Person Trainings
- 7th International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare
- Summer Stocker/Yearling Tour
- Cow/Calf Field Day
April 2025
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- BQA/BQAT In-Person Trainings
- Nebraska Land Values & Cash Rents
- UNL Animal Science Bull Sale
- Drought Preparation Program
- Nebraska Ranch Practicum
- Survey for Nebraska Producers, Ages 40 - 50 years old
March 2025
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Private Applicator Trainings
- Grass Tetany Prevention
- New Weekly Video Series: Mineral Minute
- Returning to the Farm Workshop Series
- BQA/BQAT In-Person Trainings
- Consider Securing Feed Supplies Now for Dry Conditions in 2025
February 2025
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Private Applicator Trainings
- Midwest FEEDS Practicum
- Feedlot Roundtables
- Sign-up for Livestock Related Custom Rates Survey
- Land Application Trainings
- Women in Agriculture Conference
- Returning to the Farm Workshop Series
If you need assistance developing gestation or lactation rations for your cows, please don't hesitate to reach out. Wishing you a successful calving and sale season ahead!
January 2025
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Colostrum: Supplements vs. Replacements
- Sign-up for Livestock Related Custom Rates Survey
- UNL Winter Stocker Tour features Darr Feedlot
- Leaving a Lasting Legacy: A Succession Planning Series
- Fundamentals of Feeding the Cow Webinar Series
- Prescribed Fire Workshops
- Women in Agriculture Conference
December 2024
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- New Reporting Requirement Affects Many Agricultural Businesses
- 2025 UNL Beef Cattle Research Report
- Sign-up for Livestock Related Custom Rates Survey
- Leaving a Lasting Legacy: A Succession Planning Series
- Cow Clinics
- Beef Cattle Technology Virtual Tradeshow
- Drone Education in Southwest Nebraska
November 2024
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Farm Succession & Estate Planning Resources
- Fundamentals of Feeding the Cow Webinar Series
- Sign-up for Livestock Related Custom Rates Survey
- Beef Cattle Technology Virtual Tradeshow
- How Grazing Corn Residue Affects the Soil
- Cover Crop Grazing Conference
- Risk Management for Livestock Producers
- Cow Clinics
October 2024
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Crop Residue Exchange
- Hay Probes Available at Extension Office
- BQA/BQAT Training in Curtis
- Husker Nutrition Conference
- Cornstalk Grazing Fundamentals, Leases, and Agronomic Impacts Webinar
- Knowing, Growing, and Grazing Grass Webinar
- Fundamentals of Feeding the Cow Webinar
September 2024
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- New Nebraska Mesonet Website
- Free Well Water Testing
- Determining What's Fair in Cow Leasing Webinar
- Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium
- Upcoming BQA/BQAT Trainings
- Knowing, Growing, and Grazing Grass Webinar Series
The Nebraska Mesonet is a collection of 63 high quality, standardized weather and soil observation stations located throughout Nebraska.
August 2024
In this Beef Update newsletter, you will find:
- Farm Succession & Estate Planning Resources
- Landlord/Tenant Cash Rent Workshops
- Fall Grazing School
- Beef for Troops
- Silage Management Resources
- Nebraska Grazing Conference
- Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House
- Husker Harvest Days