Marketing Cull Cows - Understanding What Determines Value

Under drought conditions it is likely many operations will experience lower conception rates than normal. Feed costs and uncertainty about growing seasons next year make culling of these open cows appear to be the correct management decision. In an average year, cull cows will represent 10-20% of gross revenue on a cow-calf operation

Animal Welfare and the "Five Freedoms"

Animal welfare issues have received more attention in the press over the last few years than they had the previous century. The livestock production system and its owners and managers have paid attention to animal welfare for centuries. It was just called animal husbandry for many decades and over the past three decades or so it became known as animal science

Charter High Schools' Effects on Educational Attainment and Earnings

This issue brief discusses a new analysis, using data from Florida and Chicago, suggesting that charter high schools are not only increasing postsecondary educational attainment but may also boost students' long-run earnings

Retiring to Ranching

The dictionary also defines a rancher as “one who owns or works on a ranch�. Owning rural real estate and working in the outdoors is one thing. Being a responsible steward of the resources entrusted to you is another. Our challenge for this discussion is to outline a few noteworthy points for those blessed with the opportunity to retire to ranching

Cattle Handling Pointers Stockmanship and Low-Stress Handling

Cattle prefer to communicate through line of sight. Good stockmanship and low-stress handling can only be accomplished when a complete understanding of how a prey animal responds to line of sight and adoption of these in livestock handling are in place. Understanding the link between cattle’s eyesight and their movement and behavior is critical in handling and in facility design

Maintaining Herd Performance During Drought

Drought always presents unique and difficult management situations. Most managers are caught somewhat by surprise by the size, scope and severity of drought. Getting off to a late start in managing through any drought would completely alter the normal approach to forage and nutritional management. Blanket statements about proper management strategies are completely inappropriate. Recommendations in this discussion will be based on the most common situations observed during drought

S2E4: Can studying extinct species prepare us for the future?

We visit with paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill. She studies plants and animals that have been gone a long time- sometimes millions of years. She also studies our natural world today with the goal of trying to understand how and why some species have gone extinct while others have survived and what it means for how we and our planet adapt to the rapidly changing world we find ourselves in

Weaning Techniques for Beef Calves

Weaning is the most stressful time a calf will experience. It has been well documented that health problems such as bovine respiratory disease (pneumonia, “shipping fever� etc. ) usually begins with stress at weaning

Preparing Beef Calves for Market

The purpose of preconditioning stocker/feeder calves is to minimize the morbidity and mortality experienced by calves as they move from their ranch of origin into the beef production syste

Bovine Trichomoniasis

Bovine trichomoniasis (Trich) is a venereal disease of cattle caused by the protozoan Tritrichomonas foetus. This disease causes early pregnancy loss and occasional late-term abortions; it may also extend the breeding/calving season