NEWS

Evaluating bull and cow body condition scores (BCS) prior to the winter months is essential to ensure productivity and longevity in our herds. There are two main activities that should be addressed prior to the winter season.

How big is big enough? Cattle producers debate cow size as if it were politics. It simply comes down to dollars and “sense.” Cow inputs account for a large portion of an operation’s expenses.

The forecast for 2018 beef production was lowered by 150 million pounds to 26.9 billion pounds. The revision is based on adjustments to the third quarter and, in the fourth quarter, expectations of fewer steers and heifers to be slaughtered more than offset the anticipation of more cows added to the slaughter mix.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced the approval of Experior (lubabegron Type A medicated article), a beta-adrenergic agonist/antagonist drug that, when fed to beef cattle under specific conditions, results in less ammonia gas released as a byproduct of their waste.

2018 has been an interesting year for cattlemen, as we experienced a wide array of drought and flooding conditions and even both in some areas. There is no doubt that the weather conditions Mother Nature threw at us had an impact on forage quality.