News Update
January 31, 2013
Focus on Efficiency
In the business of raising cattle, numbers matter. Ranchers who establish strong record-keeping habits are more likely to make positive breeding decisions and improve genetics. By documenting and analyzing herd data, producers can pick out animals that are working, and those that are not.
Dalebanks Angus in Eureka, Kan., is a prime example of an operation that is guided by information and technology. For more than 100 years, the ranch has been focused on improving Angus genetics and the consumers’ beef experience.
“If we’re selling calves, our customer is a feedyard, but he has a customer who is a packer; and he has a customer who is the retailer or grocery store, who has to ultimately answer to the consumer,” says Matt Perrier, current ranch manager. He is also the great-grandson of E.L. “Bert” Barrier, who purchased Dalebanks’ first Angus cattle in 1904.
Nestled in the Kansas Flint Hills, Matt and his wife, Amy, are now the fifth generation to operate the ranch. They, alongside Matt’s father and mother, Tom and Carolyn, manage about 375 Angus cows. Though much has changed through the years, Matt still follows his great-grandfather’s philosophy: “Produce balanced-trait bulls that profit their owners through their production.”
The majority of Dalebanks’ customers are commercial producers who rely on consistent offspring to provide them with bulls both in the fall and spring. Those bull sales may be the operation’s bread and butter, but the family knows leading herd sires come from highly productive females. For more information, click here.
Beef Producers Learn Finer Points
of Bull Selection at Workshop
Purchasing a bull can be a difficult and sometimes expensive proposition for a beef cattle producer. However, ranchers got an inside look at how to overcome some of these challenges at a recent workshop in College Station by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
“We have a lot of breeds of cattle in the U.S. and different cattle work well in different environments,” said Jason Cleere, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, who co-led the workshop with Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist at Overton.
Approximately 50 producers attended the workshop, and organizers said the strong numbers will lead to organizing a fall workshop. Cleere discussed the different types of retail beef available to consumers — Prime, Choice and Select — which is more prevalent at grocery stores, he said.
When selecting a bull, Cleere said, “I encourage you to look at the big picture.”
Fertility and potential calf birth weights were just a few of several points to study, he said.
“Genetic potential for growth and price per pound are other things to consider,” he said.
Cleere advised producers to avoid buying bulls with an unknown background. He said producers should consider buying from a breeder that specializes in producing quality genetics for commercial operations.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Preregistration Savings for Alfalfa Expo End
at Noon Friday, Feb. 1
If you’re planning on attending the Mid-America Alfalfa Expo and Conference Feb. 5-6 in Kearney, Neb., you only have until this Friday to save 50% on the registration costs.
Registration is available online at www.AlfalfaExpo.com for just $10 until noon this Friday, Feb. 1. Registration at the door is $20 per person. Participants under the age of 18 are admitted at no charge.
Sponsored by the Nebraska Alfalfa Marketing Association (NAMA), the Mid-America Alfalfa Expo and Conference will be hosted at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds in Kearney, Feb. 5-6, 2013. The event is designed especially for alfalfa producers, livestock/dairy producers and others who are involved in alfalfa production, purchasing, hay feeding or processing.
Registration includes admission to all presentations and programs, a Tuesday afternoon reception, dinner Tuesday evening, admission to the large alfalfa industry trade show and the opportunity to bid in the fundraising auction that takes place Tuesday afternoon. The auction features a wide range of items including seed, harvesting equipment, supplies and other valuable products and services.
Dan Undersander, professor of agronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is leading several sessions as part of an abbreviated Alfalfa Intensive Training Seminar, the full version of which was developed for the National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance. Material being utilized for the Alfalfa Expo and Conference, however, is being organized and focused more intently toward producers. Winter survival following a drought and how to best manage through that situation will be one of the key topics discussed.
A new event this year, the “Forage Olympics,” will pit teams of alfalfa producers and other conference participants competing in timed events such as hay strapping, stacking square bales and rolling large round bales.
For more information, call 1-800-743-1649 or click here.
Do I Have Enough Winter Feed?
The widespread drought of 2012 left many beef producers with limited feed resources and inventories that will not sustain current cattle inventories. Beef producers who will be turning cattle out to pasture need to secure feed resources to feed until that point. Producers should take inventory of all assets for the beginning year balance sheet. This process includes feed inventory and is a good time to compare feed inventories and needs.
The key to having enough feed on hand for the winter months is to determine what you have, estimate your total feed needs, and then plan feed purchases, or adjust animal numbers. Cull cow prices remain fairly strong; so adjusting animal numbers may be more profitable than trying to purchase your way out of a feed shortage.
There have been several Michigan State University Extension news articles written on conducting a feed inventory:
- Management of feed inventory critical
- Feed inventory planning and management, more critical now than ever!
If producers have not already done so, they should conduct a feed inventory and add the feed that has been fed since Jan. 1 for the balance sheet. There are various online calculators, factsheets and slide rulers that can help you estimate your feed needs. Programs like the Ohio State Universtiy Cow-culator will help to determine feed requirements and calculate total feed needs until the next available feed source is ready.
Comparing feed resources available with animal requirements is a useful exercise that allows producers to take appropriate and strategic actions to ensure the herd is adequately fed. For more information regarding feed inventories, calculating feed requirements and developing financial statements, contact Kable Thurlow at 989-426-7741.
OSU Extension to Offer Tax Webinar Feb. 6 to Update Growers and Producers on Farm-related Tax Issues
Ohio State University (OSU) Extension will host a Farm Tax Webinar Feb. 6 designed to help farmers and producers understand new tax laws and rules adapted after the so-called fiscal cliff legislation, organizers said. The two-hour program will offer updates on key issues pertinent to farmers, growers and producers, said Larry Gearhardt, director of the OSU Income Tax School Program of OSU Extension.
“This webinar is so important because it’s an opportunity to explain to farmers and producers the changes in tax laws as a result of the ‘fiscal cliff’ legislation,” he said. “Some of those changes will have an impact on 2012 taxes, while other changes will have an impact on planning for future taxes.”
One example is the new rule that allows farmers who don’t make estimated tax payments an extra six weeks to file their 2012 taxes this year, Gearhardt said.
“Because of the confusion stemming from the new legislation, farmers who don’t make estimated tax payments now have until April 15 to file their taxes, instead of the previous March 1 deadline,” he said. “But there is a form that they must file in order to do so. “Other changes, for example, may have an impact on future generations, such as the changes to the estate tax.”
The webinar, which runs from 7-9 p.m., can be viewed online by going to http://carmenconnect.osu.edu/ohioagmanager. No preregistration is required.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Tips Can Help Manage — and Reduce — Stress
Stress is an inevitable part of life, yet the way in which we choose to manage it can mean the difference in resolving the issue at hand — or increasing the stress.
That’s why a Kansas State University (K-State) expert on families suggests that learning to manage stress can improve the quality of life.
- “Stress can be associated with changes that are viewed as negative or disruptive,” said Charlotte Shoup Olsen, a K-State Research and Extension family systems specialist, who cited stressors such as a job loss, illness, or catastrophic event brought about by weather or other factor over which we have no control.
- Such changes can quickly become the focus of our lives, and, as such, increase stress, rather than relieve it, said Olsen, who offered five key strategies in managing — and relieving — stress:
- Be flexible.
- Acknowledging a stressful situation, and saying: “Okay, this is happening, now what can I do about it?” can start the proverbial ball rolling.
- Look for solutions, consider alternatives or new opportunities and look forward.
If a change in work responsibilities is unpalatable, start looking around to see what other opportunities are available. If a parent’s work schedule has changed so the family can no longer have family time or date night Friday night, be grateful for employment and choose another time.
As children get older and more demands are placed on the family due to school, school activities and part-time jobs, re-think time together.
Check with all family members and reserve an hour together on a weekend for a leisurely brunch or evening meal together.
Times change — and we need to change with them, Olsen said.
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