Volume XVI Number 3• May/June 2008
Table of Contents

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Editor's Desk
With the mainstream media sensationalizing information about hormone levels used in beef production, I felt it was important to publish some truth. Alex and Dennis Avery, of the Hudson Institute Center for Global Food Issues, produced a paper titled “The Environmental Safety and Benefits of Pharmaceutical Technologies in Beef Production.” The paper presents considerable information and data. The following are excerpts from their paper.....Read the Story...

Where Will You Compete
The U.S. cattle feeding industry is in the process of sorting itself out. Squeezed margins require focusing on what it is that you can do best. A mega feedyard generally isn’t the best place to send a load of high risk calves while a small yard may find it impractical to utilize beta agonist technology(such as Optiflexx and Zilmax)......Read the Story...

Steaming Grain New Development -- Horizontal Chamber
One of the challenges in designing a steam flaking operation is adequate moisturization and heat transfer to the grain before it is flaked. Potential energy savings is another consideration. Also space “head height” of the equipment is often a major consideration when remodeling a feed mill. These points have been addressed by a group of inventors/developers at South Hutchinson, Kansas. They have developed a horizontal method to steam and control moisture in grain. . ...Read the Story...

Planting Intentions Indicate Corn Supplies will be Tight
USDA’s Planting Intentions report released at the end of March revealed that U.S. corn farmers intend to plant 7.6 million fewer acres of corn in 2008 than in 2007. Although corn planting intentions are the second largest since 1949, it still means tight corn supplies are ahead for the rest of 2008 and through the summer of 2009. To see why this is true, let’s take a closer look at corn acreage, yields, anticipated production and corn usage.. ...Read the Story...

Battling Flies
Flies reduce cattle gains by interfering with optimum feed consumption; cattle bothered by flies don’t eat as well. Large numbers of biting flies may consume so much blood that livestock performance is reduced. Some species also transmit diseases......Read the Story...

Improving Time Management
The most efficient businesses have a philosophy that they can always improve on their efficiency and time management. They communicate their priorities to all employees and train their managers to develop practical time management strategies. Here are some of the keys to developing a philosophy and “culture” of high efficiency and effective time management.. ...Read the Story...

International Beef Cattle Welfare Meeting
Animal welfare is one of the fastest growing concerns among consumers throughout the country. The International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare (ISBCW) is designed to provide a venue in which all stakeholders in beef cattle production can meet and discuss the many welfare-related topics concerning the raising, feeding and harvesting of beef cattle.......Read the Story...

Focusing on Efficient Grains
Robbie Pritchard presented challenge to cattle feeders at the recent Feeding Quality Form sponsored by Certified Angus Beef (CAB), Feed-Lot Magazine, Pfizer, and Land O’Lakes/Purina. The forum was held at Garden City, Kans., and South Sioux Falls, Neb. Dr. Pritchard is a respected livestock scientist at South Dakota State University. In his presentation, Focus on Efficiency, he said there are “the easy steps, the more difficult steps and the tricky steps” of designing and managing feedlot rations. .....Read the Story...

Cattlemen Find Success Adding Value to Montana Cattle
For several hundred Montana beef producers, gone are the days when they bred cows, raised calves, sold ‘em, cashed the check and simply started over again.
In the information age, where both consumers and auction bidders want quality assurance, the information provided by the Montana Beef Network is a way producers can get the information they need to predictably qualify for those premiums. .....Read the Story...

Managing Bulls More Effectively
Reduced calf crops often occur because not enough attention was paid to bull management. “Many commercial producers seem to believe that as long as they have some sort of male bovine out in the pasture with their females, they have it covered. This could not be further from the truth,” said Dr. Stephen Blezinger, a nutritional and management consultant in Sulfur Springs, Texas.   ...Read the Story...

The Cost of Open Cows
Though pregnancy testing provides valuable information to cattlemen, surveys show this tool is greatly underutilized. “Pregnancy status is one of the first criteria that will determine whether a cow stays in the country or goes to town,” said Kyle Stutts, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Industrial Sciences at Sam Houston State University.. ...Read the Story...

Reducing Energy Waste in the Feedyard
Feedyard mills, particularly those that are steam flaking, are large consumers of electrical power. Increasingly, many power companies offer incentives to enable them to better manage their system loads. While the actions required to capture these incentives may fly in the face of conventional feedyard culture, they should be considered in order to fully evaluate energy management. ....Read the Story...