September 2009
NCBA Young Producers’ Council Takes to the Cattle Blogosphere
The American Cattlemen likes to keep our readers informed about what the is going on in the Beef industry. Next generation of cattle producers discussing key issues in new blog "Cattle Call".”WASHINGTON (Sept. 23, 2009) — This is not your father’s cattle industry any more. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Young Producers’ Council (YPC) has motivated the newest faces of U.S. cattle production to tell their story on the organization’s blog, Cattle Call (http://ypcblog.beefusa.org/). Next generation of cattle producers discussing key issues in new blog “Cattle Call”
Take Care of the Land & It Will Take Care of You
To 53-year old Mark Guge of rural Estherville, farming has always been in his blood. As a matter of fact this passion for the land and the cattle goes back five generations. “I think it goes way back to my great grandfather, who homesteaded near here in 1890,” says Guge. “I think there has always been an emphasis by each generation to take care of the land. Economics drives everything, but you have to take care of and improve the land for the land to take care of you.”
A Small Cattle Farmer
Bill Dorough turned 80 years old this past January…and, he says, “I need to think one of these days about slowing down a little bit.” The central Arkansas rancher has certainly kept busy these past eight decades. For the last 36 years, he’s been a top official with the Arkansas State Fair. He tried to retire in 2004, but a year later he was back helping to run the livestock shows, which he had supervised for 18 years. Before that, he had a 70-head dairy farm in Sweet Home, a town of about 1,000 just south of Little Rock; when he took over the livestock director’s job at the Fair, he switched from dairy to beef cattle.
Winter Nutrition
Winter can be hard on cattle, and cattlemen. In a few months northern pastures and fields may well be covered with snow or ice, while those in warmer climates will likely offer significantly fewer nutrients to grazing cattle.
Somewhere between Thanksgiving and late January, depending on location, most cattlemen will be forced to turn primarily, if not completely, to stored feed stocks to carry their herds through the winter. At the same time the nutritional needs of the animals will likely be increasing, particularly in herds managed for traditional spring calving.
Foreign Investment in U.S. Beef Packing
JBS has certainly made waves with its aggressive pursuit of U.S. beef packers, but its critics aren’t concerned that the Brazilian company is different from American packers. They’re concerned that it’s the same.
Socket Systems
M&M Tree Shear
(1 vote)
H & M Gopher Control PERC system
New Energizers from Gallagher USA
(1 vote)
It’s All About Quality Beef Cattle
A psychology major, Anne knew she wanted to live in the open spaces where there weren’t so many people, but she was a city girl and knew very little about cattle and farming. But…that was then; this is now. Always a hands-on “do it” type of person, Anne jumped right in, watching, listening, and learning from the experts. “My dad always said, ‘If you’re going to bother to do something, do it right’. I am a focused person. I learned on the go and things slowly came together, and by year five I felt I was ready to be a true manager and a leader.”