The Extension Beef x Dairy Program seeks to produce research based information on sire selection and feedlot management practices for Beef x Dairy cross cattle. The program brings timely, up to date, information to both dairy producers and feedlot operators on this evolving topic.
AgSource (DHIA) data shows the number of inseminations of Holstein females to beef semen rapidly increased from 2% in 2016 to 23% in 2020. A 2019 Extension dairy producer survey found beef sire selection for use on dairy females focused on semen cost, conception rate, calving ease, and calf hair coat color.
There is an educational opportunity to improve beef sire selection practices to include feedlot and carcass traits such as: Ribeye EPD, Marbling EPD, and frame score. Increasing calf uniformity and performing good newborn calf care practices, and communicating them with potential buyers, may help dairy producers optimize the value of Beef x Dairy calves.
Applied field research projects plan to look at calf growth, feedlot and carcass performance, and market trends for Beef x Dairy cattle.
A late summer seeding of alfalfa following a spring wheat crop is a great option to maximize seasonal productivity and fits very well as a part of a diverse crop rotation. Aside from the usual considerations when performing a late summer seeding of alfalfa, there are a few considerations to keep in mind when planting alfalfa following a wheat crop: the potential for residual herbicide damage to alfalfa and the impact of volunteer wheat.
Composting can be used for occasional mortality, emergency livestock mass casualties, and disease outbreaks.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is an emerging issue that poses a significant threat to the health and well-being of dairy herds.
In this video Michaela Clowser, Tammy Vaassen and Bill Halfman discuss the 2022 NCBA Quality audit results with dairy and beef producers.
As the gavel falls on your cattle purchase, do you really know what you bought? Herd additions have inherent risk. Every movement of cattle onto your cow-calf operation—be they cows, heifers, calves, or bulls—brings biosecurity risks to your farm. It is critical to isolate new additions so that any sickness they break with is not shared with your home herd.
Management options that a spring-calving cow herd may consider to get through the winter feeding season when hay is in short supply. The examples given use general assumptions because options and costs vary from farm to farm and over time.
Finishing rations in our part of the country are usually around 10% roughage, give or take, to get energy levels high enough to finish cattle that will meet packer expectations efficiently. Corn makes up much of the remainder of the ration, and this corn is most often coarsely rolled or cracked.
Using the right equipment when vaccinating your cattle requires the right tools. The correct syringes and needles must be used in addition to a well-designed and functioning headgate to restrain cattle so injections may be safely administered in the neck area.
For decades, livestock producers have moved animals on and off the farm by way of sale, leasing, renting, and between other facilities or pastures owned by the farm. With these movements comes the risk of the introduction or spread of disease.
The frequency of hauling cattle varies from farm to farm. Some farms haul on a regular basis and others only a few times a year. In either situation, breaking down alongside the road — or even worse, in a traffic crash — while hauling cattle is not on anyone’s bucket list.
