Archive for April, 2010
CATTLE TODAY/Ranchers.net Newsletter for April 2010
INTERESTING STUFF
SEMEN TANKS FOR SALE
You can breed your cows to the best bulls
in the world! Artificial insemination (A.I.) using frozen beef semen
offers cattle producers an opportunity to breed their cows to bulls
possessing far superior genetics than are available locally and do
it at an affordable price. With A.I. you have an economically
feasible means of increasing productivity over a wide range of
traits to rapidly improve your cattle.
Using the top genetics
available with frozen beef semen will allow you to select for traits
to improve calving ease, weaning weight, yearling weight, maternal
ability and carcass quality with a high degree of accuracy. And beef
semen and frozen embryos stored in liquid nitrogen in one of our CT
Cryogenics semen tanks will last for years. Buy the best semen
tanks from people you trust. We’re so sure you will like these
tanks we sell them with a 100% Unconditional Money Back
Guarantee!
CROSSBREEDING PROVIDES BENEFITS TO BREEDING PROGRAMS
Many commercial stockmen take advantage of heterosis (hybrid vigor) by crossbreeding. Research in the early 1900′s demonstrated the benefits, which include breed complementation (combining some of the desired traits from two or more breeds, to gain characteristics that were lacking in one of the parent breeds) and heterosis.
MANAGING STRESS IMPORTANT TO THE COW HERD
We hear about it all the time. Too much stress in the workplace. Too much stress at home. Stress on the highways causing road rage. The economy causing stress in our lives due to loss of jobs, high costs, irritation at the government for how they are handling issues. So on and so on. But what about stress in the pasture?
BULL FERTILITY CRITICAL TO A SUCCESSFUL BREEDING PROGRAM
The title of this article is an understatement. Fertility in the cow herd, for both male and female animals, is absolutely critical.
PROPER SCOUR PREVENTION MEANS HEALTHY CALF CROP
A cattleman’s calendar often takes on dates and time periods that are known to impact the bottom line. Each red checkmark usually has some significance, working through a general protocol to come up with specific results. Calving season is often the beginning of a laundry list of events that will take place until calves are weaned and passed on to the next stage in the production system.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HOOTER MCCORMICK…CHEWING THE FAT
Hooter saw the news from USDA—pertaining to the White House Memorandum—inviting the public to submit ideas about how the government, private business and citizens could work together to tackle childhood obesity. He had to respond.
DECISION AID AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCERS INTERESTED IN USING SEXED SEMEN
With the help of retired Texas A&M University Economist, Dr. Jim McGrann, Sexing Technologies (ST) is now offering an Economic Decision Aid for cattle producers interested in using sexed semen.
IT’S THE PITTS – - FILLER WORDS
Most people think that auctioneers are like politicians in that they both speak a bunch of meaningless gibberish, but unlike our elected leaders, auctioneers do occasionally say things of importance.
EARLY DETECTION OF PREGNANCY PROBLEMS IMPORTANT
There are a number of things that can go wrong during the last phase of pregnancy. Some of these problems can be resolved or dealt with rather easily, and others are more serious — and can be life threatening to the cow or fetus.
OUR PR BUDGET = $0.00 
Long-time readers know this newsletter is a two-person
endeavor at CattleToday.com. This newsletter depends on
word of mouth to grow. Each issue, we try to offer you
useful, interesting and amusing sites to help you with
your cattle, computer and time spent online. Can you take
just a minute to help us out in return? If you think this
newsletter is a worthwhile read, just click the Forward
button and send it to a friend. Your friend just may
find a new source of useful information and we just may
gain a new subscriber. And please send us any suggestions
on how we can improve this newsletter. Thanks!
“EXTREME MAKEOVER” VISITS LIMOUSIN FAMILY
The livestock business has its share of celebrities. Nolan Ryan. Terry Bradshaw. Mel Gibson. Carl Weathers. They are familiar with stardom. But from Feb. 1 through Feb. 7, a Limousin family from the center of Oklahoma experienced the celebrity life. Their story aired Sunday, March 14, on ABC-TV’s hit show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
HUNTIN’ DAYLIGHT — BRING IN THE CLOWNS
A cattleman’s calendar often takes on dates and time periods that are known to impact the bottom line. Each red checkmark usually has some significance, working through a general protocol to come up with specific results. Calving season is often the beginning of a laundry list of events that will take place until calves are weaned and passed on to the next stage in the production system.
DEVELOPING HEIFERS CORRECTLY ENSURES PRODUCTIVE LIFE
Management protocols often follow mission statements or reflect something stated in an end-of-the-year financial statement or lost market share to competitors. This business world jargon may sound like a foreign language to some ranchers; however, most realize, to succeed, these terms need to become part of their production model.
TEXAS STUDY CONFIRMS THAT FENCING CAN CONTROL FERAL HOGS
The second phase of a Texas AgriLife Extension Service study confirmed that it is possible to exclude feral hogs from wildlife feeding stations without limiting access by white-tailed deer.
A GOOD MINERAL PROGRAM IS REQUIRED YEAR ROUND
Over the years we have discussed mineral programs and the various facets on many occasions. Of all the nutrients or nutrient groups producers find the need to supplement, minerals (and vitamins) tend to be the most complex and the most misunderstood.
IT’S THE PITTS – - RISKY ROMANCES
The occupations of farmer and rancher have merited mention on every top ten list of the most dangerous jobs I’ve ever seen. Usually loggers, miners, firemen and fishermen top these lists with ag workers not far behind.
WHO SAYS ALL THE GOOD NAMES ARE GONE?
Your domain name will have a great impact on the success
of your new site. The best domain names are easy to spell
and remember. Check out this site with dozens of unique and
easy to remember cattle related domain names. No name is
over $250.
YOUR HIDDEN EMAIL ADDRESS
Our Ranch List, Links, Classified Ads and Forums use hidden
email addresses. They are stored in a secure area that is
not accessible to the spambots that travel around the ‘net
collecting email addresses to add to their spam lists. And
you can be sure that we will never sell or give your address
to anybody for any reason. Never have, never will.
OPTIMUM COW SIZE IMPORTANT FOR EFFICIENCY
Over the past several decades the average cow on many ranches has increased in frame size, and in recent years some stockmen are realizing that their cattle have become too large to be efficient.
PARASITES ARE AN ONGOING EVIL THAT MUST BE CONTROLLED
Some regions of the country present a unique set of challenges when it comes to managing livestock. Different areas afford various limiting factors that affect overall performance. Parasites are an ongoing evil and must be strategically dealt with for cattlemen to make the most of their efforts when dealing with this profit-robbing vermin.
RISING NITROGEN PRICES PUTS FOCUS BACK ON CLOVERS
If you were to ask producers to make a list of the greatest concerns they have for the future of beef cattle production, I would imagine that the rising costs of key inputs like Nitrogen (N) fertilizer might rank among the top items.
CATTLE TODAY NEWSPAPER
You have seen us on-line, now subscribe to CATTLE TODAY
NEWSPAPER!
CATTLE TODAY newspaper features “How-to” articles
about all aspects of cattle production written by knowledgeable and
well known authors. Try Cattle Today – Risk Free. We want you to
subscribe with confidence! If you find that within the first 90 days
of subscribing you are not 100% satisfied – for any reason – let us
know online or by phone and we will gladly give you a full, prompt
refund. The issues you receive are yours to keep! (Available in U.S.
Only)
cattletoday.com/subscription.htm
SITE OF THE MONTH
Green Hills Gelbvieh Farm has been breeding registered Gelbvieh
cattle since1987 when owners Walter and Lee Teeter purchased one
red, horned purebred female. By 1996, the focus turned to producing
homozygous black Gelbvieh. Today, the program at Green Hills
Gelbvieh consists of 100 purebred Gelbvieh, 58 Balancers, 50
Commercial Angus-cross, and seven club calves.
Their website gives
visitors a nice overview of their program with good pictures of
their herdsires and bulls available. This site is a work in
progress, but already gives visitors a good look at the Green Hills
Gelbvieh program. Congratulations to the Green Hills Gelbvieh Farm
on developing an informative and attractive web site.
www.greenhillsgelbvieh.com/
MAY SALE DATES
Cattle Today will be at the following sales in May:
May 1 — Windy Hill Angus & Guest Consignors 2nd
Annual Production Sale, Boaz AL
May 8 — Macedon
Farms & Guest Sale Volume III, Madison AL
May 15 — Southeast
Angus Classic Female Sale, Opelika AL
May 21 — Plummer Cattle
& Timber Complete Angus Dispersal, Montgomery AL
May 29 –
Hudgins Cattle Co. Complete Angus & Equipment Dispersal,
Barnesville GA
Be sure to look us up and say “Hello.”
WINDOWS TIP OF THE MONTH
GET HELP FROM GOOGLE
If you need help with a Windows Error message copy part or all of it and paste into Google.com‘s main search box. If you don’t find the fix there, click the “Groups” tab on the
Google search results page to see discussions related to your problem.
or
If you suspect one of your open programs is causing a problem, save any data and press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open the Close Program box. This box displays Not Responding after the program name if it shows trouble spots. You may be able to save your Windows session by selecting an unresponsive program and pressing End Task to terminate it. (You may have to wait several moments for an End Task confirmation dialog to appear.) Sometimes you can unstick one frozen program by terminating another that’s not responding – a trick that could save any unsaved data.
FUN SITE OF THE MONTH
IAN’S SHOELACE SITE
Are all of your shoes, sneakers and boots still laced up the way they were when you bought them? This site presents some of the many fascinating ways of lacing, either for different functions or just for appearances. Why not take the plunge? Whip out those laces and re-do them to suit your needs or personality.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an
invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a
sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the
dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve
equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer,
cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization
is for insects. – Robert A. Heinlein, 1907 – 1988
Submitted
by: Robert Brace, Hutto, Texas
Send us your favorite quotes! We will pick one each month to be
included in our Newsletter. (Be sure to include where you are from
in your e-mail!) Send quotes to:
editor@cattletoday.com
SEND US TO A FRIEND
If you find this newsletter interesting, send it to a friend.
Just hit the forward button on your browser and email it to them.
Maybe they would like to subscribe!
Good Luck and see you next month.
Belinda
Ary
Editor
Macon Gravlee
WebMaster
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
We hope you find this newsletter useful. If you have any
suggestions, tips,
or comments, just drop me a note at webmaster@cattletoday.com
