Commercial cow-calf producers and seedstock breeders interested in purchasing a total performance tested bull will want to attend the 2017 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale. The sale will be the leadoff event of the Illinois Beef Expo. There are 67 bulls cataloged with 27 being longer-aged 2015 mature bulls and 40 yearlings. A breakdown of the breeds includes 42 Angus, 20 Simmental and SimAngus, and 5 Polled Hereford. The sale is scheduled for Thursday, February 23, at 11:00 a.m. and will...

Video discussion on this topic available here During the winter season most cattle are supplemented with dry forages, grains, and co-products. This ration is balanced and delivered to cattle. Then spring comes along and cattle are put out to grass. While green grass solves a lot of problems associated with winter feeding (manure, pen maintenance, calf health, and labor demands), it can pose nutritional challenges....

Grazing cornstalks is arguably the best cost-saving strategy Midwestern cattlemen can deploy. I wanted to share some frequently asked questions pertaining to grazing cornstalks. Q: How long can I graze cornstalks? A: This depends on stocking rate and available dry matter to graze. The quick answer is "At 150 bushels an acre, approximately 1 acre of cornstalks are needed to feed the cow for 30 days. To feed the same cow on cornstalks for 60 days, 2 acres would be needed." I think these are...

This post is authored by Kendi Sayre, University of Illinois Beef Extension intern. When considering creep feeding your spring born calves, many factors will play a role in the decision. While it might always seem like a good idea to supplement calves to push them to heavier weaning weights, there are negatives as well. Depending on the milk production, pasture quality and quantity, and time of year creep feeding can be an advantage that allows for more profits. First, you must decide if the...

There is nothing like a healthy new born calf to make your day. However, it is important to remember there are several factors that can influence the health and vigor of new born calves. Here are some things you may want to consider. In many areas of the Midwest, Selenium is deficient in the soil. As a result, pasture, hay, and grains that are grown from Midwestern soils will share the deficiency. As a herd manager, one option to consider is providing higher levels of Selenium in your mineral...

The Illinois Performance Tested (IPT) Bull Sale was the lead-off event of the 2017 Illinois Beef Expo held on Feb. 23 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. The sale averaged $3,400 on 54 lots. "This sale continues to be one of the best sources for total performance genetics in the Midwest," said Travis Meteer, IPT sale manager. "During the past 49 years, the sale has sold 4,717 bulls valued at over 8.4 million dollars." There were three breeds represented in the 2017 sale:...

As the temperatures and humidity elevate, it is important to understand and manage to prevent heat stress in your cattle herd. Heat stress can lower performance and in severe cases cause death. Here are some recommendations to keep heat stress at a minimum. Management tips to reduce heat stress: Ensure that water is clean and plentiful. Cattle will drink more water in times of extreme heat. Here is...

Growing pressure from the consumer to further reduce use of antibiotics in livestock production is a hot topic. Many times in hot topic discussions, the obvious gets overlooked. I believe colostrum and managing cows to produce high quality colostrum is necessary no matter the production practice, but we should do a better job emphasizing colostrum in today's production climate. Ensuring adequate colostrum intake is one of the single most important factors in producing healthy, profitable...

Seedstock breeders in Illinois should be identifying bulls they plan to consign to the 2018 Illinois Performance Tested (IPT) Bull Sale. The IPT Bull Sale is the leadoff event for the annual Illinois Beef Expo. The sale is scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The sale accepts older as well as younger bulls, with a birth date range from January 1, 2016 through March 2017. A successful 2017 sale included some of the best bulls to sell yet. "The...

This post is authored by Kendi Sayre, intern at University of Illinois Orr Beef Research Center.It is that time of year again when producers are preparing to wean their early born calves. Other than calving, weaning can be one of the most stressful times of the year both on the calf and the cow. Minimizing outside factors that could add more stress is key, but there are also many strategies to keep both the calf and cow healthy and content. Some of these include: traditional or abrupt weaning,...

I have fielded several calls this week pertaining to best harvest methods and potential feed value of quickly maturing cereal rye. Here are a few questions and answers. When is the ideal time to harvest cereal rye? Late boot stage. Cereal rye matures quickly, thus the ideal time to harvest may be only a 1 week window. Many producers have started using triticale because of a longer harvest window. What is the best harvest method? At this point,...