Hello all, I know several people called last week while I was out; however, I was at a conference in Mobile, Alabama.  The conference had several tours available, but of course I chose to attend "Where's the Beef?".  We toured the following facilities: 1.  Hastings Farm is located...

by Taking Stock Contributor By Anne Zinn, ASAS Communications A two-year study appearing in the October issue of the Journal of Animal Science examined the effects of frame size and time...

Every year I am asked to provide a information on feedstuffs to balance rations.  I found an article that has a link to a Table of 280 feedstuffs commonly used to feed cattle and sheep.Keep in mind though that feeds are not constant.  The best way to balance a diet is to have your...

Well the cool weather is over.  Many producers have told me that they were trying to catch up on hay production.  It definitely was a pleasant weekend; too bad it would not last through October!Even though we had a brief reprieve from the weather, keep in mind that it has been hot and...

For more than a century, a livestock disease mystery has stumped producers and veterinarians alike—how does bluetongue disease overwinter? The answer is the virus survives the winter by reproducing in the tiny midges that transmit it, report veterinary scientists at the University of California...

WITH farm-state members of Congress sounding the alarm over actions taken against small grain farms by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a top Department of Labor official said the intent, practice or policy of the agency...

While reading numerous articles about the beef industry, this one seemed rather interesting.  Curious as to what you think.The U.S. cattle industry needs to change the way it produces beef if it is to stay competitive in what has become a "ground beef nation,'' according to Don Close, an...

Easily excitable cattle can be dangerous to themselves and cattle-handling personnel. And according to a recent project conducted at North Dakota State University, they may also have lower quality carcasses than calmer cattle. The study, which was conducted from August 2013 to February 2014,...

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking public input on possible revisions to the U.S. Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef to adjust for recent improvements and trends in animal raising and feeding. AMS is also seeking input on a review of beef instrument grading. One driver is...

Consumers given a random list of 15 sources of information about meat and livestock rated USDA as the most trustworthy source and Chipotle Mexican Grill as the least trustworthy, according to the Oklahoma State University Food Demand Survey. Respondents rated both the Humane Society of the...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced new procedures that will allow the agency to trace contaminated ground beef back to its source more quickly, remove it from commerce, and find the root cause of the incident to prevent it from...

I think that the USDA does a great job in telling us what we may know, but just don't have the data to substantiate.  While I already provided you with a link to the 2012 Ag Census, there are additional data that I think is interesting especially since it concerns beef cow operations. ...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published its fourth annual report summarizing the sales and distribution data of antimicrobial drugs approved for use in food-producing animals....

During the 10thWorld Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Dr. BrianKinghorn of the University of New England gave a presentation on Mondayabout the potential impact genomic information could have on genetic change. The presentation addressed 4 major questions about what genomic...

I have been waiting for the 2012 Census of Ag.  There is always something interesting however here are the highlights.  *  The 2012 Census of Agriculture shows a nationwide drop in land devoted to agricultural production from 922 million acres in 2007 to less than 915 million acres...

Producers cannot seem to catch a break.  Drought for several years has hampered hay production.  Also the rains of spring last year hampered hay production.  Commodity prices have been high; although corn is down to around $4.25.  Now plants will begin to remove most of the oil...

By: Ben Potter, Farm Journal Technology Editor Climate change can be a difficult topic of discussion, especially when the mainstream media does a poor job covering it, says Chris Anderson, the assistant director of Iowa State University's Climate Science Program. "What you hear on TV is...

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation's recent survey on big data, increasing numbers of farmers get benefits from using new agricultural technologies, yet they remain wary of risks involved with data collection. More than 3,300 farmers participated in...

I am glad that now the FDA can focus on the issue at hand rather than litigation.   The Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision July 24 supporting the Food & Drug Administration's decision to pursue a collaborative stakeholder process to implement significant changes to...

There are a few hot-button issues that seem to be flash points in generating heated debate about the safety of our food supply. Perhaps one of the most volatile of those flash points is whether or not genetically engineered (GE) foods, often called genetically modified organism or GMOs, are...