🤠 Ready for Calving?

Foreign Footprint, Beating the Cold and New Rule, Old Rule from Ranching.com by CattleMax

January 22, 2025

Ranching.com is your weekly dose of trending news, seasonal tips, and community content put together by our team of ranchers.

NEWS

🤠 Ready for Calving?

Farm Progress

🤠 Calving with Confidence - For successful calving, preparation is key. Ensure you have the right equipment, knowledge, and help for difficult deliveries. Pay attention to first-calf heifers, use proper techniques, and call a vet when needed. Long-term management, like choosing calving-ease bulls, can reduce dystocia rates.

🌎 Foreign Footprint - Foreign investors now own nearly 45 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, or 3.5% of all privately held land. Canadian investors lead, followed by those from Europe. This report highlights rising acquisitions, particularly in forest and cropland, and the growing impact of foreign leasing activities.

🐂 Cold Care for Bulls - Winter management for bulls is crucial, as they are often exposed to harsh conditions that can affect fertility. Karla Wilke advises protecting bulls from frostbite, maintaining body condition, and conducting yearly breeding soundness exams to ensure optimal breeding success.

⚖️ New Rule, Old Rule - The USDA finalized a rule under the Packers and Stockyards Act to increase fairness and transparency for poultry growers, but withdrew a separate rule aimed at defining unfair practices. The NCBA praised the withdrawal, citing concerns over market impacts.

󠁵󠁳󠁮󠁤󠁿❄️ Beating the Cold - Cold stress can impact cattle during extreme winter weather, but proper nutrition and shelter can help mitigate risks. Higher-quality feed, extra energy, windbreaks, bedding, and access to unfrozen water are essential for maintaining cattle health in harsh conditions.

💵 Funding for Risk Management - The USDA's Risk Management Agency is offering up to $2 million in funding for cooperative agreements to support risk management training for farmers and ranchers. Eligible organizations can apply by March 11 through grants.gov.

RANCHING KNOW-HOW

Sustainable Beef LLC

Trey Wasserburger of TDAngus updates us on the progress of Sustainable Beef LLC, a multimillion-dollar packing plant set to open in less than three months. He discusses challenges like inflation, cattle numbers, and partnerships, including Walmart.

Whole Animal Health Trend Valuable to Ranchers

James Barry, founder of PLUCK, discusses the growing trend of eating organ meats for their health benefits and how ranchers can tap into this market. He highlights challenges in sourcing and processing but encourages collaboration to promote sustainability and nutrition.

RANCHING AROUND THE WORLD RECAP
CATTLE COMMUNITY
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
❝

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Albert Einstein

READER POLL

What’s your opinion on the USDA’s recent decision to withdraw the rule defining "unfair practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act?

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LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

Poll 1: Are you currently testing animals for replacement and feeding decisions?

Poll 2: If you are testing, what are you testing for?

34.9%: Yes, as a Registered Seedstock Producer

29.2%: Yes, as a Commercial Producer

23.6%: No, but I am interested in it for decision making.

12.3%: No, and I am not interested.

14.3%: Parentage

14.3%: Diseases (e.g. BVD-PI)

2%: Genetic defects, traits or conditions

20%: Performance Traits & Replacement Heifer Selection

6.1%: Feeder Cattle

42.9%: Combination of the Above

THOUGHTS FROM VOTERS
Yes, as a Registered Seedstock Producer

  • “We have DNA info and genomically enhanced EPD on every animal we own. We do two different assessments of our animal’s genetics and base our breeding decisions on that information. It is nearly impossible for us to have a bad calf.”

No, but I am interested in it for decision making.

  • “For parentage, homozygous polled, genetic defects, etc. but not growth, carcass or fertility. The animal can demonstrate that quickly and better.”

No, and I am not interested.

  • “The easiest dollar to make is one you didn’t spend. We don’t find that additional testing makes an overall difference on enough to make it worth the time and money.”