Date: Mar 19 2012
| Cattle Markets & News ReleaseCharting a course in the beef industry means acting on market signals and being ready for the reactions to those actions. “The message of consumer demand is more complicated than it has ever been,” John Stika said at the Kansas State University Cattlemen’s Day earlier this month.
Date: Mar 09 2012
| Blog & CalvingOn the last day of February, I made a passing remark that it was funny we had no calves on Leap Day; funny strange.
Date: Mar 05 2012
| Grid Marketing & News ReleaseDemand for the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand surged higher in 2011, which helps explain a 40% jump in packer-reported CAB grid premiums.
Date: Mar 01 2012
| Blog & Retained OwnershipA perfectly good extra day, Feb. 29, and yet there was no birthday in our herd that is half done calving. We had a lull in mid-February after the AI heifers were done, and now the AI cows are trailing off. Maybe there will be a couple more, but so far we have 41 AI […]
Date: Feb 28 2012
| Grid Marketing & News Release & Premium PotentialThe commercial Angus world warmed to the concept of AngusSource®, with more cattle enrolled each year from 2008 through 2011. During those years, the AngusSource Carcass Challenge (ASCC) saw entries totaling 6,188 with 58.3% accepted for the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand; nearly 13% of the total made USDA Prime, according to Ginette Kurtz, AngusSource manager.
Date: Feb 09 2012
| Blog & StockmanshipThis year, we took the opportunity to draw blood samples on 74 cows for DNA testing as part of a field study for GeneMax™.
Date: Feb 04 2012
| Blog & CalvingSome years, the schedule said it shouldn’t work. AI calves due Feb. 8 could arrive a week early, so I often had family or friends look in on the heifers at night while my Pioneer Woman checked them each morning.
Date: Feb 01 2012
| News Release & StockmanshipThe most productive, high-quality commercial cowherds are often managed like purebreds, with individual animal records and calf performance and carcass data brought to bear on each cow. Progeny are increasingly predictable and accurate in hitting gain and grade targets.
Date: Jan 21 2012
| Blog & StockmanshipWe were all babies once. Grace permitting and with the help of our parents and friends, we grow into adults.
Date: Nov 22 2011
| Blog & Targeting the BrandExtreme volatility is part of the market this fall. I have tried to use “The Boards” with mixed results, but my main strategy to limit risk is using planned genetics with a planned health and weaning protocol.
