Category: Post Weaning

Picking a partner

Date: May 29 2015

More time, more information and more money. What producer doesn’t want all three? It’s possible — with the right feeding partner.

Care and data, before and after

Date: May 08 2015

Moving your cattle along to meet the goals of everyone in the beef supply chain takes focus on the data-backed decisions to add and capture value. Without people like Kenny Montgomery, Ruth Ammon and Meg Groves, those dollars from down the chain might never make it back to the ranch. These are some of the people who keep the plan on course when your cattle enter the feedyard and packing plant. Montgomery is a cowboy in the classic sense. He’s tough, unassuming and resilient – maybe that’s why Pratt Feeders, Pratt, Kan., has made him a part of its team for so long.

Precondition for performance, quality, cash

Date: Mar 23 2015

It’s been talked about for 60 years. It’s better for animals, preferred by most cattle feeders and could provide a 169% return on investment. “2014 was the biggest ‘no brainer’ year in history to precondition your calves,” says Purdue University veterinarian W. Mark Hilton. “2015 could be even better.” Crunching the numbers, Hilton first turns to an 11-year analysis of Indiana beef herds that showed weight alone added $50.84 average profit on preconditioned calves.

No bidders

Date: Mar 09 2015

At his Cattlemen’s College session last month, I heard Mark present a pretty convincing case for preconditioning (a 11-year analysis of Indiana producers showed a profit of more than $80 per head, on average for 60+ day programs, for example).

But it wasn’t just about the economics of it all. It was about the principle.

Exponential Impact

Date: Oct 02 2014

Twenty years later Trevor and Torri Lienemann of Princeton, Neb., have four kids, a 300-cow seedstock operation and lots and lots of data.

Surprise!

Date: Sep 15 2014

“It made me mad!” That’s what a Montana rancher told me when talking about the first carcass data he ever got back.

Risking it

Date: Aug 12 2014

I have yet to visit a ranch that I didn’t find beautiful, but Dry Fork Land and Cattle has to rank right up there with the prettiest.

From ‘happy accidents’ to intentional beef quality

Date: May 05 2014

Doing more with less. In the cattle business, that’s more than a nice idea; it’s the new survival plan.
“In any manufacturing system, if the number of units is reduced, the revenue per unit must increase,” said Pete Anderson, director of research for Midwest PMS, a U.S. livestock feed company. “The cattle industry must focus on maximizing revenue from each animal produced.”

Cattle on feed, friend or foe?

Date: Nov 15 2013

McPherson County, as in Feeders

Date: Oct 23 2013

Last Saturday afternoon, Gary ventured down to McPherson County Feeders, a stellar CAB Partner located south of Marquette, Kan.