Low-Hanging Fruit Offers Profits to Cow/Calf Producers

Recently staff at Oklahoma State University sorted all the practices that beef cow/calf producers have available to them and estimated the impact on a $/cwt, $/head and $/bull basis. They utilized data from a number of journal articles to help cow-calf producers learn where profit-making opportunities are available.
There are financial benefits of with a narrowed calving window that results in larger lots of homogeneous cattle that can be offered in auction barns or direct sales. The difference between a one-head lot and a ten-head lot was $5.18 per cwt or $25.55 per head in one study. A narrow calving season can be achieved by allowing bulls access to breeding cows and heifers for a relatively short interval (45 to 60 days.) Cows should be pregnancy tested at weaning. Cows that do not test positive for pregnancy at weaning could be culled at that time or to increase her value, bulls could remain with the open cows and the initially open cows could be palpated before selling. Those that are bred can be sold as bred cows adding $140 to sale revenue.
Bull selection can give the quickest improvement to the calf crop. Assuming a bull produces 30 calves a year weighing an average 525 pounds, using a polled bull can add $496 to $827 a year in value to the calf crop. Hide color also influences sale price. Compared to black-hided calves, other hide colors earned discounts from $1.21 to $13.76 per cwt. Muscling was also found to increase auction value of calves. Calves graded as No. 1 or 2 muscling earned from$10 to $14 per cwt. Selecting a bull that sires polled, black-hided, and No. 1-2 calves can earn at least $2,262 per bull per year over bulls that sire horned, non-black hided and No. 2 and 3 muscled calves.

Summary of Profit-Making Cow-Calf Practices

	Photo: Maine DACF

N ew S eries of F arm-to- F air V ideos H ighlight Maine F airs

Maine Agricultural Fair Season is officially underway, with the Maple Meadow Fair Festival in Mapleton and extending into October when Maine holds its largest Fair, the Fryeburg Fair. Maine has twenty-six licensed fairs that take place over the summer and fall, offering visitors opportunities to learn more about agriculture and the communities they take place in.

This year, fairs will be celebrated in a new series of farm-to-fair videos featuring behind the scenes stories of fair participants. They are part of a collaborative effort between the Department and several fair exhibitors to highlight the work and care that goes into traditional activities offered at Maine fairs. 

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Walt Whitcomb highlighted the new series of farm-to-fair videos. "For over 175 years, Maine agricultural fairs have been a part of who we are as a state," said Whitcomb. "They help connect the public to timeless traditions of rural Maine life. The farm-to-fair videos showcase six important elements of the Maine fair experience: 4-H Show Cattle, Ox Pulling, Horse Pulling, Harness Racing and Barrel Racing. Participants and those who contributed to the creation of this series have done a great job of capturing the essence of what helps make agricultural fairs unique."  
Here is the link to the 4-H Show Cattle video.  

Farmers in Occupation Group with Highest Suicide Rate

Maine Statewide Crisis and Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1.888.568.1112   (Voice/TTY) If you are concerned about yourself or about somebody else, call the crisis hotline to be connected to your closest crisis center.

PASTURE & GRAZING MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District will present the final Beginning Farmer Workshop of 2016 on Saturday, July 30 from 8am-4pm at Aldemere Farm, 70 Russell Ave in Rockport. This free program is sponsored by a grant from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

8am -- Coffee and registration
10-11:30 -- Infrastructure for Rotational Grazing & Record Keeping with Univ. of Vermont Extension Grazing Specialist Kimberley Hagan