UNL BeefWatch
by University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The BeefWatch Podcast provides timely information to help beef cattle producers improve the sustainability and profitability of their operations. BeefWatch is provided by the Nebraska Extension Beef Systems team and is the audio companion to the UNL BeefWatch Newsletter.
Episodes
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Virtual Fence After Wildfire, Is It the Right Fit for Your Operation?
Virtual fence can be an option to replace internal fences that have been damaged after a wildfire. Things to consider in evaluating this tool as an option are discussed.
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Feeding Baled Corn Residue to Beef Cows
Dr. Drewnoski discusses how method of harvest and ammoniation can drastically impact the quality of the diet consumed by cattle.
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Factors Shaping the Cattle Market with Dr. David Anderson
Market volatility and uncertainty have been the new normal recently. What has happened and what to watch in the months ahead is discussed.
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Using Goats with Virtual Fence to Control Woody and Invasive Weeds in Nebraska Rangeland
Ellen Trahan discusses how virtual fence has allowed them to use goats to address woody encroachment and invasive species in rangeland.
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What Risks do Molds in Cornfield Residue Present to Cattle?
Dr. Scott Fritz of KSU discusses mold in corn and things producers should be aware when preparing to graze corn residue.
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Make Informed Feed Purchasing Decisions Using the Feed Cost Cow-Q-Lator
Comparing feeds on a price per unit of energy and protein consumed by the cow can reveal what are the most economical feed sources.
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Managing Mud in the Feedyard - Focusing on What Matters Most
Connor Biehler discusses things to pay attention to to minimize mud in feedyard pens
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How Jorgenson Land and Cattle Uses Virtual Fence with Cover Crops and Grazing
Nick Jorgenson talks about their 7 year journey of using virtual fence and the value it delivers for grazing pasture and crop ground.
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Virtual Fence Research, Resources and Education Opportunities
Nebraska Extension Specialists discuss research that has been done with virtual fence, what has been learned and the opportunities for producers to utilize this technology for grazing and cattle management.
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Feeding Rye to Cattle on a Growing or Finishing Diet
Dr. Warren Rusche discusses research examining the inclusion of rye grains at various levels of feeding in both growing and finishing diets.
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Extruded and Expelled Soybean Meal as a Partial Replacement for Dried Distillers Grains in Diets for Finishing Cattle
Dr. Warren Rusche from South Dakota State University discusses research showing an advantage in carcass weight for cattle fed extruded and expelled soybean meal as a protein source in finishing diets.
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Prices Favor Limit-Feeding Stockers a High Energy Diet
There are advantadges of using an energy dense diet to grow calves instead of one's containing high levels of forage under current market conditions.
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Comparing Soybeans to Distillers Grains as a Protein Supplement in Growing Diets
Dr. Jim MacDonald discusses the performance of growing cattle fed raw soybeans, roasted soybeans or distillers grains in a silage based diet.
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Additional Vitamin A is Likely Needed When Cattle are Eating Brown Forage
Dr. Drewnoski discusses why Vitamin A is important for health and reproduction and when additional supplement is needed.
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Winter Grazing Cows on Standing Corn and Feeding Shell Corn with Hay - A Producers Perspective
Doug Sieck of Selby, South Dakota discusses his experience grazing standing corn and feeding shell corn with hay when forage is short.
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Limit Feeding Cows to Address a Shortage of Forage
Dr. Shike discusses research on feeding cows concentrates when roughage is in short supply.
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Strategies When Weaning Calves in Stressful Conditions
Drought has stressed calves this summer. Ways to mitigate stress and enhance calf health are discussed.
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Green Is Not Always Growth: Nebraska Pasture Conditions After Late Rains
Late season rains can bring green to rangeland and pastures, but caution should be used in grazing this limited growth.
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Can Your Receiving Program Handle the Heat?
Hot, dry conditions can add additional stress to calves as the are recieved into the yard. Key things to pay attention to are discussed.
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Cows Grazing Standing Corn – A Feed Option for this Summer, Fall, and Winter
Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler at the University of Kentucky discusses research on grazing standing corn and their experience in working with producers.
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LRP-Feeder Cattle Insurance: Recent Enhancement and Performance History
LRP has changed tremendously since it started. Dr. Parsons discusses the opportunities it offers on calves and feeder cattle to manage price risk.
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Build Cows that Stay - Heifer Development for Long Term Productivity
Recent research has confirmed management practices that enhance the potential for a replacement heifer to stay in the herd.
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Early Weaning Strategies for Challenging Forage Conditions
Early weaning can help reduce forage demand on rangeland and pastures. Strategies for utilizing this option are discussed.
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Limit Feeding Cows with Soy Hulls and Low Quality Hay
Dr. Brandon Smith discusses research that examined feeding 10-12 lbs. of soy hulls per day with limited access to CRP hay to dry, pregnant cows.
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Using Ultrasound for Early Pregnancy Diagnosis and Sexing Calves
Dr.Lindsay Waechter-Mead highlights the value of ultrasound as pregnancy diagnosis tool, the information it can provide and keys to timing of use.
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Using Composite Bull, Pooled Sexed Semen in Beef Heifers
Dr. Rick Funston discusses his experience in working with a commercial cow-calf operation to utilize sexed semen with heifers.
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Strategic Cowherd Destocking to Promote Future Rebuilding
Evaluating options under current market conditions to keep a core of females from which to rebuild the cow herd going forward is discussed.
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Early Weaning Calves - A Producer Perspective
John Maddux from near Imperial discusses how the operation has used early weaning as a tool to mitigate drought impacts.
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Cattle Market Conditions with Dr. David Anderson
Cattle fundamentals continue to be strong supported by exceptional product quality and ongoing consumer demand.
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Reducing Pasture Fire Risk
Principles for reducing the risk of fire when working in rangelands and pastures is discussed.
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America’s Appetite for Beef
The American consumer is increasingly eating more beef at a higher price than they were a decade ago.
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Virtual Fence Tour in eastern Nebraska, northwest Missouri and southwest Iowa June 16 and 17
Virtual fence technology is advancing rapidly. This two day tour will demonstrate its use on both producer operations and in research settings.
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Dr. Jerry Volesky, 31 Years as a Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist
Dr. Jerry Volesky completes a 31 year career with the University of Nebraska in June. He shares what he has learned and what he sees as key management thought processes and management practices related to range, pasture and annual forages.
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Dr. Rick Rasby, 40 Years as a Nebraska Extension Cow-Calf Specialist
Dr. Rick Rasby completes a 40 year career with the University of Nebraska in June. He shares what he has learned and what he sees as important for the success of cow-calf producers going forward.
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Impact of Sire Over-Conditioning on Bull Fertility
Recent research is demonstrating that bull body condition during semen production influences not only sperm viability but also embryo development.
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Prussic Acid May Still be Present in Harvested Hay
Recent research is challenging the widely held belief that prussic acid breaks down in hay. Dr. Gruss from Iowa State discusses the data and gives principles to address this risk.
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How is Methane from Cattle Measured?
Measuring methane produced from cattle is a challenging process. The methods and tools utilized are discussed.
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Ranch Tax Management Considerations During Disasters and Drought
Disasters bring tax consequences which require thorough documentation. Options for managing income from livestock are dicussed as well.
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Down Stream Margin Trouble
Margins at the feedlot and packer level are showing negative values for the foreseable future. Dr. Koontz from CSU discusses the signal this sends for cow-calf and stocker yearling operations and why now is a good time to put into practice price risk management.
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How and Why is Methane Produced in Cattle?
The University of Nebraska is examining factors that impact methane production from cattle. This research includes the microbial population in the rumen, inoculation of the rumen environment early in an animal’s life, diet and cattle genetics.
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Leveraging Summer Annual Forages in Today’s High Cattle Markets
Current crop commodity prices, fertilizer input costs, and a shortage of grazeable forage in Nebraska is creating a senario where planting summer annual forages for grazing or harvested feed may be a more profitable option than growing row crops in 2026.
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Farm/Ranch Insurance and Wildfires - What is Commonly Covered?
Taking time to annual review your insurance policy to understand what is and is not covered in the event of a wilfire is an important practice for farm and ranch owners.
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Using Virtual Fence after a Wildfire - A Producer's Perspective
Jessie Jarvis, a rancher from near Eagle, Idaho shares her family's experience with using virtual fence to graze cows on portions of allotments that didn't burn without building physcial fence. The lessons earned and the opportunities she sees going forward with this technology are discussed also.
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Nebraska Cattle Health Update: Bovine Theileriosis and the Asian Longhorned Tick
Dr. Matt Hille, Veterinary Pathologist and Extension Specialist, discusses the westward movement of the Asian Longhorned Tick and the impact it can have as a vector for Bovine Theileriosis which is caused by a protoza which results in anemia for infected animals.
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Why Storage, Not Age, Determines Hay Quality
The conditions hay is stored under is the major driver of how quality is retained. Factors that impact hay deterioration are discussed.
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Rebuilding Fences After a Disaster
Nebraska Extension Educator Jessica Groskopf discusses things land owners should know regarding Nebraska fence law and Federal cost-share programs, before removing and replacing fences.
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Managing Burned Pastures After a Wildfire - How to Graze
Drs. Jerry Volesky and Mitch Stephenson discusses factors that influence when pastures impacted by wildfires will be ready to be grazed.
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Considerations for Breeding Season in Confinement for Beef Cattle
Dr. Karla Wilke discusses management practices that producers should pay attention to if the breeding season will need to occur in a dry lot setting this year.
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25 Years of the Sandhills Calving System
Dr. David Smith and Dr. Dale Grotelueschen discuss the circumstances and system that they developed with producers, which became known as the Sandhills Calving System. This management practice has been shown to drastically reduce the incidence of scours in young calves.
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Caring for Livestock and People after Wildfire
Dr. Travis McCarty and Dr. Randall Spare, two veterinarians from Kansas, share their experiences of going through multiple wildfires personally and with their clients on principles for caring for livestock and supporting the impacted people. Nebraska Extension veterinarians Dr. Funk and Dr.…
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About this show
The BeefWatch Podcast provides timely information to help beef cattle producers improve the sustainability and profitability of their operations. BeefWatch is provided by the Nebraska Extension Beef Systems team and is the audio companion to the UNL BeefWatch Newsletter.
Hosted by
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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