Beef and Grazing Research
Bethany Johnston, Livestock Extension Educator
Author
02/19/2025
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Where, you might ask, can you find beef and grazing research?
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- [00:00:00.340]Welcome to the Extension Minute, brought to you by Bethany Johnston,
- [00:00:05.640]livestock educator for Nebraska Extension, where we bring
- [00:00:09.760]university research directly to you, on your farm and ranch.
- [00:00:14.820]Where, you might ask, can you find beef and grazing research?
- [00:00:19.048]Go to the UNL Beef website at Beef.unl.edu
- [00:00:27.768]While you are there, visit the BeefWatch articles -
- [00:00:31.568]these are timely articles that come out beginning of each month.
- [00:00:35.987]You can also tune into the Beef Podcasts, while you are there.
- [00:00:39.987]Let’s talk about some of the studies that researchers, professors,
- [00:00:43.987]and graduate students have been toiling away at,
- [00:00:46.847]as these results could have an impact on your livestock animals.
- [00:00:51.267]Let’s jump into the topic of calving.
- [00:00:54.447]Some producers have already started calving,
- [00:00:56.800]while others soon will be joining in on this exciting time.
- [00:01:02.040]Can you believe that when you feed
- [00:01:05.340]your pregnant cows impacts when their calf is born?
- [00:01:09.480]Believe it- there are several research studies,
- [00:01:12.337]including some here at Nebraska, that show feeding cows at dusk
- [00:01:16.300]could increase the number of calves born during the day.
- [00:01:21.000]Let me say that again: Feeding heavies (the pregnant cows)
- [00:01:24.780]at dusk will increase the number of calves born during the day
- [00:01:30.680](which resulting in fewer calves being born at night).
- [00:01:34.001]Start 2 or 3 weeks before the start of your
- [00:01:37.680]calving season to start programming your cows.
- [00:01:41.743]The “why” isn’t clearly understood, but it could
- [00:01:44.520]be tied to the fact that the rumen is busy digesting.
- [00:01:47.960]By feeding at dusk, the rumen pressure rises at night,
- [00:01:51.960]tricking the cows to waiting until the day to calve,
- [00:01:55.960]when the rumen pressure drops again.
- [00:01:58.200]Read more about this BeefWatch article, by livestock specialists
- [00:02:03.161]Rick Rasby and Kacie McCarthy, called
- [00:02:06.518]“How to use night feeding to increase daytime calving.”
- [00:02:11.760]Scroll back to January of 2024 to find this article.
- [00:02:16.800]Another BeefWatch article that I recently wrote is called
- [00:02:20.285]“Can pine needles cause abortions in cows?”
- [00:02:23.914]The short answer is “Yes.”
- [00:02:26.194]If pregnant cows ingest ponderosa pine needles, it can lead to abortions.
- [00:02:31.534]A compound in the needles restricts blood flow to
- [00:02:34.520]the uterus and unborn calf, and it can’t be reversed.
- [00:02:38.294]Cows don’t seem to mind the taste of pine needles,
- [00:02:41.454]so the easiest way to prevent pine needle abortion is to
- [00:02:45.374]exclude animals from the ponderosa pine trees.
- [00:02:49.034]Cows that are pregnant into later trimesters,
- [00:02:52.474]are more susceptible to ‘pine needle abortions.’
- [00:02:56.494]Cold weather also seems to play a role.
- [00:02:59.580]Both green and brown ponderosa pine needles can cause abortions,
- [00:03:04.600]so keep those pregnant cows away from the ponderosa pine trees.
- [00:03:10.140]There are events coming up, including the 40th anniversary
- [00:03:14.140]of the Women in Ag conference in Kearney on Feb 20 and 21.
- [00:03:20.494]Private Pesticide Trainings are happening around the state.
- [00:03:23.920]So if you spray restricted use pesticides on land that you own or rent
- [00:03:28.800]for ag purposes, and your pesticide license has expired
- [00:03:33.020](or you need to get a license), those trainings are going on now.
- [00:03:37.460]Visit PESTED.unl.edu for dates and training locations.
- [00:03:44.040]Manure and land applicator trainings are being held across
- [00:03:47.480]the state, with the local one here at Chambers on March 13.
- [00:03:52.820]If you spread manure for fertilizer, this is a
- [00:03:55.660]good hands-on workshop to learn what is required.
- [00:03:59.100]For more information about these local events,
- [00:04:01.617]visit our website at http://holt-boyd.unl.edu/
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