Farm & Ranch
Connecting the Numbers
By contributing writer Rayford Pullen
As we continue to get calves on the ground and pray for rain, I often get to tinkering with our numbers to see how we have been doing regarding our birth weights and weaning weights. In 2013, our average birth weight for all calves was 81 pounds. Broken down, it was a 77 pound average for heifers and an 84 pound average
for bull calves. Our average weaning weight for all calves was 612 pounds with heifers averaging 600 pounds and bulls averaging 625. The weaning weights were adjusted to 7 months of age and the calves did not receive creep feed.
Calves were sired by 24 different bulls. When we looked at birth weight difference and weaning weight difference by sire, we saw a range for average of weaning weights per sire from a high of 706 to a low of 570 pounds, or 136 pounds. On the birth weight ranges per sire, we had a range from 64 to 94 pounds or 30 pounds.
To read more pick up the March 2014 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
By Tressa Lawrence
Ranchers across northeast Wyoming and the surrounding areas saw record moisture levels in 2023. The year 2024 has seen significantly less moisture to date.
By Lindsey Monk
People are finishing up brandings. Here, Danny Walter is shown getting it done.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM
On July 6, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) posted in the Federal Register a proposal that radio frequency identification tags be used as official identification for cattle and bison. Following a period for public comment, the USDA APHIS released a statement on April 24, 2024, with the amended animal disease traceability (ADT) regulation for cattle and bison. The full press release may be found at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/aphis-bolsters-animal-disease-traceability-united-states. Under the new rule, cattle and bison will need to be identified with tags that are both visual and electronic.
The USDA defines ADT as knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they have been, and when the animal disease event took place. A system that allows for efficient traceability of livestock in the United States is essential for animal health and reducing the economic effect of a foreign animal disease outbreak and other diseases on livestock producers as well as others whose well-being depends on livestock production.
To read more, pick up a copy of the July issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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