Beef cattle production

Production

Learn more about beef cattle production best practices

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Events

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Winter Livestock Nutrition and Feeding Workshop

Event date: Sept. 28, 2021

Event time: | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Crane, MO

Understanding Ruminant Nutrition - How to better understand your cow’s nutritional needs so that you can be prepared for winter feeding taught by Reagan Bluel, Field Specialist in Dairy and Interim SW Research Center Superintendent Getting the ...

Winter Livestock Nutrition and Forage Management Workshop - Carter County

Event date: Sept. 30, 2021

Event time: | 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Van Buren, MO

Elizabeth Picking, Livestock Specialist, will discuss nutritional requirements, hay quality, and supplemental feeding for cowherds in the winter. Jamie Gundel, Agronomy Specialist will discuss fall and winter stockpiling and forage ...

Online Forage Livestock Town Hall

Event date: Oct. 14, 2021

Event time: | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

This online town hall meeting provides education and answer question on current topic areas in the area of forage and livestock production. During this town hall Mark Green who is an ACES employee with NRCS and is housed in Buffalo, Mo. will discuss ...

Winter Livestock Nutrition and Forage Management Workshop - Oregon County

Event date: Oct. 14, 2021

Event time: | 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Alton, MO

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News & articles

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Benefits of the steer feedout

Published: Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021

Mt. Vernon, MO – Entries are now accepted for the next Missouri Steer Feedout. The entry deadline is October 10 with November 2 the actual weighin date.An entry consists of at least five head or more of steers born after January 1, 2021. We prefer ...

Stocker cattle could add value to your operation without breaking the bank

Published: Monday, June 14, 2021

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Stocker cattle make up just 12 percent of the 4.25 million head currently part of the beef industry in Missouri. But these cattle could add as much as $78 million to Missouri’s economy, according to the Missouri Beef Value-Added ...

Profitable cow-calf operations begin with early calvers

Published: Thursday, April 8, 2021

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cows need to conceive and calve early to earn their keep.University of Missouri Extension beef cow-calf specialist Jordan Thomas says managing for a short or even an “ultra-short” calving season should determine which cows get ...

MU Southwest Center studies 'double' stocker calf operations on fescue

Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2021

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers at University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center in Mount Vernon are starting their third year of studying if beef producers can improve profits through a “double” calf stocking and grazing plan.The study ...

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Publications

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Body Condition Scoring of Beef Cattle

Publication date: Sept. 1, 2021

Body condition scoring (BCS) of cattle allows producers to assess the fat reserves of cows during various production phases. When evaluated at key production time points, this information can be used in management and feeding decisions. The aim of ...

Hair Shedding Scores: A Tool to Select Heat Tolerant Cattle

Publication date: April 1, 2021

Responsible beef breeding requires matching cattle genetics to production environment. This is necessary for at least three reasons: Profitability, animal well-being and improved environmental impact. Cattle that are well-suited to their environment ...

Decreasing Generation Interval to Increase Genetic Progress

Publication date: March 1, 2021

<h5>Jared Decker<br />Associate Professor, Animal Sciences</h5><p>To see the greatest return on investing in genomic-enhanced EPDs, cattle breeders must decrease the average age of sires and dams. The factors which determine ...

The Random Shuffle of Genes: Putting the E in EPD

Publication date: March 1, 2021

Even though expected progeny differences (EPDs) have been used by the beef industry for more than 40 years, many misconceptions still exist. Occasionally we will hear a producer say something like, “I bred my cows to a low birth weight bull, but I ...

Fescue Seed and Forage Planning Budget

Publication date: Oct. 1, 2020

This budget presents information useful to farmers planning the production, financing, grazing and marketing of fescue in Missouri. It includes a link to the Missouri Forage Budget Generator spreadsheet. Farmers can modify the budget based on their ...

Northern Missouri Beef Cow-Calf Planning Budget

Publication date: Oct. 1, 2020

This budget presents information useful to northern Missouri beef farmers. The production practices used to develop these cost estimates are common for beef farms in Missouri. Farmers are encouraged to modify this budget to fit their operation. This ...

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Resources

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A Steak in Genomics

A blog for stakeholders in beef production, genetics, and genomics -- by Jared Decker, associate professor in the University of Missouri's Division of Animal Sciences and MU Extension state beef genetics specialist

Better beef prices through improved animal husbandry

A handful of states have added or are planning heifer improvement programs such as one began 17 years ago in Missouri. MU's David Patterson, with other cattle experts, explain programs for improving beef heifers.

Buying Bulls by the Numbers (PDF)

Do the bulls you buy have numbers on them? These numbers show the EPD (top) and the percentile rank (bottom) for calving ease, weaning weight, yearling weight, milk, marbling and ribeye for the Angus bull.

Feasibility of Ruminant Composting (PDF)

Feasibility study completed of a farmer-owned large animal (ruminant) composting facility to be located in southwest Missouri

Fetal Programming in Beef Cattle (PDF)

Missouri Beef Industry - Historical Perspective and Economics (PDF)

A report that provides a historical perspective and details about the Missouri beef industry and its competitiveness.

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