Tag Archives: Beef

2016 Snapshot of Virginia Agriculture

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Jillian Broadwell

ag-econ-club-info-graphic

Info graphic courtesy of the VT Ag Econ Club.

View larger: http://news.cals.vt.edu/fbm-update/files/2016/10/Ag-Econ-Club-Info-Graphic-2016.pdf

 

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The Great Debate: Harvesting vs. Grazing Forage

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Jillian Broadwell

Contributed by Carl Stafford, Senior Extension Agent, Animal Science, Culpeper County

Wintering cost is one of the biggest expenses in producing beef cattle. John Howe, Spotsylvania Extension Agent, explained the difference in the cost of a pound of dry matter from pasture vs. that from harvested feed. He found that the equipment harvested feed can run 3 to 4 times the cost of that harvested by cattle.  Gordon Groover supports Howe in his article, “What I Know about Forage Economics,” Virginia Forager, Fall 2016, page 7.  He finds that each ton of hay could have more than $200 per ton equipment depreciation before “out-of-pocket” expenses are added.

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2016 Winter Forage Conferences to Feature Experts on Tall Fescue

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Gordon Groover

Theme: Tall Fescue in the 21st Century: Understanding and Managing Tall Fescue in Grazing Systems
Gordon Groover, Extension Specialist, Ag and Applied Economics, VA Tech

Dates: January 26-29, 2016

Tall Fescue in the 21st Century is the theme for the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council (VFGC) and Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) winter forage conferences. This year’s conference highlights current knowledge and practice that producers can apply to management of their tall fescue based grazing systems. This year’s speakers are nationally recognized experts in tall fescue production and management. The morning program will focus on understanding issues and problems with tall fescue and the afternoon program will explore potential solutions to these problems. Continue reading →

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Virginia Market Maker, Part II: Featured Virginia Agribusiness on Virginia Market Maker!

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Gordon Groover

Dr. Kim Morgan, Assistant Professor and Kohl Junior Faculty Fellow

Market Maker, a web-based portal that serves as a virtual marketplace for producers, distributors, and sellers, and buyers of agricultural products, seeks to provide farm-to-fork access to participants in the food supply chain.va-MarketMakerLogo-rgb Continue reading →

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Using Market Maker to Connect Virginia Meat Producers and Processors

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Gordon Groover

Santerra Boyd, Garret Chambers, Matthew Harris, and Montgomery McCarthy, all Virginia Kohl Centre students; Dr. Gordon Groover, Kohl Centre Facilitator, Associate Professor and Extension Program Leader, Virginia Tech; Dr. Kimberly Morgan, Kohl Junior Facility Fellow, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech

Market Maker allows for harvest facilities to more effectively advertise their businesses and for producers to find harvesting facilities that best fit their needs. The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide information about MarketMaker to Extension agents, VDACS employees, harvest and packing facilities, and animal producers. Visit this site to learn more about MarketMaker https://foodmarketmaker.com/main/why. After addressing the need for improved avenues of communication between harvest facilities and animal producers, an educational video tutorial was developed by the authors to demonstrate the steps a manager can take to register their meat processing facility on the Market Maker database https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs1xNzPav4k.

The complete publication an be found at: https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/AAEC/AAEC-86/AAEC-86-pdf.pdf

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Reducing Beef Cow Numbers and Feeding Hay Fewer Days to Improve Profits

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Gordon Groover

Tom Stanley, Extension Agent, Farm Business Management, Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Highland, and Bath Counties

These are good times in the cattle business with record high prices for calves and feed prices that have moderated following the severe drought in the Corn Belt in 2012. Beef cattle are the leading agricultural product in most Virginia Counties west of the Blue Ridge in terms of land use and gross receipts, thus the favorable cattle market is good news. The three to five year outlook for the cow/calf sector (the predominant type of beef production in Virginia) is very strong. This has many cattlemen contemplating how they might retain their own heifer calves or acquire additional cows to capitalize on this profitable environment. Continue reading →

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Cattle in the 2012 Agricultural Census

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Rose Jeter

Gordon Groover, Extension Economist, Farm Management, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech

The 2012 Agricultural Census contains a wealth of information for all sectors of U.S. and  Virginia agriculture. One of Virginia’s most widely dispersed commodities in Virginia is the cattle herd, found from the Alleghany Mountains to the Tidewater. Continue reading →

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Should I sell or background my feeder cattle

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Gordon Groover

Peter Callan (peter.callan@vt.edu), Extension Agent, Farm Business Management, Northern District and Kelly Liddington (klidding@vt.edu), Extension Agent, Animal Science, Richmond County

The recent decline in corn prices has some Virginia cattle producers feeding 600 pound weaned calves to higher weights.  Furthermore, this management decision has been supported by the strengthening of cattle prices in September with premiums on cattle futures in deferred months.  Calculation of the cost of feed for an animal to gain one pound of weight is key to determining the profitability of retaining ownership of these cattle. This article discusses the profitability of keeping 600 pound feeder calves by feeding them simple and complex rations as compared to just taking the calves of the cows and selling at the sale barn. Continue reading →

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