Livestock
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Here is an interesting short photo essay on dairies in the Northeast who had to deal with the impacts of the blizzard last week. Roads kept milk trucks from getting through, electricity went out, and some barns collapsed from the weight of the snow on their roofs. You can view it at https://spark.adobe.com/page/HUG59oEPa6kzj/.
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Drovers Newsletter published a special report collecting information on the impacts of recent wildfires that have devastated parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. You can read several related reports on the damage to herds and pastures as well as relief efforts underway to help the affected ranchers by following the link here.
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With the cold weather we’ll be experiencing later this week, following weeks of above normal temperature, I thought this article on cold damage to alfalfa might be useful. Frost damage is most likely to occur if temperatures get to 24 F or below, which could happen in northern parts of the region on Wednesday and…
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A number of wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas have caused significant loss of livestock as well as killing several ranchers in Texas, according to reports in Drovers Newsletter this week. According to Reuters, “fast-moving wildfires that burned through nearly 2 million acres (809,380 hectares) of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas this week have devastated ranches…
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One of my Facebook friends posted a link today to this 2010 OxFam study of the impacts of changing climate on agriculture in Ethopia. Upon skimming it, I was amazed at the detailed analyses the authors made of several different crops and how they are affected by currently observed trends in climate as well as…
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One of the unexpected side effects of this warm winter has been its impact on beef prices. With such nice weather, more people are grilling outdoors, and that means sales of steak and hamburger are booming. This is great news for cattle producers, since the increased demand has kept prices fairly high. You can read…
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Drovers’ Newsletter posted a short article this morning on resources related to drought planning that are available for cattle grazers. They include how to make a drought plan in advance of experiencing drought conditions and what to do once you are in a drought. You can read it here.