North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Franklin County Center
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
103 S Bickett Blvd
Louisburg, NC 27549
Phone: 919/496-3344 Fax: 919/496-0222
Web site: http://franklin.ces.ncsu.edu
Beef Newsletter
December & January 2014
Franklin County Livestock Association to Meet: Thurs., December 19th
Plan to attend the Livestock Association’s holiday gathering on Thursday, December 19th at Johnny Bull’s
Restaurant in Louisburg (behind Bo Jangles). The dutch meal will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the program
following. Guest speaker will be Bryan Blinson, Executive Director of the NC Cattlemen’s Association who
will give an update on the cattle industry, future predictions, etc. If you plan to attend, call me, 919-496-3344,
or email, martha_mobley@ncsu.edu before December 18th.
Certified Safe Farm of North Carolina Program coming in 2014!
Agents in the County will soon be trained to conduct “Certified Safe Farm Trainings” for you, the farmer, in
the coming year. The program is designed to save lives, improve health, and lower costs on NC farms. Also,
cost-share money will be available to assist with improving your farming operation, ie., new tractor tires,
better corral design equipment, chemical storage, etc. to promote safety. Those participating in the program
will also be given a “Certified Safe Farm” metal sign to display at the entrance of their farms! This new
program is coming soon to benefit Franklin County farmers.
Franklin County Hay Directory
Prices of imported hay have really increased in price during the last several months mainly due to the
increased fuel costs. If you have quality, excess hay and would like to be included in the Franklin County
Hay Directory, email me at martha_mobley@ncsu.edu. The directory lists producers and types of hay
available.
The FranklinCountyFarmFresh.com, website is currently being updated and the Hay Directory will be placed
on the website along with a section on “classified’s”…. where you can list pastureland for rent, land for sale,
farm equipment for sale, and much more.
Scours in Calves
I've gotten several calls in the past weeks with calves having scours. Viruses, bacteria, or protozoa can cause
scours. The best resistance for newborn calves to scours is the antibodies they receive through colostrum.
With this disease, the primary cause of death is dehydration. Administering fluids is the most effective when
given early after detecting scours. Most diarrheic calves will respond favorably to oral fluids, either
homemade or commercial product. Many of you have used antibiotics in treating scours. However, antibiotics
do not affect many of the major disease agents involved in calf diarrhea at all. If you do use antibiotics to treat
scours, remember injectable antibiotics are usually more effective than oral antibiotics (Scour pills).
Replacement of fluid loss and nursing care(warmth, dryness, and nutritional support) should be the foundation
of calf diarrhea therapy. Consult your veterinarian for advice on the control and treatment of calf scours.
Persons with disabilities and persons with limited English proficiency may request accommodations to participate by contacting Charles F.
Mitchell, County Extension Director, at 919.496.3344 or email charles_mitchell@ncsu.edu or fax 919.496.0222 or appear in person at the County
Extension Office at least 5 days prior to the event registration deadline.
North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity
regardless of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran’s Status. In addition the two Universities welcome all
person without regard to sexual orientation. North Carolina State Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation. North
Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local government cooperating.
Homemade Recipe for the Oral Supplementation of Scouring Calves
1 3/4 oz. (1 pkg) fruit pectin (like Sure-Jell)
1 tsp. Lite Salt
2 tsps. Baking soda
10 1/2 oz. (1 can) beef consommé
Warm water to make 2 quarts
Directions: Give 2 quarts orally 2-3 times daily and fresh water ad libitum. Continue diet for 24
hours after diarrhea ceases.
(JAVMA, 174: 373-377, 1979)
Observations on Handling Cattle....
(reprinted from Yon family farm winter newsletter)
1. Cattle often take on the personalities of their owners.
2. Cattle move AWAY from noise.
3. Never walk, stand, or visit, in FRONT of the chute, especially when work is being performed at
the BACK of the chute. (AI, etc.)
4. Cattle MUST have an opening or “daylight” to go toward if you are trying to move them
forward.
5. Cattle have excellent memories.
6. Twisting the tail with too much force results in unsightly broken tails.
7. If you need to sort out a particular cow from a group, don't let her see you make eye contact,
UNLESS she turns to escape.
8. The calmer you work, the calmer the cattle will remain.
9. Facilities can make working cattle a pleasure or can be part of a recipe for disaster.
10. Some people will always be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
11. If your spouse says they are “going to the house” in the heat of the battle, don't believe them –
they would hate to miss the fun.
12. If you have a good dog, use it. If you have one of the “other kind”, tie them up or leave them on
the truck!
13. Think like a cow.
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Forage Tips for December & January
December:
** Limit the grazing of winter pastures by feeding hay on pasture or restricting acres available to
animals.
** Feed hay stored outside before using hay that is stored inside.
** Map a monthly forage demand for specific classes of livestock. Total annual needs can be
estimated if you remember that each cow requires 25 to 30 pounds of hay equivalent per day.
** Weed control should be completed on seedling legumes, especially for certain herbicides.
** If you plan to seed switchgrass in April or May, buy your seed this month and store at room
temperature or slightly higher to break seed dormancy.
January:
**To get maximum use of stockpiled fescue, restrict the grazing area (electric cross fencing) so that
four to six cows are grazing on an acre.
** If winter pasture is limited, feed hay in the pasture or allow cows to graze every other day. The
priority for limited pasture is for (1) calves by creep grazing, (2) stockers, (3) nursing cows, and (4)
dry cows.
** Winter annual pastures that were planted on a prepared seedbed may be severely damaged if
animals trample on them during wet periods. Allow calves first priority to these high-quality annual
pastures.
** Sample hay bales which are stored outside that will be fed during the next four to eight weeks.
** Decide which fields will be re-seeded or overseeded during late winter and early spring; obtain
soil test and supplies for planting.
** Lime may be applied on sod during this “off season.”
** Keep a record of winter weed problems so that control measures can be taken next fall. This is
the latest month that some herbicides may be used on legumes.
** Determine animal feed requirements for the year (about 6 tons hay equivalent/cow-calf pair) and
outline a 12-month forage production and use plan to meet the needs.
Pregnancy blood test....
There are several companies doing cattle pregnancy testing by blood sample. For a minimum fee,
you can send in a sample of blood, and receive the results by email about the second day after they
receive the samples... Some of you are already using this method to preg.-check cows.... especially if
you only have a few to check... Give me a call for more information...
Beef Management Tips for January
If you are fall calving.... in late Dec./ January you need to ....
** vaccinate cows for IBR, BVD, PI3, and leptospirosis at least 2 weeks before breeding. Deworm
cows and replacement heifers.
** maintain condition of heifers and have cows gaining weight as breeding approaches.
** continue breeding heifers (put bulls or A.I. one month before breeding mature cow herd). Breed
heifers for 60 days to bulls known to sire light birth weight calves.
** Have heifers in gaining condition going into the breeding season. Heifers should weigh 600 –
800 lbs. at breeding, depending on frame size. Brand replacement heifers.
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** Conduct breeding soundness exam on bulls within 3 weeks of breeding season. Continue
conditioning bulls.
** Obtain semen and artificial inseminations (AI) supplies.
** Calves of first-calf heifers should be creep fed or creep grazed.
** Sell all cows that are not nursing calves.
** Casterating and dehorning of fall-born calves should be completed.
** Begin breeding mature cow herd (if cow bred on Jan. 1st, then she should calve around Oct. 13th).
** If cows are cycling well, consider estrous synchronization.
** Provide clean fresh water and provide mineral mix with magnesium.
Missing a Friend
On a cold Sunday afternoon two years ago, several area cattlemen came together to enjoy homemade
brunswick stew and conversation in front of a roaring fire … conversation concerning the future of
the cattle industry, trends, etc. and also to meet on of the great, brilliant cattle minds in the United
States.. Dr. Kris Ringwall, North Dakota’s Beef Specialist. Kris was speaking to a cattlemen group
in the mountains of NC and was invited to come visit my late husband, Steve and me. Steve and
Kris were the best of friends in graduate school while attending Oklahoma State University. Both
were studying and conducting research in the beef cattle field. Kris went on to become a beef
specialist and Steve was Franklin County’s Livestock Agent for two years before becoming NC’s
Horse Marketing Specialist with NCDA & CS. Kris writes thought provoking articles for national
beef publications, including his weekly “BEEFTALK”… I thought I would share the one he wrote
on his friend, Steve.
BEEFTALK 684
“Love of the Land”
By DR. KRIS RINGWALL NDSU Extension Beef Specialist
There are those days that should never come but they do. A quick note, maybe a phone call, maybe
an email or some other communication, but the message is still the same, someone has left us. We
are left behind to rake leafs, to continue the preparing for what this life will bring us. Once one rakes
the leafs and puts everything in order, the tree seems awfully bare. At times, if one is not careful,
there can be this thought that no matter what we do, the leafs will always stay on the tree. We can
become indifferent and in that indifference we began to believe we can keep the tree green. It does
not work that way. Everything we do must somehow help those who are to come after us. Simply
being here as a user does not work. I had the pleasure to walk with Steve not that long ago and
admire how he had come to appreciate all that he was doing, not only for those close to him, but in a
much broader way of helping people, helping people through the land that he loved. Ralph Waldo
Emerson once said “Agriculture is the mother of all the arts and the foundation of all civilized
society. The farmer stands close to nature, he obtains from the earth the bread and the meat. The
food which was not, he causes to be.” That was Steve, the one that ‘obtains from the earth the bread
and the meat.’ Walking along, the source was the land and all that can be produced from that land.
And not only producing but marketing the produce, face to face, to those who needed the evening’s
meal. If one really ponders, there are two thoughts that dominate much of the discussion within
agriculture. There are those who are constantly seeking inputs to expand outputs. The assumption is
that by increasing inputs, one can expand outputs and feed the world. The same thought would apply
to supply and demand for all that people desire.
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If the demand is strong, supply will increase and associated inputs will be sought with costs wrapped
up in the final product. Technology is advanced at an aggressive pace to keep up with dwindling
inputs. This aggressive model assumes that larger and larger quantities of food can be produced to
meet the ever-growing population through the discovery of new inputs. As Steve and I walked,
another model was quite evident. There was not a need to feed the world, but a need to feed the
neighbor. For if everyone was to take care of their neighbor the world would never be hungry. One
greater than us actually came up with that idea, and Steve was a living example of one who took care
of the neighbors. Food and the capacity of the land to produce food is astonishing. A pair of hands
and some space can yield a tremendous bounty of food. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson said “The
farmer stands close to nature, he obtains from the earth the bread and the meat. The food which was
not, he causes to be.” This bountiful harvest, is what makes the heart and soul of those who love the
land smile. The harvest yields what we need, and as we spread that harvest around, are neighbors
smile, and as the neighbors share with neighbors the world smiles. Another friend’s thought arrived
in one of those quick emails shortly after I learned of Steve’s passing. The discussion was centered
on family and the comment “We now worry over them, so the list just expands from parenthood on.
This a difficult world for those young people as they mature and stand up for values and principles
that are quickly eroding in society at large. I think they will all be sorely tested as this environment
continues to get worse.” As we all move further from the land that Ralph and Steve and so many of
us have cherished, the world does get contentious. An input driven world with less reality and more
presumption that all wants can be had. Again, not a true statement. The land has provided for many
generations that were always dependent on the land. The land was reality. As ranchers and farmers,
livestock and crops were cared for, and neighbors cared for neighbors. What was assumed a simple
task, was the caring for all the living things that were entrusted to the farmer or rancher. Ralph
understood that connect between the land and the need to farm. Steve was that connection. The soil,
the crops, the grass, the cattle, the harvest and the food. Finally, a few fresh cut flowers, the meal,
conversation and farewell, all products of the land and its people. We need more Steve’s, and with
that our future would be strong. Farewell Steve.
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May you find all your Ear Tags
For more information, contact www.ag.ndsu.edu/news or
North Dakota State University Extension Service, NDSU Dept. 7000
315 Morrill Hall, P.O. Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050
Upcoming Events...
Thursday, December 19: Franklin County Livestock Assn. Holiday Meeting, 6:30 pm, Johnny
Bull’s Restraurant, Louisburg, dutch treat, Speaker: Bryan Blinson, Director of NC Cattlemen’s
Assn., to preregister, call me at 919-496-3344.
Friday, December 20: Butner Performance Tested Bull Sale, Granville Cty. Livestock Center, 12
noon, 44 bulls to sell.
Friday, January 24: Wholesale Marketing to regional buyers (Lowe’s foods, etc.), Extension Annex,
Louisburg, (half day event).
Saturday, February 22 Franklin County's EIA Clinic; annual equine clinic to test for coggins &
various vaccines, Farmers Market Shelter, Louisburg, 9 a.m. -- 1 p.m.; must call the Ext. Center at
919-496-3344 to reserve a time to bring horses, etc.
Wednesday, February 12: CFSA Grain and Livestock Organic Conference, Nash CC, Rocky Mt.
Saturday, March 1: Successful Small Opportunities Conference, VGCC, Louisburg, all day event,
many farming topics taught by successful farmers!, call me for more information.
Thursday, April 17: Franklin County FUN 4-H Livestock Show, DD Equestrian Center near
Louisburg, all day event.
Sincerely,
Martha L. Mobley
Extension Agent
Agriculture
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