Cattle

Few organized cattle associations have existed in Kentucky as long as Central Kentucky Angus Association, which will be marking its 50th anniversary on Saturday. “It marks 50 years to the date of the first sale,” said Tim Dievert, who manages the sales and is a member of the association.  His father, Floyd Dievert, was a member of the Boyle County Angus Association, from which the CKAA formed. BCAA had its first heifer calf sale on Nov. 3, 1962. It changed to CKAA¿shortly after that first sale.

The man accused of stealing six head of cattle from his uncle said the cattle were his to begin with, but the uncle had the receipt from the purchase. Steven T. Benton, 25, is facing charges of theft of livestock for the cattle, coupled with receiving stolen property charges for allegedly taking and pawning fishing gear from the same uncle. Following two preliminary hearings Wednesday in Clark District Court, both cases were sent to the grand jury. The cattle owner, Charles B. Steppe, reported the theft the day the cattle were located at the stockyards in Lexington.

Central Kentucky continues to be abnormally dry. The small amount of rain received this week will help some, but it came too late to help very much. Many Clark County farmers harvested more hay than usual early this summer, and wondered what they would do with all that hay. With the current depletion of pastures, it seems likely that the hay surplus could easily turn into a deficit before spring. Cattle producers are encouraged to take inventory of hay on hand, and do some calculations to determine the adequacy of existing supplies for the livestock on the farm.

Superlatives flew at the grand opening of Bluegrass South Stockyards in Stanford Thursday - biggest, best, fastest, most modern. A good place to start at dissecting these claims is with Doug Gooch, Stanford resident and owner of AGE Engineering Services, Inc., who designed the yards. Gooch grew up on a farm, but was mostly in the "hay moving" business, he said, so his understanding of stock handling was limited. So Gooch took three week-long trips to stockyards in Missouri to see a western-style stockyards operate.

management is an important but sometimes overlooked aspect of beef cow-calf operations. A high reproductive rate in the herd increases the number of calves and can also increase weights at market. A tight breeding season can lower labor costs and the overall cost of production by increasing feed and other efficiencies. The most limiting factor of reproductive rates in Kentucky is heat stress. Some 95 percent of beef operations in the state calve in the spring and still have endophyte-infected fescue in their pastures.

STANFORD - Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is searching for suspects who allegedly broke into the Lincoln County Stockyards on Nov. 5 and stole seven head of cattle. Sheriff Curt Folger said the alleged thieves gained access to the stockyards by cutting a chain on the front gate. Then, they probably used a trailer to remove four cows and three steers from the business. “I would say that they probably loaded up the trailer with all it could hold,” Folger said. The seven cattle - four Holsteins, one Jersey steer, one red steer and one black-and-white-faced steer - are valued at about $5,000.

LIBERTY - Cattle were turned loose on Poplar Hill Road Saturday morning after the truck pulling them caught on fire. According to Kentucky State Police, the cattle were released after the truck pulling their trailer was involved in a two-vehicle collision. Casey County dispatchers received the call at 11 a.m. and dispatched the Southeast Fire Department. The State Police were called in for assistance while Sheriff's deputies worked several other accidents in the county. No injuries were reported.

Warmer weather brings more pest problems. Horn flies and face flies are key pests of cattle in Kentucky. Both species breed in fresh pasture manure piles but present very different threats and management problems. Fortunately, there are a variety of fly control options. Horn flies are blood feeders. They remain on animals most of the time, taking 20 to 30 small blood meals per day. More than 100 flies along the sides and backs of each animal every day during the fly season can mean 12 to 15 pounds lower weaning weights for spring calves and poor gains for older animals.

Farming tasks and complications from Mother Nature make spring a hectic season. If trying to make first cutting and get crops seeded on a timely basis isn't enough, Mother Nature's spring rains complicate matters by delaying field work. Doing some advance planning and changing field work priorities will help you get through this stressful period. The question then becomes where to start. Now is the ideal time to repair and perform routine maintenance on equipment so you will be ready when the weather cooperates.

Farming tasks and complications from Mother Nature make spring a hectic season. If trying to make first cutting and get crops seeded on a timely basis isn't enough, Mother Nature's spring rains complicate matters by delaying field work.   Doing some advance planning and changing field work priorities will help you get through this stressful period. The question then becomes where to start. Now is the ideal time to repair and perform routine maintenance on equipment so you will be ready when the weather cooperates.

 Lice can suck the profits out of your beef and dairy cattle herds during the winter. These cold-loving pests spread when animals bunch together in response to frigid temperatures.  You can reduce potential lice problems on newly bought cattle by keeping these animals separate from your herd until after you've given them a thorough louse treatment, generally two applications of a contact insecticide.  The first application kills active adults and immature lice but it won't destroy nits or eggs on the hide.

STANFORD - Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is searching for suspects who allegedly broke into the Lincoln County Stockyards on Nov. 5 and stole seven head of cattle. Sheriff Curt Folger said the alleged thieves gained access to the stockyards by cutting a chain on the front gate. Then, they probably used a trailer to remove four cows and three steers from the business. “I would say that they probably loaded up the trailer with all it could hold,” Folger said. The seven cattle - four Holsteins, one Jersey steer, one red steer and one black-and-white-faced steer - are valued at about $5,000.

STANFORD - The Lincoln County Sheriff's office is searching for suspects who allegedly broke into the Lincoln County Stockyards Nov. 5 and stole seven cattle. Sheriff Curt Folger said the alleged thieves gained access to the stockyards by cutting a chain on the front gate. Then, they probably used a trailer to remove four cows and three steers from the business. "I would say that they probably loaded up the trailer with all it could hold," Folger said. The seven cattle - four holsteins, one jersey steer, one red steer and one black-and-white-faced steer - are valued at around $5,000.

Few organized cattle associations have existed in Kentucky as long as Central Kentucky Angus Association, which will be marking its 50th anniversary on Saturday. “It marks 50 years to the date of the first sale,” said Tim Dievert, who manages the sales and is a member of the association.  His father, Floyd Dievert, was a member of the Boyle County Angus Association, from which the CKAA formed. BCAA had its first heifer calf sale on Nov. 3, 1962. It changed to CKAA¿shortly after that first sale.

TURNERSVILLE - Cows may have spooked a Bradfordsville man, who was airlifted Aug. 8 after wrecking on his motorcycle along Ky. 78. Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger said Jeremy Clarkson was traveling on Ky 78 near Turnersville around noon when he came around a curve and saw three cows standing next to the road. "He did not make contact with the cattle," Folger said. "He kind of freaked out a little bit with the cattle sitting right there by the side of the road and he locked up his brakes.

This is another great year for clover. You as a producer should be monitoring your pastures. What is bloat? Ruminal tympany, or bloat, can result in lost animal performance and in severe cases, death. It occurs as a result of a buildup of fermentation gases in the rumen.  Bloat may be categorized as frothy bloat, which is caused by the formation of a stable foam in the rumen, or free gas bloat, which is due to excessive production of gaseous compounds from fermentation or as a result of an obstruction preventing the escape of gas compounds.

One of the best ways to boost beef cattle profits is to use genetics to improve the efficiency of your herd. Prioritize traits to meet the goals of your operation. This will provide as many pounds of beef as possible off of every available acre at a minimal cost. Herd efficiency does not always equate with a maximum rate of gain. For example, you might be able to get more pounds per acre by putting 20 medium-sized cows on a pasture that only would support 15 big cows.  Additionally, the smaller cows might improve your profitability under drought conditions because they would require fewer resources to remain reproductively fertile than the larger animals.    The breeding system should match the right bull to a set of cows to maximize the production level.