The month of March ended with the “fat cattle” market finally moving higher after seven weeks at $114.00 cwt. Feeder and stocker cattle prices have increased most of the month of March. We had an early April Fool scare with USDA, NASS Crop Planting Intention Report showing both corn and soybean acreage estimated lower which sent the CME Feeder Cattle Futures market lower on March 31. We will have to wait and see what happens.
Read MoreVideos are now available for the LSU AgCenter virtual 2021 Beef and Forage Field Day from the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center.
Mike Salassi, LSU AgCenter program leader for plant and animal sciences, said the virtual format was necessary because of the ongoing pandemic.
The presentations can be viewed at: https://bit.ly/2Q02WAF.
Field day presentations include talks from LSU AgCenter experts:
Read MoreFarm Bureau applauds the state of Montana for filing an amicus curiae with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the petition filed by the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12.
The brief was filed by Indiana, joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Read MoreTangipahoa Parish’s name reflects its agriculture heritage. The Acolapissa word “Tangipahoa” translates as “ear of corn” or “those who gather corn.”
While corn may have been a primary crop for the earliest inhabitants, not many generations ago, Tangipahoa was known as the “strawberries and cream parish” because of its proliferation of strawberry fields and dairy farms.
Read MoreResearch out of Colorado State University suggests that better land management practices globally can help the livestock industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But while the science pointed to almost a complete reduction in GHG through rotational grazing in many cattle systems, the efficiency strategies they examined were not as successful in the U.S. studies. Why? Because the researchers suspect that U.S. ranchers are already in the top tier of using the most environmentally effective strategies.
It further puts a dent in the disproportionate amount of blame that U.S. beef producers get for the climate change crisis, and shows just how misguided the 2019 Green New Deal push against agriculture was.
Read MoreAfter a stressful year of dealing with the pandemic, some Louisiana youth still showed off their showmanship skills at the 86th annual LSU AgCenter Livestock Show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.
Junior, intermediate and senior champion showmanship awards were presented to exhibitors in each of the following animal categories: dairy cattle, beef cattle, miniature beef cattle, market swine, breeding swine, exhibition poultry, broiler poultry, sheep, dairy breeding goats, meat breeding goat and market goats. Awards also were given to exhibitors in the State Rabbit Show, which was held at the State Evacuation Shelter in Alexandria.
Read MoreAverage Report For March 22-23, 2021
Read MoreFor most cattle producers, calving season involves sleepless nights caring for cows, being on the lookout for calves in freezing conditions and working to doctor calves right away. For some bison producers, calving just means heading out to fields with a spotting scope to check up on herd growth.
Read MoreThirty years ago, I was a 28-year farm broadcaster covering the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, when a women in a pig costume shoved a whipped cream pie in the face of Iowa’s Pork Queen in a protest staged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which at the time claimed more than 350,000 members. Today, PETA claims a membership of 6.5 million.
Humane Society of the United States, the wealthiest animal rights activist organization on the planet, does not participate in public demonstrations where members throw fake blood at celebrities wearing fur coats or dress in lettuce leaves to promote a vegan diet.
Read MoreEven though normal was not a word used much during the 86th annual LSU AgCenter Livestock Show held recently at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana 4-H and FFA members were still rewarded for their hard work.
Five students were recognized for their achievements in their various livestock programs based on their 4-H portfolio or FFA application. The five awards are the Governor’s Award for a 4-H member and an FFA member 14 years old and older, the Superintendent of Education Award for a 4-H member and an FFA member 13 years old and younger, and the C.W. “Dub” Kennedy Award in Animal Science.
Although the pandemic has turned our world upside done, it also shed a light on consumers buying habits. Americans are buying more beef, pork, poultry, and lamb than ever as increased time at home during the pandemic sent meat grocery sales soaring by 20 percent (IRI) from 2019 to 2020.
The national analysis released today shows that three out of every four Americans agree meat belongs in healthy, balanced diets (up by nearly 20 percent since 2020), and 94 percent say they buy meat because it provides high-quality protein.
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