Posts in Livestock
Cow Country Reporter: January 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May you and your family have a HAPPY, HEALTHY, SAFE AND PROSPEROUS 2024.

As we say goodbye to 2023, we all can say “I learned a lesson or two”. We learned that when MA Nature shuts off the water for several months what we have to do to survive.

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LivestockAvery Davidson
Louisiana Farmers Hindered by Drought Through Winter

After a summer that resulted in an ongoing drought, Louisiana farmers are eager for a better year in 2024. They are dependent on rye-grass growth in pastures in the warmest months of the year, but it was not abundant this summer due to little rain.

“We still have yet to get enough rainfall,” said Ryan Yerby, a farmer in Grant Parish. “We’re currently probably 35 to 40 inches still behind where we need to be for the year.

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LivestockAvery Davidson
Louisiana Hogs & Pigs Report: December 2023

Louisiana inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2023, totaled 5,000 head, was unchanged from December 1, 2022; breeding hog inventory, at 1,000 head, was unchanged from previous year; and market hog inventory, at 4,000 head, was unchanged from the previous year. For the December 2022 - November 2023 period, the pig crop totaled 8,200 head, up 14 percent from the same time period the previous year.

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USDA, Livestockdon molino
Profit Tracker: Cattle, Hog Margins Worst Since Summer 2020

Closeouts fell another $10 deeper into the red for cattle feeders last week as losses totaled an average of $110 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers saw their margins improve $44 per head, pulling packer margins out of the red and $28 into the black. Cattle feeders have now seen a month’s worth of losses on closeouts.

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Livestockkristen oaks
USDA Launches Workshops On Livestock Risk Management Practices

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is hosting more than a dozen in-person and virtual workshops this winter for producers to learn about new and expanded livestock risk management products. The “Livestock Roadshow,” hosted by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), will highlight policy improvements based on feedback from America’s livestock producers as part of the agency’s broader outreach and education efforts

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Livestock, USDAdon molino
Louisiana Farmers Warned of Potential Threat in Bales of Hay

South Louisiana is rich in agriculture and there are many families here that live and work off the land.

Chances are you know of someone who is or was a farmer in South Louisiana and many who do farmland will tell you that there are many dangers when out in the fields.

Well, for those with cattle or horses on their land, one main ingredient to preserving their livestock is hay.

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LivestockAvery Davidson
Cow Country Reporter: December 2023

The year 2023 is coming to a close and what a year it has been! Late freeze, heavy rains early, wild fires and drought just to name a few weather calamities, not to mention wars and political upheaval. The bottom line, Louisiana cow/calf producers realized $70.00 cwt. to $80.00 cwt. price increase from 2022 for their calves they marketed in 2023.

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LivestockAvery Davidson
Severe Drought is Taking a Huge Toll on Louisiana Farms, Forests

Louisiana’s abrupt transition this year from one of the wettest states to one of the driest has had crippling repercussions for its farms and forests.

The state’s agricultural and timber industries have suffered nearly $1.7 billion in losses from the long-running drought and recent bouts of record high temperatures, according to a new report from Louisiana State University researchers.

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USDA Makes Producer-Friendly Change to 2023 Notice of Loss Requirements for Two Livestock Disaster Assistance Programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has waived certain notice of loss requirements for 2023 for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). In an effort to streamline assistance to support access to critical 2023 natural disaster recovery assistance, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is waiving the requirement to submit ELAP or LIP notices of loss within a pre-determined number of days for 2023.

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Livestock, USDAAvery Davidson