February is still the shortest month of the year, however, this year is Leap Year, so we gain a day.
Cattle receipts at our local sale barns are historically light this time of year, but with sharply higher prices in January this trend could continue especially for slaughter cows.
Read MoreAmerica’s families might soon see record-high beef prices at the grocery store, thanks to the lowest cattle inventory in more than 70 years. American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed the USDA inventory report in the latest Market Intel.
There were 87.2 million cattle and calves in the United States as of Jan. 2, 2024, 2% lower than the same time in 2023. It’s the lowest inventory since 1951. Just four years ago, there were almost 95 million cattle in the U.S.
Read MoreUSDA’s January and July Cattle Inventory reports, released toward the end of each respective month, provide the total inventory of beef cows, milk cows, bulls, replacement heifers, other steers and heifers, and the calf crop for the current year. With drought and high input costs compelling farmers to market a higher-than-normal percentage of female cattle, the most recent cattle inventory dropped to lows not seen in decades.
Read MoreIn late 2022, torrential rains hammered Louisiana’s farmers, laying waste to large swaths of cotton and soybean crops, especially in the northeast. Then, last year’s historic drought stunted growth and created a whole different set of problems.
Will Ratcliff, who farms about 3,500 acres in Tensas Parish, keenly felt both events, which came on top of historically high costs for fertilizer and fuel, driven in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Read MoreConner Symons, Pearl River, LA., has earned the National Junior Angus Association’s (NJAA) Silver award, according to Caitlyn Brandt, events and junior activities director of the American Angus Association® in Saint Joseph, Mo.
Symons is the 14-year-old son of Shawn and Britanee Symons and attends Pearl River High School. He is a member of the NJAA and the Louisiana Junior Angus Association.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter is partnering with USDA to offer the ASPIRE [Agricultural Sciences Professional Internships in Research and Extension] Program during the summer of 2024. Undergraduate students (from any college or educational institution, including LSU) are encouraged to apply for various 10- week paid summer internships. There are internships focused in animal science, horticulture, 4-H, nutrition, entomology and aquaculture.
Read MoreLots of excitement is in Lake Charles as the Southwest District Livestock Show and Rodeo returns to Burton Complex.
The rodeo starts Thursday evening, but livestock shows are underway today.
We caught up with some who are showing their animals, and they say it’s a lot of work, but the relationships they build and the friendships they make are the best part.
Read MoreAll cattle and calves in Louisiana as of January 1, 2024, totaled 720,000 head, were down 4 percent from January 1, 2023. The calf crop for the full year of 2023 was 330,000 head, down 3 percent from last year. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 435,000 head, were down 2 percent from January 1, 2023; beef cows, at 428,000 head, were down 2 percent; and milk cows, at 7,000 head, were down 12 percent from 2023.
Read MoreLouisiana 4-H and FFA youth will gather in February for the 89th annual LSU AgCenter Livestock Show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.
AgCenter officials expect more than 2,000 exhibitors to bring thousands of animals for competition during the week of Feb. 10 to 17.
Read MoreThe rodeo will be in Lake Charles this week.
The John Deere Sunshine 85th Annual Southwest District Livestock Show & Rodeo has a three-day run in Lake Charles from Feb. 1-3.
Read MoreAs emissions become a greater concern, farmers are implementing various strategies to address and reduce methane produced by livestock.
Seaweed is one of those tools on which studies such as a recent one conducted by Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are looking to prove efficacy.
Read MoreA special delivery was made to all schools in the Zachary Community School District on Jan. 5.
Grass-fed beef from family-owned Muse 3 Farms in Greensburg was delivered by the Muse family to the school cafeterias. Muse 3 Farms is a vendor provided by the LSU AgCenter to supply the schools through a grant awarded to the ZCSD child nutrition program.
Read MoreThe cold arctic blast on the way to the ArkLaTex and the wintery precipitation is not fit for man nor beast. And that really hits home with Marty Wooldridge of Northern Caddo Parish, a cattle farmer as he preps for the cold weather.
"We kind of know the plan, we know what we need to be doing," says Wooldridge. "We're really fortunate. You know, your guys on TV, y'all are giving us several days of warning, so we're prepping the next couple of days.
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