Tag Archives: cattle

New World Screwworm Threat Has Georgia Cattlemen on High Alert This Calving Season

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Thomaston, GA |

With the U.S. cattle inventory now at a seventy-five-year low, the industry has little margin for disruption. That’s why the recent detection of New World Screwworms in the southwest is raising serious concerns among cattlemen across the country. The last major outbreak — more than six decades ago — caused losses of as much as ten percent for producers. With calves being especially susceptible to the pest, Georgia cattlemen are keeping a close eye on their herds as spring calving season winds down.

“Getting towards the end of spring calving season, most of our cattlemen around here are seeing their cows every day — and we just need to continue to do that,” said Danny Bentley, an Upson County cattleman. “Once all these calves are born and on the ground, we have to be vigilant. We have to be good stewards. We’re looking for open wounds, navels on newborn calves. When we tag and band these calves — we band them now, we don’t cut them anymore — we try to do it in the first two days of birth so we can see the calf from one end to the other. We’re looking at those weak areas like the navel and the rear end, and checking for things like barbed wire cuts on cows to make sure there’s no infection, no worms.”

REPORT IT QUICKLY

If anything unusual is found, Bentley says getting it reported as quickly as possible is the top priority — starting with a trusted local veterinarian and then moving up the chain to state officials.

“We’d call our local veterinarian first — we have a good relationship with our local vets,” Bentley said. “And then obviously the next call would be to our state veterinarian through the Georgia Department of Agriculture, because they would need to know as well. Right now, this is strictly an animal situation. There’s no harm that could come to any resident of Georgia. Meat is still safe. We’ve got the safest meat in the world.”

A FIRSTHAND PERSPECTIVE

Bentley brings a unique perspective to the issue — he saw firsthand what the screwworm could do the first time around. While the Southeast was less severely impacted than other parts of the country, it wasn’t spared entirely.

“With the animal, you clean those things out. I don’t remember all the specifics, but you sprayed them and doctored on them real well,” Bentley recalled. “With the technology we have today it might be different, but as I recall, the sterile male fly program was what got rid of them — and that’s what made the difference.”

GEORGIA’S POSITION IN THE MARKET

As for the overall concern level for Georgia producers, Bentley says the state is somewhat insulated from the worst-case scenarios — largely because Georgia is a significant net exporter of beef cattle rather than a finishing state.

“So much of ours is going out. We’ve got twenty, twenty-one stockyards in Georgia, and with all the private sales, most of that cattle is leaving the state. We don’t have feed lots here — maybe one,” Bentley said. “So yeah, we’re not as pressed on that side as a lot of producers in other states are.”

Still, with the national herd at historic lows and the screwworm making its presence known again, Georgia cattlemen aren’t taking any chances. Vigilance, Bentley says, is the best tool they have.

By: Damon Jones

UGA Expert Warns Georgia Cattle Producers: Drought Is Threatening Herd Nutrition This Calving Season

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Tifton, GA |

Over the course of several months, much of Georgia has been gripped by drought conditions that have left pastures stressed and hay stocks stretched thin. Now, heading into the heat of summer, that pressure is landing squarely on the shoulders of cattle producers. According to experts, the concern isn’t just the drought itself — it’s the timing.

“If we don’t have rain, we won’t have grass. If we don’t have grass — the main source of feed for cows — it’s not there. So we have to look for other things to supplement or feed the cows,” said Pedro Carvalho, Beef Cattle Specialist with the University of Georgia. “We need to be watching not only the amount but also the quality. If you don’t have rain, the first thing that happens is we won’t have grass — and after that, the grass that is there is going to get worse. So we need to look for strategies and opportunities to feed hay, to feed byproducts.”

THE WORST TIME FOR A FEED SHORTAGE

For many producers, spring calving is either underway or just wrapping up — making this one of the most nutritionally demanding stretches of the year. Carvalho says the drought cut into forage quality and availability at exactly the wrong time, and if producers aren’t careful, the consequences can carry over well into next year.

“What we want is to have that cow pregnant again — to produce a calf every year. In order to do that, we have to make sure those cows have enough nutrients to not only produce milk for the calf they just had, but also maintain good body condition and enough weight to rebreed, get pregnant, and produce another calf next year,” Carvalho said.

TWO THINGS EVERY PRODUCER SHOULD DO NOW

Carvalho says every cattle producer should be doing two things right now: assessing the physical condition of their cattle, and taking stock of what feed and forage they have available — and more importantly, its quality.

“Assess the body condition of your cows during calving, because that’s one of the most important times to do that — and it’s going to determine the success of getting them pregnant again,” Carvalho said. “The other thing is to test what you have available to feed. Not just how much, but what do you have? Test your forage, test your feed, test your byproducts before you feed them to the cows.”

DON’T OVERLOOK WATER QUALITY

Beyond forage, Carvalho says producers should also be keeping a close eye on water sources. Even as some drought conditions have eased with recent rainfall, water quality remains a concern that can easily be overlooked.

“Right now, a lot of cows may have only a pond as their only source of water. Are we checking that as well — and the quality of it?” Carvalho said. “As ponds get shallow, the water is going to get dirtier and dirtier, and the quality is not the same. We need to make sure we are giving the cows enough water, and good quality water.”

For producers looking for additional guidance, Carvalho points to the UGA Beef Team’s online resources at beef.caes.uga.edu, where a range of tools and recommendations are available to help cattle producers navigate drought conditions and nutritional management through the summer months.

By: John Holcomb

GFB Young Farmers Chair Garrett Hurley Has Never Strayed Far From Home — or the Farm

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Lyerly, GA |

For most people, life takes them far from where they started — a different town, a different career, a different path. For Garrett Hurley, home has never been very far away at all.

“My house is actually on my childhood farm. The farm I live on has been in our family for five or six generations. I’ve actually moved once, and it was across a cow pasture,” said Hurley, Chair of Georgia Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. “I’ve been within about 200 yards of the same place my entire life.”

A DREAM THAT STARTED IN THE LIVING ROOM

Northwest Georgia may not look like the sprawling row crop country of South Georgia, but to Hurley, the patchwork of fields and tree lines that make up his corner of the state has always been exactly where he wanted to be.

“Riding down some back roads up here in Northwest Georgia, it might look a little different. We may not be wall-to-wall fields — we’ve got plenty of trees packed in and we’ve got little patches, as we like to call them,” Hurley said. “But I can never really remember a time where I wasn’t a farm kid. If I wasn’t out on the farm with my dad, I was in the yard playing with farm toys and tractors. Having my own farm was always the goal — to come back and farm for my career.”

That goal never wavered, even when other opportunities came knocking.

“There was one point in my life that I was going to go to trade school. I ended up talking myself out of that and came straight back to the farm,” Hurley said. “Now that I’m doing it, it’s the greatest blessing ever.”

CHALLENGES FACING THE NEXT GENERATION

As Chair of GFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, Hurley has a front-row seat to the obstacles facing young producers across the state — and two themes come up over and over again: capital and land access.

“One thing that just keeps coming up is the availability of capital. Things just cost so much — trying to buy equipment to get started, or trying to buy cattle now that prices are at all-time highs,” Hurley said. “But also the availability of land. A lot of times a piece of land comes up for rent and the younger person gets overlooked. The younger generation may not do things the way the older generation did back in the eighties, but a lot of times new ideas aren’t a terrible thing. I would encourage the older generation to give some of the younger guys a chance.”

BUILDING SOMETHING TO PASS ON

When Hurley talks about the future, he isn’t just talking about his own farm. He’s thinking about what comes next — and whether the life he’s built can be passed down the same way it was passed to him.

“I hope that in twenty years I can be farming full-time with one or both of my kids. The end goal is to have a sustainable business that my children can come back into,” Hurley said. “I want them to know that if they don’t want to come back, we’ll still have the land and they’ll always have somewhere to call home. But if they do want to come back, I hope I’m in a position to help them — with financial resources as well as years of knowledge — and just present them with the opportunity.”

In the end, Hurley’s story isn’t really about cotton or cattle or even farming. It’s about home — and a dream that never took him far from it.

By: Ray D’Alessio

Small, Family Operation Specializes in Pure Bred Scottish Highland Cattle

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Thomson, GA |

After years of raising horses, the Crawford family made the decision four years ago to purchase their first Pure Bred Scottish Highland. Ever since, they’ve worked tirelessly to expand their herd to what is now twenty five of these unique cattle. It’s a decision that the Crawfords didn’t take lightly but is one they certainly don’t regret.

“Initially, I was drawn to just how amazing they look, they’re beautiful cows, but then as I learned more about them, I discovered that they’re perfect for families that have less acreage than traditional cattle farms. So maybe five to ten acres. They’re very easy keepers. They’re actually considered true ruminants, similar to goats. So yes, we do have to feed them hay, and we have to make sure that they have enough grass. However, they’ll eat trees, they’ll eat vines. So, they kind of care for themselves. They’re just a hardy breed, and what really spoke to me is their longevity. With Highland cows, they live up until their early twenties, and it’s not uncommon for them to reproduce up until that time,” says Vanessa Crawford, Owner of Crawford’s Double O Farm.

Of course, just like with any other livestock, they do come with challenges, the most notable of course are their thick coats, but Crawford says that they have adapted well to Georgia’s climate and says they also take measures to make sure they stay comfortable.

“What we discovered is here near Augusta, during the months of July and Augusta, it became more challenging for them. Like, they didn’t really want to eat more during the day. So, we ended up installing sprinklers, and that was a game changer. So, we have several sprinklers ready to go as soon as it starts warming up, like today. We always make sure they have access to a good water source and that their water troughs are always very clean, but otherwise they’ve adapted. So, the girls that we’ve had here for now, three or four years, their coats do start to thin out. They keep the dossen and they keep all the hair on their legs, but the coats on their bodies, they actually start to thin out and so I think they adapt,” says Crawford.

As much as Crawford says she enjoys their farm and their Scottish Highlands, there’s one thing in particular she says she loves most, and that’s the fact that their operation is a family one, which as you can see is very much the case, as the entire Crawford family works to keep the farm running.

“It’s all hands-on deck, as they say. So, the children help me with feeding the cows. My daughter, who is ten years old, she will help me work with the youngest calves, but she also helps me halter train them. She’s helped me milk the cows, any veterinary care that we can do on the farm we’ve done together. Moving the cows; we do as a family. There’s only four of us. When we have farm visits, it’s just the four of us doing the farm visits. We don’t hire anybody to come out and help with stuff, so she does dragging. So does my son, dragging the pasture. This year, she’s going to start bush hogging. I mean, the kids are very much involved in everything,” says Crawford.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Dairy Producers are Watching for Avian Influenza

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Athens, GA |

With nearly a hundred dairy operations around Georgia, responsible for two hundred and thirty-five million gallons of milk every year, it’s an important industry for the state’s economy. While rising input costs and low commodity prices are always a concern for producers, the recent detection of avian influenza within a few herds across nine different states has also caught their attention.

“This disease is obviously concerning. It’s relatively new to the dairy industry. We’re not entirely sure how it’s going to affect cattle moving forward. Overall, it will cause a little bit of loss in milk production for herds. We do see cattle that become clinically ill from this disease, but they tend to recover very quickly. So, the milk production will come back. We don’t see a significant amount of death loss, but it seems to be just an infection that comes in, affects a group of animals, and then tends to move out,” says Brad Heins, an Associate Professor with UGA Food Animal Medicine.

So, while it appears this disease provides no long term affect to the herd, it is something producers should have on their radar considering just how difficult it is to control.

“It is a disease that’s going to move. One of the ways that we’ve identified it as spreading it through wild foul. So, obviously those birds move from farm to farm. They’re chasing water supplies and feed ingredients. So, it is a disease that we’re going to continue to monitor and move, but we may not have a lot of control over it. Another way it’s moved is through cattle transportation. So, cattle that move from farm to farm have a risk of spreading this disease with them,” says Heins.

For thar reason, USDA has imposed more testing protocols, as each cow must now be tested by a certified and licensed Georgia veterinarian before being transported. It’s an additional, but necessary step to ensure both food safety and containment.

“Regulatory testing has added some additional guidelines for producers before they start to move cattle across state lines. So, it is some extra work they have to do. It is some homework on the part of the veterinarian as well as the farm, but a lot of dairy producers when they do move cattle, they have to do some regulatory testing anyways. So, it’s one more step they have to do, but it’s all designed to ensure a safe, healthy, and wholesome herd and food supply,” says Heins.

With that food safety being the top priority, FDA recently confirmed that pasteurization of milk consistent with the federal Grade “A” PMO kills any harmful pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms, including the highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, it could create a decrease in production, which is why there is one major symptom producers should be on the lookout for.

“The most common thing that we see with this new high path avian influenza in cattle is a loss in milk production. So, what we’re seeing is a thicker milk supply from that cow. She’s still producing some milk, but it almost has the consistency of colostrum or the early milk production she as after she has a calf,” says Heins.

By: Damon Jones

Cattle Producers Navigate Inventory Challenges

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Atlanta, GA |

According to the USDA, for the first time since 1951, the US Cattle inventory has dropped to its lowest point as producers across the country deal with a plethora of issues such as record high input costs mixed with harsh droughts that left many producers in a bind.

“A lot of that has to do with weather. The fact that much of the U.S. was in drought for a large part of last year caused a significant amount here in Georgia, especially in Northwest and Southwest Georgia. We had a lot of producers that had to start feeding hay significantly earlier than what they would normally do, and that’s caused a lot of additional culling, but also it was an increase in prices that we saw. We have a lot of producers that are able to take that opportunity,” says Dale Sandlin, Executive Vice President of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association.

As a result, Sandlin says cattle prices will be on the rise in the coming months, however, the question is whether or not producers will be able to hold on for those higher prices as expenses are higher than ever.

“One of the effects that that our cattle producers here are going to have to look at is can they afford to feed these cattle and hold on to them long enough to take advantage of the higher prices? They’re projecting that the prices will stick around somewhere through 2025 and possibly even into 2026, depending on the build up, but a large number of producers are having to deal with higher input costs they saw last year. That’s weighing in on the profits that they received on that this last batch of cattle. So, if they’re able to hold on to them and feed them longer, I think those producers will be rewarded for those efforts,” says Sandlin.

Sandlin believes that for those producers that can hold on and don’t sell out, it will give them the opportunity to improve their herds, as they can focus on rebuilding, but says that will also be contingent upon the weather and forage quality returning back to normal.

“I think we’re going to see a measured approach coming back from this lower inventory number. It’ll take longer to rebuild the herd, and a large portion of that, too, is going to be the weather. If we don’t get good rains here in Georgia and we don’t have forage increasing, we’re not going to see a lot of producers that are quick to go back and rebuild the herd. One of the things that you’ll see for this generation of producers that are in it for the long haul, they’re going to be taking the higher prices and profits that they received on that and putting that back into the into their farms and operations. That’s setting up the next generation for quite a bit of success in doing that. The trick is being able to do that in coupling with higher input costs as well as making things work. You’re also seeing a lot of culling of the herds right now, largely dependent on the quality of the cattle that they’ve got. And so while those producers have got a little a little bit extra funds in their pocket, now they’re taking this opportunity to improve the herds, improve their genetics, to reconsider some of their stock and breeding stock and making sure that they’re setting up that operation for the long future,” says Sandlin.

By: John Holcomb

Continued Drought Concerning for Northwest Georgia Livestock Producers

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Villanow, GA |

Here in Walker County, it’s hard to believe that things are better than they were just a couple of weeks ago, as they went almost three whole months with just a fraction of an inch of rain in what’s called an exceptional drought – the worst level there is and was even designated by the USDA as one of the eleven natural disaster counties in the region. It’s something that’s of course been a concern to most everyone, but to cattle producers like Brian Hart, the concern is very much still there.

“This year, our rainfall was perfectly normal until the last week of August and the last week of August it basically quit raining. This area has been in a drought for all of September, all of October, all of November and starting into December. We have had some rains the last part of November and some rains early December and rain forecasted this weekend, which is hopeful, but it’s just been a terribly, terribly dry time for those months and it affected our Fall grazing. We really didn’t know yet how it’s going to affect our hay crop next year,” says Brian Hart, Owner of Red Barn Farm.

As you can tell, most, if not all of the forage is long gone into dormancy, which has forced Brian to start feeding hay early this year.

“We typically graze our fescue pastures up until mid-November, early December with good rain and we don’t put up that much hay, but our hay consumption this year has been extremely high since really about the middle of September because there has been no grass, as you could see from looking in the fields there. It’s just it’s really dried up. We do have some fields we haven’t grazed yet that look decent, but it’s certainly affected our hay consumption. We’ve probably fed an additional hundred rolls of hay already this year that we normally do not feed,” says Hart.

Of course having to start feeding hay earlier than expected has caused his hay stocks to be depleted much faster than normal, which has caused him to have to purchase more hay to make sure they have enough to last them through the Winter.

“We’ve actually purchased some hay just to make sure we have enough. I think we have enough. A lot of it depends on what the grass does when it does start raining, because that’s what nobody knows. If it starts raining normally in December, we don’t know what the grass is going to do behind that rain, so we have bought an additional 150 rolls of hay that we’re going to feed if needed,” says Hart.

One thing that’s concerning to Hart is the long-term effect on his herd, as he relies on Winter grazing to help maintain his cattle’s weight, but without it, he’s afraid they may come up short when it’s time to sell.

“In the calf business like we’re in, we typically wean off 650-700 pound calves every spring along the May or June time frame. We don’t know what those weights are going to be because of the shortage of grass. Now we’ve got plenty of hay to feed them, but they’ll gain a lot better if they had some grass to go with it so that’s another way that it very easily could affect us,” says Hart.

Drought conditions have lessened in the last couple of weeks, but most of the Northwest Georgia area remains in severe drought conditions and it’s unclear when those conditions will ease up.

By: John Holcomb