Cattle Preparation For Winters In Iowa

As the late fall and early winter months come about, it is time to start thinking about preparing your animals for the harsh Iowa weather. These months can bring heavy rainfall making everything messy and muddy, wind, cold temperatures, and also large amounts of snow. Not only is this type of weather hard for us farmers but also for our animals increasing their energy requirements.

It is extremely important for cows to have good body condition on them so they can deal with the weather stress. At my house we feed our beef cows corn silage/ or hay silage, which ever we have in the silo that year, two times a day before the snow starts to fall. Round bales of hay are also a huge part of our feedings. As farmers, you want to have emergency hay reserves on hand to keep the cattle's energy and nutrient levels normal to survive the winter.

Having windbreaks or buildings for your animals to lie under is also a necessity to keep them from getting stressed and sick during the cold winter months. Dry bedding is also an important factor in keeping hair coats from becoming wet and muddy. At the Luzum farm, we provide multiple corn stalk bales for warmth and comfort. These ladies are in the final days of gestation and we want to make sure their bodies are working hard to develop a healthy calf, rather than create body heat.

And last, but not least, keeping a fresh water supply in working order is crucial. Checking the electric waters on a daily basis is a must. Every now and then when we have a wind chill way below zero one of our electric waters will freeze up. It’s on those days when I really appreciate my Dad’s work ethic. He is out there in freezing cold temperatures with hot water in a pail and a heat source thawing out the pipes. It’s on these days when the slogan rings truer than ever, “Bustin’ ours to feed yours.”

Embryo Transfer In Beef Cattle

"Embryo transfer also known as ET, is an advanced reproductive technology and progressive tool that can help farmers produce more offspring from an elite cow and can extend the impact of outstanding cattle genetics in your herd."

My family’s first experience with embryo transfer was when we flushed my best show heifer/cow named Stacy. She won multiple shows and received many compliments. Right then, we knew we needed to find a way to insure that her legacy would live on in our herd.  She had many features that many farmers desired in their cattle including structural soundness, deep bodied, big ribbed, and excellent udder quality.  She was a fantastic mother and always raised a high quality calf.

After she had her first calf, we decided to learn about the embryo process and ended up flushing embryos from Stacy using 2 different sires.  Throughout two different “flushes” we collected a total of 21 high quality embryos and froze them for transplanting at a later date. We then picked a couple of donor cows to act as surrogate mothers. These cows carried the embryos and gave birth to Stacy’s calves and raised them as if they were their own.

We are currently going through the same process with my brother’s Red Angus show heifer, Reba. Embryo transfer is a way for farmers to invest in quality to make their best cattle even better, although there is a little bit of risk in doing this, if it goes right it is worth it in the end. We have had a positive experience with this process and are excited to see the results with my brother’s Red Angus. We plan on selling the offspring of Reba’s embryos next calving season at the Iowa Beef Expo. Our family goal is to start raising high quality animals to be able to sell to other farmers some day!

10 Reasons Why Farming Is One Of the Greatest, Lifelong Careers!

Are you a farmer? Were you raised on a farm? Do you wish you were a farmer?

I know I have said it multiple times, but I would not have wanted to grow up anywhere else besides on a century farm, raising beef cattle, with my family. Farming is one of the greatest, lifelong careers you can have!

Here are 10 reasons why YOU should be a farmer:

10.) You never know what you're going to do on a certain day, every day is full of different tasks!

9.) You get to do what you want, when you want, you are your own boss!

8.) You get to work outside, doing hands on activities, rather than being stuck in an office.

7.) You get to live out in the peaceful country with green grass, dirt, and fresh smells (and sometimes not so fresh).

6.) You get to work with the people you love, which usually include friends and family members!

5.) You get to be apart of the great farming community, where everyone knows and helps each other out!

4.) You get to raise animals that you grow a connection with, and soon they become part of the family! (At least at my house, we consider them family and they all have names!)

3.) You develop skills that will stay with you for a lifetime- work ethic, responsibility, and respect for others.

2.) You get to do what you love and care about!

1.) You get the pride of being able to say you put food on people's plates for them to eat! 

YOU FEED THE WORLD!!

Girls Can Farm Too!

Farming in the United States has historically been a family responsibility. Many generations would be involved in making sure the farm operations ran smoothly. But when people think of farmers or farming in general they often apply it as a male role. However, the women farmer trend has been on the rise! Women are becoming owners/operators, landowners, workers and more in the agriculture industry.

http://www.farmher.com/

In 2013 the idea of FarmHer was founded. It was a way to bring women into the image of agriculture through pictures and stories. It has also gone beyond that and started a community online for women farmers to interact with each other. If you have been to the Iowa State Fair in the past years there had been a FarmHer booth with their very cool merchandise and picture opportunities, along with information.

It is not uncommon for you to see women out in the fields running a tractor being in charge of livestock or producing food. It is exciting to me that women farmers are finally starting to become more heard of and popular. I know I am not ashamed to say I am a farmer in helping run my family farm operation and I plan to continue to be one.

I encourage YOU to become part of the farming community whether you are a male or female. As farmers our job is to produce good crops and healthy animals to make a living and feed the population! I wouldn't change growing up on farm for anything!

Work Ethic Of Farm Kids Is Above All

I think if you ask almost anyone, they would say farm kids are some of the hardest working people. I am very proud of the work ethic I have from being raised on a farm my whole life.

Pinterest Farm Kids

Growing up on a farm, during the week my parents worked their full time jobs and my siblings and I went to school while also being involved with sporting events, church and community activities, 4H, FFA and the list goes on, so the weekends were our time to get things done. Some tasks include pitching hog and cattle manure by hand, feeding round bales, running the cattle through the chute one at a time for shots, grinding feed, and unloading and stacking multiple wagons of small square bales into the barn on some of the hottest days. You can definitely argue that some of the stuff isn't very enjoyable, but it is what we have to do to keep our family farm operation running smoothly. There are definitely perks to living on a farm like going on 4wheeler rides, running through the creek, building forts in the hay mounds and cow pastures. I often thought that my friends who lived in town had it better than me because they were able to do fun stuff on the weekends instead of work, but looking back I am so grateful I was raised the way I was.

Having a strong worth ethic is something that will help anyone get through life. It is especially important when you are interviewing for a job to let your employer know you are a hard worker and will do anything asked of you. Even though growing up, and still today, some of the chores are not very fun, I remind myself that my family and I do it because we love it! When I start my own family I hope to raise them on a farm so that they get the same experience I did because looking back on it now, I appreciate all of the chores and responsibilities I had every day which helped raise me to have a strong worth ethic!

Improving The Herd One At A Time Through Artificial Insemination

Artificial Insemination (AI) has many advantages including:

1. Increased genetics
2. Improving the quality and production traits in the herd
3. A way to use top of the line sires
4. Allows you to use different sires on different cows
5. Reduces the need for herd bulls
6. Presents the option to synchronize the cattle so that they all come into heat during the same time to save time and money

AI Kit for Cattle

My family operates a Simmental/Angus cow/calf herd of about 40. We are continually striving to produce better quality calves for show purposes for ourselves and to someday sell and also to have better genetics in our herd. Before we purchase semen straws we do our research on the sire's background genetics, their overall traits and whether they are calving ease. Then we think about the cows we are going to AI and match them up with the perfect sire.

• For a first calf heifer we like to use calving ease bulls. This means the bull has numbers to indicate he will produce a smaller calf so the cow has an easy time calving.
• For older cows we try to find the perfect mating in a bull that has the qualities to fix her flaws and produce a quality calf. As a producer, our goal is always to use AI as a way to improve on the cow with a higher quality calf.

Personally, our family doesn't get too invested into the show ring genetics, sometimes when you get involved with that you may end up taking risks and may end up with calves that can come out deformed and unproductive. We like to stick with Simmental sires while adding a little bit of showy genetics to them for eye appeal. While we don't AI the whole herd, we pick some of our best cows in the herd to AI to continue improving the genetics. We also have a herd bull that does our clean up breeding.

Beef..It's Delicious, It's Nutritious. Need I say more?

Have you heard of the saying, "Beef, It's What's For Dinner?" This is an advertising slogan funded by the Beef Checkoff Program that helps promote the importance of including beef in your diet.  

With farming and the beef industry playing such a big role in my life, I had the chance to promote the beef industry in my county as the 2012 Winneshiek County Beef Princess. This was an awesome experience and it was a way for me to inform the community on the benefits of eating beef. Not only is the meat delicious it also provides essential nutrients for our body.

Meet consumption has been blamed for bad health including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and obesity, however they are myths. Although you should consume reasonable size portions at a time, just like any other food you eat, beef is actually beneficial for your health. There are 29 different cuts of beef that meet the governments guidelines for lean. The acronym ZIP is a way to remember that beef contains multiple beneficial nutrients including Zinc, Iron, and Protein as well as vitamins and minerals. 

• Zinc

-Supports the immune system
-Heals wounds

• Iron

-Builds red blood cells
-Gives you energy

• Protein

-Needed to improve overall health
-Helps repair and build body tissues
-Produces antibodies that help strengthen the immune system and fight off infections
-Provides essential amino acids

Along with the nutritional benefits, eating beef is a way of supporting the farming economy. It is important to understand the cycle of life and to thank a farmer any chance you have. In this cycle, farmers like my own family, are in charge of feeding and raising animals until they have reached their market weight and are ready to be slaughtered. The meat is then processed and it is purchased to sustain our hunger and life.

So what nutritious cut of beef are you throwing on your grill tonight!?