USDA Graded Feeder Cattle Demonstration by Levi Geyer, Northeast Regional Supervisor / OIC, USDA AMS Livestock Poultry and Grain Market News, New Holland, PA.
This is your chance to learn how to evaluate your cattle based on USDA standards to determine value and make better management decisions. The demonstration will be followed by a discussion of "Marketing techniques, and available information to assist producers in making marketing decisions".

Saturday, May 21, 10 am demonstration.
Northeast Livestock Expo, Windsor Fair Grounds
Note new time, the sale will start at noon.

Spring Preconditioned Feeder Calf Sale Sponsored by the Maine Beef Producers Association
Grass is starting to grow and backyard beef producers looking for beef calves to turn out on pasture this spring have an opportunity to buy healthy calves. The Maine Beef Producers Association (MBPA) is sponsoring a preconditioned feeder calf sale at the Northeast Livestock Expo on Saturday, May 21st at NOON at the Windsor Fair Grounds, just off Route 32 in Windsor   www.northeastlivestockexpo.com  

Cow Calf producers have taken the time to precondition their calves for this sale. Preconditioning reduces the incidence of respiratory disease, enteritis and pinkeye by increasing the immunity of the calf in preparation of the stress of weaning and shipping. Dehornings and castrations are healed.  

Some cow calf producers consigning animals to the sale have also signed affidavits attesting that their animals have been raised under the MBPA Natural Meats program protocol of never having received hormones, antibiotics, or feeds or feed supplements containing animal-by-products. And/or their animals are 100% grass (forage) fed, no grains, grain-by-products, grain crops, grain crop silages, or other prohibited feeds under the USDA grass fed guidelines have been fed. Click here for protocol, check in form and affidavit forms.    

The MBPA are expecting about 100 calves weighing from 400 to 900 pounds to be sold at the May 21st sale at NOON. If you are interested in buying a few or a lot of animals or have questions contact Sale Manager, Pete Dusoe at 207-416-5441 or pbdusoe@roadrunner.com

 

  Bringing Back Old Hayfields Many landowners want to bring abandoned or neglected hay fields back into production for quality hay or pasture. Other landowners just want to maintain the fields with desirable grasses and open spaces. To do either takes time and attention. This fact sheet briefly describes how to renovate and restore pasture lands.

The renovation process depends on many factors: site characteristics, goals for the site and resources available. To better understand what needs to be done to renovate a hayfield, let's review what happens to neglected land.

Most hayfields are perennial sods consisting of clovers (red and white) and grasses (bluegrass, orchard grass, quackgrass and timothy). Over time (without mowing) woody species begin to invade (alders, birches and poplars are common). Bluegrass begins to dominate all other species. Many perennial weeds also become prevalent, including milkweed, bedstraw, dandelions and red sorrel. Without additions of limestone, soils in neglected fields become more acidic. This favors numerous weed populations, including bedstraw. Frost action may also begin to bring large rocks to the surface.

If you have time, and the field is smooth enough for your purposes, regular mowing (three times per season) plus appropriate fertilizer and lime additions will produce a good field in three to four years.

Getting Hay Equipment Ready for the New Season 

"The equipment itself and repairing broken equipment is costly as well, so efforts to maintain the equipment will pay off long term," he said. Equipment for haymaking includes mowers, balers, rakes, tedders, and hay-moving equipment.  

Philipp offers a pre-season maintenance checklist for each piece of equipment.

Mowers: 

"Keep your machines clean from plant parts such as chopped or cut forage," he said. "Oil leaks can be detected more easily this way."

Check for correct operation of the disk blades.

"These are driven and synchronized through a gearing mechanism," he said "In some rare instances this gearing can malfunction, causing costly repairs, so make sure the mechanical parts work properly and are serviced regularly."

For balers, similar maintenance recommendations apply:

Tedders and rakes may not be as mechanically complex as mowers and balers, but still need attention with respect to proper functioning:

"For all equipment, refer to the equipment manual for maintenance intervals, placements of grease fittings, specification of replacement parts, and adjustment procedures," Philipp said. If the manual is lost, check with the manufacturer or look online.
Source: University of Alabama Cooperative Extension Getting Hay Equipment Ready for the New Season. April 2014.  

• Value Added Producer Grant is open for applications. If you are an agriculture producer who wants to expand your value added product (ie. direct marketing meats, specialty meats, processing meats, etc.) There are planning grants up to $75,000 or working capital grants up to $250,000 available. They expect to fund about 300 applications nationally. Deadline is July 1st. Brian Williams, Rural Development with USDA is willing to help farmers with their application. Contact him at 207-990-9125 or brian.wilson@me.usda.gov. Last year Maine had four successful grant applications. 
  
• Livestock Position to be Opened UMaine Extension recently posted a job announcement for the statewide livestock educator housed in Orono. It is posted at
  https://umaine.hiretouch.com/ 
• Federal-State Market Improvement Program (FSMIP)
  grant is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in collaboration with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (MDACF). Grant proposals may address topics dealing with any level of the marketing chain including direct, wholesale, and retail. Proposals must have a strong marketing focus, must involve research, and the primary beneficiaries must be agricultural producers and agribusiness. Please click here for complete guideline and submission requirements. Proposal will be accepted by MDACF until 2:00PM on Tuesday, April 19th, 2016 via email to
  Jessica.L.Nixon@maine.gov.  Please call (207)287-3494 with questions.
   
• Wolfe's Neck Farm has announced their April Vacation Camps and Summer Day Camp including the Farmward Bound Camp that includes livestock activities. Many programs fill up well in advance, so be sure to register or apply soon! To learn more click here.
•   Testing Forage Quality - YouTube video from UMaine Extension discusses the nutritional importance of forage quality and recommended sampling techniques.  
• Hay and Straw Directory - Many farmers throughout the state of Maine are experiencing reduced hay yields. If you have excess or are in the position to sell hay or straw, consider using the Maine Hay and Straw Directory. If you are looking for hay to buy check this site.  It is free to use.  More information is available online, or call Cooperative Extension 1.800.287.1426.  

Videos:
Body Condition Scoring Beef Cows from University of Kentucky. Youtube video. How to determine amounts of fat and muscle on beef animals before and after calving

Webinars: April 19, 2016 Veterinary Feed Directives: Taking Action at 12 pm CDT. The one-hour session is ideal for veterinarians, feed industry personnel and producers responsible for handling VFDs and those interested in learning what steps they can take now to prepare for the changes in veterinary oversight of commonly used antibiotics, effective January 2017. Sign up for the webinar at www.globalvetlink.com/vfdstakingaction.  

The eXtension Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of  Catalog, the gateway to a comprehensive listing of online courses, webinars, workshops, and eBooks available throughout the Cooperative Extension System. This link takes you to the Beef course listings.

Visit the UMaine Extension Cooperative Extension online Publications Catalog