Ag News and Views: April 2009

With the tight profit margins agricultural producers face, the need to control input costs is greater than ever. As input costs rise, we naturally try to reduce these costs whenever we can. One cost-cutting approach producers often ask about is reducing herbicide rates, sometimes to below the minimum listed on the label.

Planning and preparation for prescribed burns should start several months or even a year prior to a burn.

Getting more out of less is an attractive concept in tough economic times. In 2008, average cow costs ran around $534 per head including depreciation - averages can be deceiving.

A research study in the February 2009 issue of American Journal of Agricultural Economics found that increasing the number of animal units by 100,000 in any county results in a 7.4 percent increase in infant mortality.

In the small town near where I live, there is a day care center. Recently it has had a "Help Wanted" sign staked out front near the highway. Underneath the help wanted portion of the sign, it says...

Reflecting on changes observed during more than 42 years of employment at the Noble Research Institute can be overwhelming. By the time you read this, I will be enjoying retirement.

A trait exhibited by a cow herd or individuals within a herd that saves time and money is referred to as a "convenience trait." Examples are polledness, parasite resistance, heat tolerance and calving ease.