Nebraska

How Nebraska is Tackling the Critical Rural Veterinarian Shortage in a New, Unique Way

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:32:20 GMT

A critical shortage of food-animal veterinarians is unfolding across rural America. A 2023 Farm Journal Foundation study found more than 500 counties across the U.S. lack enough veterinarians to care for livestock. The pipeline of new graduates simply isn’t keeping up; only 3% to 4% of today’s veterinary students choose to practice food-animal medicine, compared to about 40% four decades ago.

Experts warn the shortage poses risks beyond farm gates. Veterinarians are a front-line defense for animal health, and without them, food production and U.S. food security could be at risk.

And even though USDA announced plans to address the shortage by announcing their own Rural Veterinary Action Plan in August , Nebraska was ahead of the curve, launching their own program last year.

Nebraska’s Homegrown Solution

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), in partnership with Gov. Jim Pillen and state leaders, is working to reverse that trend through the Nebraska Elite 11 Veterinary Program .

“Through the governor and a lot of our state leaders who recognize the need for production animal health DVMs out in rural Nebraska … they partnered with us to identify and develop a scholarship program for these students,” says Deb VanOverbeke, head of UNL’s department of animal science.

The program specifically targets Nebraska students who aspire to practice large-animal veterinary medicine in rural communities.

Scholarships That Start Freshman Year

Unlike most programs that support students late in their training, Elite 11 identifies and supports them as soon as they step on campus.

“These cohorts start as freshmen in college … They’ve identified that they want to go down the path of practicing veterinary medicine in rural Nebraska with production animals,” VanOverbeke explains.

Each year, up to 20 incoming animal science or veterinary science students are accepted into the program. During their first two years, they receive scholarships covering 50% of tuition. After that, 11 students and two alternates are selected for full tuition scholarships during their junior and senior years.

Those selected also earn automatic admission into UNL’s preprofessional veterinary medicine program, run in partnership with Iowa State University.

A Long-Term Commitment

Financial barriers are one of the biggest deterrents for veterinary students. By providing tuition support early and guaranteeing a pathway forward, UNL hopes to ease that pressure.

“It’s going to take us eight years to get these students to be practicing veterinarians in rural Nebraska,” VanOverbeke says. “But so much of the student burden is financial. This scholarship gives them a way to see a path forward.”

The program also includes a major incentive after graduation. Students who practice in a rural Nebraska community for at least eight years in food-animal medicine become eligible for 100% loan forgiveness.

Students Already Seeing the Impact

For students like Sydney Hutchinson of West Point, Neb., the scholarship program has already changed her trajectory.

“I always knew I was interested in doing something with an agricultural background,” Hutchinson says. “I’ve showed livestock, helped with routine stuff on the farm, like vaccinations, pulled a few calves. Those things got me interested in veterinary medicine.”

Originally, Hutchinson planned to attend Kansas State University, but when she learned about UNL’s program, she changed course.

“Nebraska is home to me. That’s where I’ve always seen myself coming back to,” she says. “Having this program show up at just the right time worked out great.”

Now in her second year at UNL, Hutchinson says she knows her calling isn’t in small animal clinics, but in rural, large-animal work.

“Finding large-animal veterinarians is a struggle in the state, especially those that want to come back and work in rural areas,” she says. “Addressing that problem first and foremost is great. It’s going to have a great long-term impact on Nebraska and its ag industry.”

Building a Future for Rural Veterinary Medicine

By investing early in students, providing financial support and creating a clear career pipeline, Nebraska hopes to strengthen its veterinary workforce for years to come.

For Hutchinson, the investment feels personal.

“To have them investing in the next generation — it’s huge,” she says.

If successful, the program could provide a model for other states facing the same critical shortage of rural food-animal veterinarians.

Southern Rust Set To Take Big Bite Out Of Midwest Corn Crop?

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:17:28 GMT

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then the video Iowa farmer Dan Striegel shot last week must be worth thousands more. In the video, Striegel is shown harvesting a field of emerald-green corn enveloped in a cloud of orangish-red southern rust.

“We were just getting that field opened up, and I looked over and saw that dust boiling up out of the chopper, so I shot the video,” Striegel says.

Southern Rust? Never heard of her.
What Cheer, Iowa. USA. #pftour25 #harvest25 pic.twitter.com/tiIsUc2CHl
— Dan Striegel (@djsinseia) August 21, 2025

To date, Striegel’s video has garnered more than 48,000 views on X, formerly Twitter.

“We’re in southeast Iowa, Keokuk County, and I think the southern rust is as bad here as it is anywhere,” Striegel adds. “Every field you walk in, if you’re wearing a white T-shirt, you’ll come out of there red.”

A Red Path Of Disease Mars The Midwest

Expect to see more red T-shirt-clad farmers walking out of cornfields across the upper Midwest, based on what the Crop Protection Network (CPN) southern rust map is showing.

The CPN continually updates its online, interactive map showing the counties by state where southern rust infections are confirmed. Now, in late August, the counties look like red steppingstones. They form a checkered path from southwest Michigan through northern Illinois and Indiana, into southern Wisconsin, across all of Iowa and nearly two-thirds of the way across Nebraska. Eastern South Dakota is also lit up with a string of red counties, as are parts of southern to central Minnesota.

The amount of southern rust present in the upper Midwest is worrisome to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. In severe cases, the disease can wipe out 45% of the yield potential in a field, according to the CPN.

“At most, one in 10 growers in northern Iowa and Minnesota have seen the kind of southern rust some of them are seeing this year,” says Ferrie, who was working last week with corn growers in both states.

“It was a problem in probably eight out of every 10 fields I was in, and they’d all been sprayed at least once,” he says. “Minnesota has a corn crop that’ll knock your socks off – yield potential of 250, 270. I encouraged every grower to spray their field a second time except for two fields. One had been knocked down by hail, and the other had a hybrid that was clean.”

I spoke with a good friend of mine from Iowa yesterday that is an agronomist and farmer. He said the southern rust in corn across Iowa and much of the Midwest will take 9 to 12 bushel/acre off corn yields on average from what his team and himself are seeing. pic.twitter.com/Ad1VJ9oQBg
— Captain Cornelius1 (@ISU145) August 26, 2025

Hybrids Have Little To No Resistance To Southern Rust

A combination of early-season moisture, heat and wind formed the perfect storm for southern rust this season, allowing the disease-causing fungal spores (Puccinia polysora) to move from southern climes up to the Midwest, according to Kurt Maertens, BASF technical service representative for eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

“We’ve seen it all – southern rust, tar spot, northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot. Our corn has been inundated with all these fungal diseases, and we started seeing them early,” says Maertens.

If there’s a silver lining to southern rust, it’s that it does not overwinter in corn residue like tar spot does. But like tar spot, southern rust takes advantage of hybrids that have no built-in resistance. For many growers, that was an Achilles heel this season.

“When you’re dealing with a 117-day hybrid like they grow in southern Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky, you don’t grow corn that doesn’t have good southern rust resistance, because they deal with it every year,” Ferrie notes. “When you move to Minnesota, and you’re planting 102- to 95-day corn, you’re probably not going to find hybrids with southern rust resistance.”

Striegel says that was true for his neighbor’s cornfield, which he custom chopped for silage. “That field had two hybrids in it, one was worse than the other, and the field had been sprayed with a fungicide,” he says.

He adds that he also sprayed his own cornfields with fungicide, but they are still inundated with southern rust.

“We’ve had southern rust before, and it’s not usually something we have to worry about, but this is really bad,” Striegel says. “I’m standing on my deck looking at the cornfield next to my house, and you know, all of the leaves from the ears down in that field are covered with it.”

Southern rust is real in eastern Nebraska. Fungicide 3 weeks ago, 2nd app today with some potassium acetate pic.twitter.com/WZubU6IBwz
— Trent Mastny (@TrentMastny) August 21, 2025

How Late Is A Fungicide Application Still Worthwhile?

Ferrie says the fields he scouted last week were at late R3 to early R4 and had already been sprayed with fungicide at least once, but the disease was rebuilding.

“Any field where farmers had sprayed two weeks previously, the southern rust and northern corn leaf blight, to a lesser degree, were coming back, especially the southern rust. It was resporating,” he says.

The intense disease pressure from southern rust, tar spot and others have kept fungicide use at high levels this season, despite poor commodity prices.

“Because of that [amount of disease pressure], we have seen increased demand for our fungicides this year,” says Maertens, who encouraged customers to get applications made at the beginning of tassel.

Maertens says he has fielded a lot of questions this summer from farmers, asking how late they could go with a fungicide application and still benefit.

“Our recommendation is to get in front of disease,” he says. “Generally, we stop applications before we get to dent (R5). That’s not to say a later application can’t have some benefit, but our best results have been before infection was able to take place.”

Southern rust is a yield enemy farmers routinely face in the Southeast, reports corn yield champion Randy Dowdy, Valdosta, Ga. He participated in the Pro Farmer Crop Tour last week and said on U.S. Farm Report he believes many Midwest farmers still have time to address disease.

“We need to implore the fungicides, the technologies out there and get after it and protect this crop, especially that crop that still has not reached dent,” he says.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer likes to see farmers complete their fungicide applications on the front side of dough (early R4). “Once we get to early dent, I think it’s a little more challenging to get the payback consistently, though we’ve applied at early dent (R5), and seen a nice response,” says Bauer, who is based in south-central Michigan.

Under the tough disease pressure farmers are facing this year, Bauer is telling growers to scout fields and evaluate what growth stage their crop is in before they walk away or pull the fungicide trigger one last time.

She adds that farmers need to check the label to make sure the product used is able to address southern rust effectively. She describes these as “Cadillac” products containing the newest chemistry.

“When it comes to some of these diseases, especially southern rust and tar spot, I do believe a little bit of a Hail Mary pass can be effective,” she says. “Will it be as effective as an application you could have made on a more timely basis? Well, no, you could have made more money doing it timely, but you’re still protecting bushels and gaining ROI at the end.”

Ferrie adds that farmers might want to do the late-season fungicide application to keep their corn crop standing until they can put their harvest plan in place.

“Be doing the push test to check stalk quality,” he advises.

Southern Rust/Silage Alert!!

Southern Rust has been aggressively advancing in many fields, especially those without a fungicide treatment. In some situations the plants are shutting down prematurely and plant material is senescing rapidly.

While we typically want to get down… pic.twitter.com/aK3hGgZE19
— Pioneer Troy (@deutmeyer_troy) August 26, 2025

Striegel says some of the farmers around him are heading to fields to harvest their silage corn sooner than later, because of standability concerns. “Some of this corn got planted early, and we had a lot of heat. The crop matured quickly, and the diseases are kind of shutting it down. It’s just dying out, and guys are going to go get it,” he explains.

That’s the strategy Ferrie encourages farmers to use in regular production corn, too.

“Harvest the fields most at risk first. But if a field of corn goes down, go combine the fields where the corn is still standing and come back to that one later,” he recommends.

The reasoning is you don’t want to risk more corn going down while you’re harvesting the field of corn that already has.

“While I was driving through Iowa last week, I kept thinking that if I built corn reels to pick up down corn I’d bulk up my inventory, because I know where they’re going to get used,” Ferrie says, only half joking. “Yes, harvesting corn at 25% moisture is expensive, but down corn will kick your butt.”

Your next read: Revenge Applications: Why They Don’t Work, Cost You Money and Bushels, and Are Frankly Illegal

Agriculture in the Bull's-Eye: Raids Reportedly Resume on Farms, Meatpacking Plants

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 18:40:23 GMT

After President Donald Trump reportedly ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE ) to pause raids on farms and meatpacking plants last week, new reports say the administration is reversing course again. The on-again, off-again reports regarding ICE raids is sowing confusion for those who rely on immigrant labor and already causing labor shortages due to employees not showing up for work.

There was an update again late Friday, with President Trump saying he’s looking at new immigration policy steps that would allow farms to take responsibility for people they hire.

The Washington Post first reported Monday that ICE officials told leaders representing field offices across the country they must continue to conduct raids at worksite locations, which is a reversal from guidance issued just days earlier.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wouldn’t confirm the Washington Post’s report, but an agricultural association told Farm Journal the article is accurate based on their discussions with the administration.

Instead, DHS told us this:

“The president has been incredibly clear. There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts,” says DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safe guard public safety, national security and economic stability. These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation.”

By Friday, there was another update. Reuters reported President Trump said he was looking at immigration policy steps that would allow farms to take responsibility for people they hire.

“We’re looking at doing something where, in the case of good, reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire and let them have responsibility, because we can’t put the farms out of business,” Trump told reporters. “And at the same time we don’t want to hurt people that aren’t criminals.”

According to Farm Journal’s Michelle Rook, the recent ICE raids are already creating absenteeism and labor shortages that could severally disrupt the U.S. food supply. Ag groups are again calling for immigration reform with hopes the issue will finally come to a head.

Ripple Effect of Immigration Crackdown

Joe Del Bosque, owner of Del Bosque Farms in Firebaugh, Calif., is experiencing the rollercoaster with labor, saying the shifting policy strikes fear in farmers and workers.

“There’s so much uncertainty as to what the administration’s going to do,” Del Bosque told Rook on AgriTalk this week.

Del Bosque says the raids on California produce farms are disrupting the harvest of perishable produce.

“They haven’t been really huge sweeps. They’re usually picking up a few people. But it creates a lot of fear, and people don’t show up to work. That’s just as bad as if they were taken away,” he says.

According to an exclusive report by Farm Journal’s The Packer , the ripple effect of Trump’s immigration crackdown on agriculture could be far-reaching — if the administration revives its focus on ag.

Kevin Kelly is the CEO of Emerald Packaging — the largest flexible packaging supplier to the leafy greens industry. Based in Union City, Calif., the company has been in the packaging business for 62 years. Kelly says the immigrant workforce in California is feeling uncertain and afraid.

“We’ve certainly heard folks aren’t turning up to work in the fields, and we’ve seen it in our facility. We verify everybody, so we know everybody in our facility is documented and can legally work in the United States,” Kelly tells Jennifer Strailey, editor of The Packer. “In our case, it’s brothers and sisters being deported, and other family members being afraid. Our employees are staying home to help their family members move, to take care of them or to take them to see an attorney — that kind of thing.”

Dairy operations in several states have also been raided recently. Dairy producers say they rely on immigrant labor to provide a stable year-round work force and to keep the U.S. food supply stable.

“We need these people to take care of our animals so we can produce food. Without animal care, we won’t have milk, cheese, butter — nothing,” Greg Moes, MoDak Dairy in Goodwin, S.D., told Rook.

The recent ICE arrests at Glenn Valley Foods of Omaha, Neb. have also led to absenteeism at meat processing plants.

“At the beginning of the Trump administration, we had this same worry with the crackdown — whether this was going to impact absenteeism and things like that,” says Brad Kooima, Kooima Kooima Varilek in Sioux Center, Iowa. “So, hopefully we can put that in our rearview mirror.”

By the Numbers: A Heavy Reliance on Immigrant Labor
The news this week of the Trump administration putting a pause on raids of farms and meat processors is welcome news for those in agriculture. From dairies and produce farms, to meatpacking plants across the U.S., these sectors rely heavily on immigrant labor.

Immigrant labor makes up a substantial portion of the meat processing workforce, with estimates ranging from 37% to over 50%. However, states like South Dakota and Nebraska have even higher concentrations of immigrant workers in meat processing — reaching 58% and 66%, according to the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute.

And a large portion of U.S. dairy farms rely on immigrant labor, with estimates indicating that over half of all dairy workers are immigrants. Specifically, these workers account for 51% of the total dairy workforce and are responsible for producing 79% of the U.S. milk supply.

Farmworker Justice estimates 70% of the produce industry’s farmworkers are immigrants. USDA’s estimates are lower — closer to 60%.

A New Era for Nebraska: First Dairy Plant Breaks Ground in Over 60 Years

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 21:42:48 GMT

A new chapter in Nebraska agriculture began Wednesday as DARI Processing, LLC officially broke ground on the state’s first new dairy processing plant since 1963. The $186.3-million facility will be located on a 40-acre site within the Seward, Neb., Rail Campus and is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2027.

Once complete, the plant will process approximately 1.8 million pounds of milk per day, using aseptic, ultra-high-temperature processing to produce shelf-stable dairy products. These products, which are designed to have up to a 12-month shelf life without refrigeration, are positioned to support markets with limited cold storage access, such as food banks, schools and global export channels.

“This is really just a transformational project for Seward, and really for the county, region and the state,” says Jonathan Jank, president and CEO of the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership.

DARI Processing, LLC is owned by the Tuls family, longtime Nebraska dairy producers and the largest dairy operators in the state. With this project, the family is taking the next step in vertically integrating their operation and keeping more of Nebraska’s milk in-state.

“Building this plant will help keep 30% of the state’s milk production from being processed elsewhere and creating more jobs here in the state,” says TJ Tuls, CEO of DARI Processing, LLC. “By keeping Nebraska’s milk in Nebraska, we will reduce the amount of miles that trucks haul around milk, reduce fuel usage and reduce the overall carbon footprint.”

He also notes the broader opportunity this facility presents.

“This isn’t just about our family or our farm — it’s about building a sustainable future for Nebraska dairy,” Tuls says. “It’s about creating a better path forward for farmers, families, and the next generation who want to stay on the land.”

While Tuls Dairies will supply a large share of the milk, the plant will also rely on additional producers throughout the region.

“Their existing dairies will supply a good percentage of it, but not all of it,” Jank says. “We think this opens up a big opportunity for farmers in the region, and some may even consider expanding as a result.”

The site itself is also a strategic part of the equation. The Seward Rail Campus has been in development since 2009, and food processing has always been at the top of its target list. The vision is finally becoming a reality.

“At our core, Seward County is agriculture,” Jank says. “We have a lot of great farmers, not just in corn and beans, but also livestock and dairy. This project fits perfectly.”

Jank also emphasizes that local and state-level coordination is what helps get a project like this across the finish line.

“The Tuls wanted to vertically integrate in the market,” Jank says. “They were looking for about a 40-acre site, and we had it for them. Ultimately, we were able to help coordinate the rest of the logistics around extending road and utilities and making sure that everything else fit from a dollars and cents standpoint, to make them profitable here in the community.”

And the timing couldn’t be better. The dairy industry in Nebraska has been seeking greater processing capacity to support in-state milk production, and this facility helps fill that gap.

“There’s a Grow Nebraska Dairy team that’s been working hard to bring processors to the state,” Jank says. “Ultimately, the Tuls family took it upon themselves to become that processor, and now we’re seeing the result.”

The impact of the new facility is expected to ripple through rural communities, offering economic and generational opportunity for family farms.

“This really is a game changer for the dairy industry in our state,” Jank adds. “We’re hoping this facility gives the next generation of farmers a reason to come back to the farm because there’s now a processor close to home.”

Governor Jim Pillen, who attended the groundbreaking event, calls the project a huge win for Nebraska agriculture. The facility is expected to create around 70 new jobs and help keep more value-added production within the state’s borders.

“Nebraskans raise the finest crops and livestock in America,” Pillen says. “Instead of shipping these commodities out of state, we can add value to them right here in Nebraska. I commend Todd and TJ Tuls for constructing a dairy plant to capture the full value of milk from local dairies.”

Jank sees the facility as proof of what’s possible when vision meets partnership.

“Economic development is a team sport,” he says. “None of this happens without a developer willing to invest, but there are also countless partners — community leaders, utility providers, state officials and others — who step up to make this project possible.”

Your Next Read: Growing Pains and Big Gains: A Wisconsin Dairy’s Fast-Paced Journey From 70 Cows to 700

New Beef-on-Dairy Feedlot Set to be One of the Largest in Country

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:43:28 GMT

Despite the smallest U.S. cowherd in 73 years and corresponding tight feeder cattle supplies, the largest cattle feedyard north of the Rio Grande is under construction in Nebraska. When complete, Blackshirt Feeders near Haigler in the far southwest corner of the state, will have a capacity of 150,000 head, all standing on a concrete pad covering a full square mile, replete with an accompanying biodigester.

None of that previous paragraph defies logic, provided you know the track record of the principals involved and understand the growing beef-on-dairy (BxD) phenomenon that has captured the attention of stakeholders throughout the chain — feedyards, dairies, backgrounders, seedstock providers, feed companies and packers. In short, the BxD segment has provided a new profit opportunity for cattle feeders and seedstock suppliers, a lifeline for some dairies, and promises to revolutionize the way the beef industry accepts, captures and uses animal ID and the data it provides.

CLOSED LOOP

The BxD production model offers a unique opportunity for innovators to utilize every available tool and management practice to foster improvement. Specifically, this new model links the semen provider to the dairy to the feedyard in what is called a closed-loop system.

“We’ve long dreamed about this type of system,” says Lee Leachman, CEO of Leachman Cattle, now part of the URUS group of companies. “We supply the semen, and Alta or Genex distributes it to a dairy, then the dairy signs a contract with GK Jim Farms to sell those calves either as day-olds or after a growing period, then they are shipped to the feedlot for finishing.”

Th e contracts stipulate that every calf is tracked from birth with sire, health and performance data. That information is used to determine future matings to improve performance and reduce undesirable characteristics.

“This is a game changer,” Leachman emphasizes. “This enables progress like what we’ve seen in poultry and swine. If you don’t have the loop with the data you can’t make the progress.”

The closed-loop system is already operational at several U.S. feedlots, including five operated by GK Jim Farms in Colorado and Texas.

Blackshirt Feeders - Construction Timeline

(Lindsey Pound)

Veterinarian Kee Jim, principal at GK Jim Farms, says as his company began expanding their beef-on-dairy model they sought to acquire feedlots, but none were available at the scale they desired.

“Three years ago we began investigating what we believe would be the best site to build a new feedlot,” Jim says. “We looked at availability of grain, the climate, proximity to available feeder cattle and proximity to packers.”

That led to the selection of the construction site near Haigler, Neb., in the southwest corner of the state that joins both Kansas and Colorado.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Designed to be much more than just a large-scale feedlot, Blackshirt Feeders has several unique features that will make it the “most environmentally friendly feedlot on the planet.” That is how it’s described by veterinarian Eric Behlke who is both a founding partner of Blackshirt Feeders and project leader for its construction.

First among the new yard’s unique characteristics is the compressed rolled concrete that will cover every feeding pen. The concrete offers several advantages but is essential to capturing the manure for the biodigester that will be built adjacent to the site.

“The concrete allows for the collection of the manure without contaminating it with dirt, which is essential for a digester,” Behlke says. “But the concrete is impermeable, which provides superior protection for both the groundwater and the surface water. All of the ponds will be lined with high-density HDPE liner, a synthetic liner which is also impermeable, to prevent leaching of nutrients.”

Behlke says Blackshirt Feeders is committed to leveraging the latest technologies and feedlot construction to make the new yard as environmentally sound as possible.

“These efforts will help change the narrative about beef production and make it a much greener process,” Behlke says.

All of which sounds good, but like most agribusinesses today, finding labor is likely an issue, especially in a remote area. The company is already working to ease that problem, Jim says.

“We have plans to construct housing in Wray, Colo., about 20 miles away,” Jim says. “The first 24 units are under construction now.”

DATA AND SCALE

It can be easy for observers to focus on the massive size of Blackshirt Feeders, but it’s much more than an effort by a large player to further capitalize on efficiencies of scale, though that is important.

“What makes our system unique is that our large and ongoing investments in data collection and analysis are what have allowed us to scale our business,” says Holt Tripp, DVM, MBA, director of cattle operations for GK Jim Group of Companies.

Tripp says the company has used rigorous, large-scale, field trials to better understand the biology of the animals they are feeding.

“In turn, we have been able to make consistent incremental progress that allows us to make calculated bets on how, when and where to deploy risk capital in our system,” he says. “We are not using data to describe a system that has already come to scale — we are using data to get to scale. In our minds, anything else would be putting the cart before the horse.”

It’s ironic that an offshoot of the dairy industry might be the catalyst that could drive the beef industry toward expanded use of animal ID and data capture.

“I think eventually these (beef-on-dairy) calves may be better than the average beef-on-beef animals,” Leachman says. “AI’ing millions of dairy cows is a big advantage. We get so much selection pressure. If we don’t have a data feedback loop on beef-on-beef calves, then it will be harder to keep up. If we don’t have data feedback, we won’t be able to make progress as rapidly on the most important traits. Having ID and feedback on economically relevant traits is critical.”

The closed-loop system will eventually find its way to the native beef-on-beef segment.

“Cattle feeders will likely increasingly want to adopt that sort of model,” says Nevil Speer, industry consultant based in Bowling Green, Ky. “Knowing more about the feeder cattle they purchase and subsequently also providing feedback (and payment incentives) based on cattle performance (both in the feedyard and on the rail).”

Data, of course, is the key driver. “There’s more opportunities all the time for beef producers who are willing to embrace participating in a specified supply chain,” Speer explains. “It means giving up some independence, and it requires more accountability, but ultimately willingness to do so will likely also establish new opportunity to maximize the value of genetic and management inputs made at the ranch.”

New Regulation: Dairy Cattle Entry into Nebraska Now Requires Permit Amid HPAI Bird Flu Concerns

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 19:05:57 GMT

In an effort to increase its biosecurity measures, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) has issued a restriction on the importation of dairy cattle because of the recent outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu.

According to a statement issued by Governor, Jim Pillen, the new order requires all breeding female dairy cattle coming into the state to have a permit issued by the NDA first. To obtain a permit, dairy producers will need to contact the NDA and consult with their local veterinarian. The new importation order will be in place for 30 days (until April 30, 2024) and will be re-evaluated at that time.

Currently, HPAI has been detected in lactating dairy cattle in states such as Texas, New Mexico, Michigan, and Idaho, as well as Nebraska’s bordering state, Kansas.

“Animal health and disease control are essential to the livestock industry and health of Nebraska’s economy,” says Sherry Vinton, NDA director. “NDA is closely monitoring this HPAI illness in livestock. We will do what’s right to advocate for Nebraska producers, to protect the health of Nebraska livestock, and to minimize the impact HPAI will have on dairy producers in the state.”

In addition to applying for a permit to import cattle into the state, the NDA recommends dairy producers adhere to strict biosecurity practices and quarantining new animals into herds for 30 days, if possible. If dairy producers notice symptoms such as a sudden drop in milk production, changes in milk color/consistency, decreased feed intake, and other clinical signs, they should contact their herd veterinarian and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture immediately.

“The health and safety of livestock in Nebraska is top priority,” says State Veterinarian Roger Dudley, DMV. “At this time, it appears the HPAI illness found in dairy operations in some states only affects lactating dairy cows and is not being seen in other segments of the cattle industry. Now, more than ever, is the time to enhance biosecurity measures on farms and ranches to help protect livestock from illness.”

For more on HPAI, read:

New Custom Rates For Livestock Services Published

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 20:34:35 GMT

Nebraska cattlemen should expect to pay an average of $9.50 per ton for custom harvesting and hauling of corn silage this fall, according to a new report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability. Harvesting, hauling, filling and packing corn silage was found to have a custom rate of $13.58 per ton.

Current rates for custom services related to livestock production in Nebraska are the result of a statewide survey circulated to custom operators and clients in early 2023. The livestock-specific survey reports rates for 53 custom services based on responses from 91 custom operators and clients.

This is the first such livestock-specific report conducted by the Center for Agricultural Profitability, which is a companion to the biennial Nebraska Farm Custom Rates Survey Report that features more detailed information about custom service rates related to cropping operations and is typically published in even-numbered years.

A webinar covering the new livestock-related report will be held at noon Central Time on Thursday, Aug. 3. Registration is available at go.unl.edu/cap8-3 .

Among the various custom rates, for instance, swathing hay with crushing/crimping saw an average price of $143.50 per hour reported by 12 respondents, with the most common price as $150 per hour. The same task saw an average price of $16.23 per acre by 31 respondents, with the most common price of $15 per acre.

Glennis McClure, Nebraska Extension educator and farm and ranch management analyst, leads the survey and publication efforts for both reports. She noted that information reported in both publications is intended as a guide when calculating what to charge or pay for custom operations and that actual rates may vary from those listed in the survey due to differences in the operators responding and those providing services across the state.

Baling large round bales was quoted at $14.46 per bale without net wrap, according to 12 responses. Baling large round bales with net wrap was quoted at $15.32 per bale by 44 respondents.

The report quoted six respondents with an average price of $105.83 per acre for clearing cedar trees, and the most common price was $125 per acre.

The full report can be found here .

Nebraska Dairies Experience Decreased Demand

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 03:00:15 GMT

Nebraska’s wide grasslands, fields of golden corn and gushing aquifers make the state a nearly perfect home for cows that are content to live a quiet life of chewing cud and being milked.

That was the sales pitch the past several years as Nebraska sought to woo dairy farms from states like Texas and California, where the Holsteins were being squeezed out by drought, development and environmental regulations.

Last year, it seemed to be working. After decades of decline, the number of registered dairies in Nebraska bumped from 181 in 2014 to 184 in 2015, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

But it turned out to be more of a blip than a renaissance. According to the Lincoln Journal Star the state lost 20 registered dairies as of September, dropping the total to 164.

It’s not because of a lack of interest in the state. Nebraska has a list of dairy farmers who have said in writing they’d be happy to move here, state Ag Director Greg Ibach said during a recent interview.

The problem is that they can’t find anyone to buy their milk.

“All of the sudden the plants that were begging for more milk, the cows caught up with the amount of processing capacity,” said Rod Johnson, executive director of the Nebraska Dairy Association.

“The pipeline is full.”

It’s an issue up and down the Interstate 29 corridor, the dairy belt of the Midwest, Johnson said.

Dairy Farmers of America, the main cooperative force in Southeast Nebraska, confirmed it doesn’t need any more milk from the state.

“Due to a number of factors, including the export market, supply is currently outpacing demand in the Nebraska area,” spokeswoman Kim O’Brien said in an email.

This summer, dairy farmers were losing on every gallon because of overproduction, although prices have rebounded slightly since. The National Milk Producers Federation recently reported prices in the region ranging from $14.20 to $15.70 per 100 pounds.

In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would buy 11 million pounds of cheese to help reduce a 30-year-high national surplus. The cheese is to be distributed to schools and food banks across the nation.

U.S. butter and cheese has been expensive on the world market for much of the past couple years compared with dairy from other places like Europe and Australia, causing U.S. suppliers to lose market share, although price disparities have narrowed in September, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

Dairy is an economic development cash cow. A study done last year by the state Ag Department at the direction of the Legislature found a single cow has a $5,000 local economic impact.

“Taken a step further, Nebraska’s 55,000 dairy cows generate $275 million annually in local economic activity,” the study said. That doesn’t include the value added by Nebraska’s 10 milk processing plants.

In two other studies, economists at Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota estimated a dairy cow’s statewide economic impact with in-state processing at $23,000 and $25,000, respectively.

Hoping to tap into the rich dairy bounty, a coalition of state commodity groups has been sinking time and effort into attracting new processors to Nebraska.

“We call ourselves Grow Nebraska Dairy,” said Johnson.

The issue, he said, is that processors want to know there are enough cows and milk to meet their needs, but to get those farmers, the state needs a processor.

“It’s kind of the chicken or the egg, which comes first? Our challenge is to bring everybody together at one time,” Johnson said.

Half of the state’s 10 processors, including Prairieland Dairy near Firth, process milk produced by their own cows.

Dwaine Junck gets up each morning at about 5 a.m. to check the cows and get his kids ready for school.

His family has run a dairy near Carroll since the 1940s.

For him, Nebraska’s full milk pipeline means less competition and lower prices for his milk. And the declining number of dairies in the state means fewer local businesses catering to dairy’s unique needs.

“If we had more dairies in the area . there would be more support industries, the equipment dealers, the repair people,” he said. “Well, we can’t get more dairies in the area if there is no place to sell the milk.”

His milk went to a string cheese processing plant in Ravenna until Leprino Foods closed it in 2013 citing, among other reasons, difficulty in getting enough milk.

Now, like 60 percent of the milk produced in Nebraska, Junck ships his out of the state.

Nebraska’s dairy herd peaked in 1934 with 820,000 cows producing 2.9 billion pounds of milk annually. Today, the number of cows is closer to 55,000, but each of them produces more milk.

In 1934, each cow produced an average of 3,500 pounds of milk; today, an individual cow produces an average of more than 21,000 pounds, thanks to improved nutrition and genetics.

Nebraska’s dairy farms have also gone through consolidation. The state lost 553 dairy farms over the past 15 years, a 75 percent decrease. The average number of cows per dairy farm went from 98 in 1999 to 214 in 2010, according to USDA statistics.

Last year, 52 percent of the dairy cows in the state were housed on just 14 farms.

Still, the amount of milk produced in the state has remained relatively stable at just over 1.1 billion pounds a year, according to USDA statistics.

The vast majority of Nebraska’s remaining dairy farms are in the eastern portion of the state, where they are closer to processors, highways and population bases like Lincoln and Omaha that have plenty of mouths to gobble up ice cream and cheese.