When the weather gets warm suddenly and when there are long stretches of hot days, cattle will undergo heat stress. Management tactics such as working cattle in the early morning; providing ample, clean, cool water; providing shade; increasing airflow; and controlling flies are all important to help limit the effects of heat on cattle.

The Fall Meat Processing and Food Safety Certificate Program at SUNY Cobleskill is now accepting registrants. This intensive 4-week-long course will take participants through the processing of lamb, goat, hogs, and beef as well as provide HACCP training.

Marek's Disease can be devastating in flocks and is one of the most common flock illnesses. However, with attention to flock health and vaccination of new arrivals, it can be easily managed.

Officials have made the decision to lift the bans on fowl shows, swaps, meets, auctions, and sales. White poultry shows and commerce are getting back to normal, we still need to take precautions to keep our birds safe from Avian Flu.

Heat stress, especially when experienced before livestock are acclimated, can result in reduced performance, illness, and/or death. Small changes to management strategies can help animals overcome these challenges.

From our friends at Cornell CALS 

As part of Cornell Cooperative Extension's role in strengthening New York State agriculture, we are helping to spread word of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets' plans to launch a statewide online Farm Directory. 

The New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program (NYSCHAP) and the New York State Sheep/Goat Health Assurance Program (NYSSGHAP) were developed to aid producers with setting up whole herd/flock health management programs. The program is provided free of charge.

Pre-conditioning through castration, vaccinations, weaning, and deworming can all add value to a calf, while providing a robust animal to buyers for their finishing stages of production.

This chart from the university of Idaho outlines kid weight, the percentage of bodyweight that you're targeting to feed, and what the daily feeding amount should be. It's a handy reference to hang in the barn!

This chronic, incurable bacterial infection is difficult to manage, fatal, and can be either fast or slow moving. Learning how to keep it out of the herd and/or control & manage for it to save substantial time and money.

The SWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program is currently seeking participant farmers in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Steuben counties to take part in a study that will evaluate the true costs of production in pastured broiler enterprises. Farmers will be compensated for their time on the project. If you're interested in learning more, reach out to Amy Barkley at amb544@cornell.edu or 716-640-0844.

This article written by Ken McMillin and Frank Pinkerton gives insight into goat production trends in the United States for this year and years previous. While broad in scope, it will help readers understand goat markets from a whole system prospective.