38 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN October 2025 40th Annual Steer & Heifer Sale OCTOBER 31, 2025 7:00 P.M. | BUFFALO COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS| KEARNEY, NE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NCC: FALL CLASSIC www.nebraskaherefords.com NEBRASKA HEREFORD ASSOCIATION dust in the environment. Respiratory problems occur under very dusty conditions and may result in increased treatment costs and reduced average daily gains. Dust reduction measures such as water sprinklers may be necessary to improve animal performance. For operations that calve in the late winter/early spring, fall is also a good time to take inventory of your calving facilities. A head catch that is protected from the weather and has adequate lighting will provide a space to examine a dam in labor on dark winter nights. It is important that the working facilities are free from sharp edges to prevent injury, and that all gates and panels are securely fastened and working appropriately. There should be adequate footing to prevent slips and falls. Make sure the pen is easy to clean after each calving to help prevent the spread of disease between animals. Windbreaks and calf shelters can be useful during harsh weather. When building shelters, think about ventilation, ease of adding and removing bedding, wind direction and the amount of space needed. It can also help to have someone, such as your veterinarian or Extension educator, walk through the facilities and provide feedback. If you would like to know more about low-stress handling and facility design, visit bqa.org. You may also contact Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance at nebraskaBQA@unl.edu or call (308) 633-0158. ~NC~ BQA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34 FIVE Inventory Homes For Sale! Imperial III 1,860 sq ft White Rift Cut Oak & Quartz House #6129 McPherson II 1,736 sq ft Alder cabinets & Craftsman trim #1 Builder in Rural Nebraska & Kansas 1-888-927-3272 1230 E 9th Minden, NE 614 Maple Clay Center, KS Wardcraft Homes Forget builder-grade. We design our inventory homes like we’re building them for ourselves—where every must-have feature comes standard, because why should you settle for less? Click for a Price Quote at wardcraft.com I know of a few strings of home-raised calves from Nebraska and points west that have been fed in the same feedyards for decades that I’ve seen move to market as early as April that didn’t ship until August this year. (Are those extremes? Yes, but they are also factual extremes.) One hundred eighty days on feed used to be considered sufficient on a six-weight calf-fed; now it’s common on a tight, nine-weight yearling. It’s all about the spread between cost of gain and prevailing (or hedge-able) fed cattle values. New World screwworm is an animal health/herd health risk, and the issue must be confronted, managed and mitigated as such – period, full stop. That said, I believe I would be doing our readers a disservice not to point out the significant impact that the U.S. border closure to feeder cattle imports from Mexico has had on the U.S. feeder cattle supply chain – and is currently having on the U.S. fed cattle supply chain. For perspective’s sake, basis USDA’s Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Report data, in the fouryear window between Jan. 1, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2025, first-of-year “total (feeder cattle) supply outside feedlots” decreased by a total of 1.706 million head. MARKETS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36 CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
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