Management
Members, don't forget to complete your NAIS Animal Premise
ID Form. Click here for the form from the
Florida Department of Agriculture.
From
the Polk
County Livestock Report – a
bi-monthly publication of the UF/IFAS Polk County Extension
Service by Livestock Agent, Bridget Carlisle. May-June 2009
Issue. To subscribe to the Polk
County Livestock Report newsletter,
please email your Livestock Extension Agent, Bridget
Carlisle at
bccarlis@ufl.edu.
Download Newsletter
Here
Free Soil and Plant Tissue Testing for Established
Pastures in the Peace River, Manasota, and Alafia River
Basins
Soil and plant tissue testing are excellent tools for
identifying lime and fertilizer requirements in pastures.
The University of Florida-IFAS Range Cattle Research and
Education Center in Ona will be offering free testing for
the first 200 samples of soil and plant tissue received
between April 1 and June 30, 2010. In addition to the test
results, participants will receive fertilizer
recommendations and copies of educational materials related
to fertilization management. Both soil and plant tissue
samples must be submitted together to qualify for the
program. If you would like to participate or have
questions about the program, please contact Bridget at
bccarlis@ufl.edu or (863) 519-8677.
Shortening Calving Seasons
Six cow herds
with long calving seasons were converted to a short season.
Average calving season was reduced from 273 days to 85
days. This resulted in 92% of cows calving in the desired
season compared to 46% before the season was shortened. The
average time taken to arrive at the shorter season was 3.8
years. One objection raised by some to shortening the
calving season is that cows have fewer opportunities to
breed and therefore fewer will calve over a year with a
short season. However, in these herds the average of cows
calving after the short season had been attained was 89%,
compared to 87% for the last year before the change was
initiated. Averaged over the six herds, cost of production
was reduced and income increased with a shorter calving
season. (Univ. of Arkansas; Beef Cattle Research Update,
March, 2010)
Online Website Ready for 2010 Small Farms
Conference
As the follow-up to Florida’s first statewide Small Farms
and Alternative Enterprises Conference, organizers are
completing preparations for a second event in summer
2010. To this end, the online website for the
Conference is now operational and ready for viewing by
potential exhibitors and guests who are making plans to
attend.
Once again held at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, the
event will take place July 31 and Aug. 1. Attendance is
expected to top 1,000 farmers and agricultural
professionals this year. Features will include speakers,
educational sessions, exhibits of products and
technologies, livestock displays, demonstrations,
networking opportunities, meals of fresh foods from FL
small farmers, and more.
Early registration is encouraged and the ‘Early Bird’
registration deadline is July 12, 2010. There are a
limited number of scholarships available for FL small
farmers. For more information, visit the link to the
conference on the Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises
Web site at http://smallfarms.ifas.ufl.edu.
The Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Conference is
hosted by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences and Florida A&M University’s
College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and
Agriculture.
Service Provider Directory
Cattle producers depend on various services and products in
their ranching operation, but sometimes it is difficult to
locate a service provider or product. The South Florida
Beef Forage Group has developed an extensive “Service
Provider Directory” to help ranchers find what they need
while allowing service and product providers market
themselves. The directory includes providers in various
categories that include, but are not limited to: hay, grass
planting material, day workers, custom tractor work,
hauling/transport, welding, fencing, to name a few.
Providers are listed by category then county. Visit the
website at http://sfbfp.ifas.ufl.edu/spdindex.html
or contact me at (863) 519-8677 Ext. 104.
If you have
a service or product that you would like to list in
the directory, please call me at the number above or
email me at bccarlis@ufl.edu and I will be glad to
have you added to the list.
