Beef Cattle Mythbusters | Lincoln & Adams Counties

2021 MythBusters

Do all methods of calculating TDN give useful results? (November 15, 2021)
That depends: Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) has existed as a measure of the digestible energy of food and feeds since 1890. Atwater and Rubner & Hill related the digestible combustible energy of a food or feed to the digestion of protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
When you request forage quality analysis from a laboratory, do all methods of analysis result in the same results? (December 15, 2021)
Feed/forage analysis is an important part of developing feeding strategies for beef cattle.

Myth: Cheatgrass (Downy Brome) provides equal nutrition throughout the grazing season compared to native and improved bunchgrasses. (January 17, 2022)
Forage quality and availability are major factors in determining total nutrient availability and timing of grazing in the Pacific Northwest. In the Pacific Northwest, many acres of rangeland contain significant amounts of cheatgrass (downy brome) which is a winter annual that competes with native and improved grasses and other forage species.
Myth: Beef grading and inspection are the same thing. (March 14, 2022)
As an Extension Specialist, I regularly get questions about beef grading and inspection. I’ve shared this with many of you before, but it I think it is definitely worthy of another look to alleviate the confusion.

Pinkeye (May 15, 2024)
Sometimes it takes some thinking to figure out what to write for an article. I try to make the content relevant and applicable to real-world cattle production. Finally, I asked myself, as summer approaches what are the real issues that I faced as a cattleman?
Thinking Critically About Opportunities with Low-Quality Forages (August 15, 2024)
I visit with a lot of producers. Often, the subject of our conversations came to the ever- increasing cost of feeding cattle. Essentially the producers are asking: How is it possible to reduce feed costs and still meet their production goals?

Algae Poisoning in Livestock and Pets (May 2026)
It’s time again to think about potential summer hazards for our livestock and pets. It is quite common for me to get inquiries and questions about algae poisoning during the warmer months of the year.