RB30-252 Sex and Age as Factors in Cattle Feeding

Varying economic conditions and changes in the demands of the meat consuming public have been responsible for the turns that have taken place in the beef industry during recent years. Both feeder and producer must recognize and conform to these changes if they are to continue in business. Among the most important of these changes have been the turn toward the marketing of lighter cattle and the gradual disappearance from feed lots of two- and three-year-old animals. Furthermore, the cattle population of the United States is fast reaching stabilization with the resulting effect that more heifers are being marketed, since only one-fourth of the heifer crop is needed to replace worn-out breeding animals. Realizing the increasing importance of the heifer problem from the standpoint of the producer, feeder, and consumer, the Nebraska Experiment Station undertook to compare steers and heifers in a series of trials both in the feedlot and in the beef. It was hoped that these experiments would yield results which would bring out existing differences, if any, between steers and heifers both in quality and quantity of beef produced and thus provide or disprove many of the complaints against heifers. The results of these trials are summarized in this bulletin. Age as well as the sex factor has been considered, since two-year-olds, yearlings, and calves were included in these trials.

The Nebraska Agricultural Outlook for 1938

Each year the federal government gathers data relating to agriculture through the various departments of the United States Department of Agriculture. These data are classified and analyzed by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics at Washington and all information which may be helpful to farmers is published. For several years it has been the policy of the Department of Rural Economics and the Agricultural Extension Service of the College of Agriculture, Lincoln, to select from the federal information facts which may be especially helpful to Nebraska farmers. These facts and other economic conditions in Nebraska are published this year as the Agricultural Outlook for Nebraska, 1938. The Outlook should be helpful in the marketing of the crops and livestock on hand. It should also be helpful in making farm plans for 1938.

State of the Arctic October 2006

This State of the Arctic Report presents a review of recent data by an international group of scientists who developed a consensus on the information content and reliability. The report highlights data primarily from 2000 to 2005 with a first look at winter 2006, providing an update to some of the records of physical processes discussed in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA, 2004, 2005). Of particular note: • Atmospheric climate patterns are shifting (Fig. 1). The late winter/spring pattern for 2000–2005 had new hot spots in northeast Canada and the East Siberian Sea relative to 1980–1999. Late winter 2006, however, shows a return to earlier climate patterns, with warm temperatures in the extended region near Svalbard. • Ocean salinity and temperature profiles at the North Pole and in the Beaufort Sea, which changed abruptly in the 1990s, show that conditions since 2000 have relaxed toward the pre-1990 climatology, although 2001–2004 has seen an increase in northward ocean heat transport through Bering Strait (Fig. 2), which is thought to impact sea ice loss. • Sea ice extent continues to decrease. The sea ice extent in September 2005 was the minimum observed in summer during the satellite era (beginning in 1979), marking an unprecedented series of extreme ice extent minima beginning in 2002 (Fig. 3). The sea ice extent in March 2006 was also the minimum observed in winter during the satellite era. • Tundra vegetation greenness increased, primarily due to an increase in the abundance of shrubs. Boreal forest vegetation greenness decreased, possibly due to drought conditions (Fig. 4). • There is increasing interest in the stability of the Greenland ice sheet. The velocity of outlet glaciers increased in 2005 relative to 2000 and 1995, but uncertainty remains with regard to the total mass balance. • Permafrost temperatures continue to increase. However, data on changes in the active layer thickness (the relatively thin layer of ground between the surface and permafrost that undergoes seasonal freezing and thawing) are less conclusive. While some of the sites show a barely noticeable increasing trend in the thickness of the active layer, most of them do not. • Globally, 2005 was the warmest year in the instrumental record (beginning in 1880), with the Arctic providing a large contribution toward this increase. Many of the trends documented in the ACIA are continuing, but some are not. Taken collectively, the observations presented in this report indicate that during 2000–2005 the Arctic system showed signs of continued warming. However, there are a few indications that certain elements may be recovering and returning to recent climatological norms (for example, the central Arctic Ocean and some wind patterns). These mixed tendencies further illustrate the sensitivity and complexity of the Arctic physical system. They underline the importance of maintaining and expanding efforts to observe and better understand this important component of the climate system to provide accurate predictions of its future state.

AN ANALYSIS OF SMALL BUSINESS LOAN GUARANTEE FUNDS

Small businesses are considered important engines for job growth and economic development by policy makers worldwide. One of the most commonly cited constraints of small businesses is a lack of access to capital. To address this constraint, small business loan guarantee programs have been established in over 100 countries. There are a variety of types of guarantee funds, with the most significant differences being which borrowers are eligible for guarantees, and how borrowers are approved for guarantees. There is currently no clear delineation between types of programs and the economic conditions they operate in, though some trends are becoming apparent. However, these trends may not be leading to the best economic outcomes possible. By better matching the structure of the guarantee fund to the economic conditions it operates in, the program’s success in meeting economic development goals may be greatly improved. Many programs in developing countries may not be taking advantage of bank expertise and may be limiting the scope of their effectiveness. At the same time, programs in developed countries may be wasting resources by scattering their efforts too thinly and subsidizing less competitive firms to the detriment of local economic development.