Livestock Blogs

With poor profitability projections on most row crop budgets, planting summer annual forages and using forage mixes for grazing should be considered on marginal acres. Adding a different crop to the rotation and a more diverse plant population on traditional row crop acres can have cascading...

Turning cows out on immature forages can have consequences. If forages are overgrazed early, permanent damage to grass stands can lower yields and increase weed pressure.Delaying turn-out until forages have reached eight inches in height is recommended. Even more important is rotating cows through...

With winter weather and cold temperatures setting in, it is time to talk about when cows feel the cold. The big factors that determine the lower critical temperature for cattle are temperature, wind speed, and heaviness of winter hair coat.Colder temperatures, higher wind speeds, and lighter hair...

Adding nutrients, organic matter, and ground cover to poorly productive lands have some raving about bale grazing. Added fertility and better water holding capacity of soils after bale grazing is often mentioned by early adopters.For sceptics, improved hay inventories and lower hay prices coupled...

Are you looking for avenues to re-invest in the ranch this year? First, know that not every year is as profitable as this year and sometimes profitability can be difficult to achieve. Thus, careful thought and allocation of profits is necessary to maintain a sustainable business in the future. Here...

Fall calving herds are approaching breeding season. While general breeding practices are similar to spring calving herds, breeding fall calving cows can pose some unique challenges.Tips for a successful breeding seasonMaintain cows in a body condition score of 5 or 6.Avoid negative planes of...

Supplementing cows during drought is common practice. Harvested forages, such as hay, can be used to replace available forage for grazing. However, when attempting to replace grazing with feeding hay on pasture, cows prefer the palatability of fresh forage. This means that not until the available...

Record high prices, while certainly a good thing, can leave many cattlemen in a state of awe and somewhat lax on cost control.Common sense and research both tell us cattle are most profitable when they are harvesting their own feed. Allowing cattle to graze into late fall and early winter is...

How do you know who is who? When you have a multitude of animals, it’s important to have an identification system in place. Using an ID system allows for better organization in a herd and makes daily checks, vet visits, and sorting run smoother. By exploring the methods used on different operations...

Isn’t it fun to watch people that are good at handling cattle? I love it. We all aspire to be better stockman and handling animals correctly is a big part of that goal. Investing time in animal handling skills improves quality of life, safety, health, and performance… for both animal and human....