Animal Science Blogs

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...

The annual Orr Beef Research Center Field Day will take place at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. The meeting will be held at the new Ag Sciences Complex and Fred Bradshaw Learning Center at the John Wood Community College Ag Center located west of Perry, IL. Speakers from the University...

A recent case in Van Buren County, located in southeast Iowa, has brought new awareness to an emerging threat in the cattle industry. Sadly, 20 heifers were lost due to a disease many of our herds are still naive to – Theileria orientalis Ikeda. This disease is transmitted by the Asian...