Livestock

South Dakota producers face new challenges each day. SDSU Extension is your partner, providing resources and expertise to help meet production goals.

Featured Resources

A South Dakota Mesonet station in a snow-covered field.

Livestock Stress Tool

Weather conditions in the Northern Plains can present more than a few challenges for livestock producers. From below zero or blizzard conditions during winter or even spring, to heat waves in the summer months, farmers and ranchers need to be prepared for rapidly changing conditions to provide the best care for their livestock and minimize their risks of losses.

A vast, open rangeland with a few patches of weeds.

Noxious Weed Control in Pasture and Range

Noxious weed control in pastures is becoming more of a challenge. Most ground commercial spray businesses are no longer spraying pastures. If they are, there may be restrictions on the time they will spray, what products they will spray, or they may only spray if they also have all of the rest of your spraying business.

Upcoming Events

Dec 18

2020 Ag Economic Dialogues: December

Are you a farmer or rancher dealing with beef cattle? Join us for a free webinar for cattle considerations.

A pair of cows with their calves in a pasture with heavy snowfall.
Jan 07

BeefUP Calving Strategies for Market Advantages Webinar

Through management strategies that influence calving distribution, producers can affect those calves sold at the end of the year.

I-29 Moo University
Jan 12

Net Zero: If It’s Not Your Profitability, What Is It?

I-29 Moo University Virtual Winter Workshop in partnership with Midwest Dairy & State Dairy Associations

Related Topics

Dairy Cattle, Goats, Horse, Poultry, Rabbit, Sheep, Swine, Animal Welfare, Quality Assurance, Animal Health, Pasture, Range, Barns, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Beef Feedlot and Backgrounding, Beef Herd Health and Quality Assurance, Beef Industry and General Management, Beef Marketing and Economics, Beef Nutrition, Beef Reproduction and Genetics

Related Content

five beef cows standing in a pasture

Livestock Newsletter

SDSU Extension publishes the Livestock Newsletter to provide South Dakota producers, industry professionals and consumers with timely research-based recommendations.

Pregnant black angus cow.

Late Gestation Planning Prior to Calving

For most, weaning is in the books and pregnancy detection is complete or soon to be underway. Now is the time to pay attention to those pregnant cows out on crop residue or grass.

Small herd of mixed cattle grazing rangeland in late fall.

S.D. Producers’ Willingness To Adopt Patch Burn Grazing vs. Winter Patch Grazing

Patch-burn grazing and winter patch grazing are heterogenous rangeland management practices that aim to increase the diversity of grass composition to benefit wildlife and maintain livestock production. To learn about producers’ desire to adopt these practices, we conducted an online survey between November 2019 and January 2020.