Skip to main content

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

Aerial view of the SDSU Southeast Research Farm.
Sep 11

Southeast Research Farm Fall Field Day

SDSU Extension, the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station at SDSU and the Southeast South Dakota Experiment Farm Corporation will host the Southeast Research Farm fall field day on Thursday, September 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CDT at the Southeast Research Farm (29974 University Rd. Beresford, SD 57004).

Black angus cow with calf in a well-kept cattle pen.
Sep 17

Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium

The Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium will take place from September 17-18 in North Platte, Nebraska.

A person holds a sheep to their chest and uses shears to shear the sheep's wool off it's stomach
Oct 25

Sheep Shearing School

SDSU Extension will host a sheep shearing school for students from October 25-27 at the SDSU Sheep Research and Teaching Unit (3729 Medary Ave., Brookings, SD 57007).

Several cows and cow-calf pairs at pasture.
Nov 10

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The 2025 Range Beef Cow Symposium will be hosted by the University of Wyoming in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on November 10 and 11.