Farm Management
All Farm Management Content
The Cost of Late Calvers
Pounds of beef sold is a key number for cattlemen. Late calvers the cows that drag out the calving season, may cost producers more than extra work and management, they may actually be costing dollars.
Mineral Sources May Impact Reproductive Efficiency
It is well-known by producers and feed specialists that trace minerals play an essential role in physiological functions. Minerals like copper, iodine, manganese, selenium, and zinc are important in embryonic development.
Impacts of Nutrient Restriction on Heifer Pregnancy Success
Understanding the factors impacting reproductive failure within heifers is critical to implementing management strategies that will improve heifers’ chances of remaining within the beef herd and successfully producing calves.
Fetal Programming of Carcass Characteristics
Fetal programming effects on carcass traits as well as offspring growth are currently a large focus area in beef research.
Swath Grazing: Extending the Grazing Season
One proposed way to cut fall/winter feeding costs is to extend the grazing season and allow the livestock to harvest the resource instead of relying on mechanical harvest.
Resources and Options When Feed is Short
SDSU Extension offers resources to help producers find and evaluate feedstuffs to help meet their livestock’s needs.
Ditch Hay: Harvesting, Quality, and Feeding
Using ditch hay to feed cattle is a common practice across the U.S. It provides livestock producers with a source of readily available forage, which can be very useful, particularly during feed shortages.
Ergot in Western Wheatgrass and the Potential Effects for Winter Grazing
2019 has been a year fraught with challenges for ranchers across South Dakota. Abundant precipitation is usually a blessing, however, wet conditions coupled with a cool spring followed by warmer temperatures has caused another problem across the rangelands of South Dakota: ergot poisoning.
New Technology for an Old Problem
One of the last projects I was involved with as coordinator for the Lower James River Watershed Project was the installation of a deep pit monoslope barn for a feedlot operation near Alexandria, SD. A deep pit confinement barn is a manure storage system that employs slatted flooring with pit manure storage underneath.
Foot Problems in the Feedlot
While we usually think of foot problems in feedlot calves occurring in conjunction with warm, muddy conditions, wintertime also brings a certain set of conditions that can create lameness in these animals.