Feeds
All Feeds Content
Planning Forage Needs
Inventorying and planning for hay and other forage feed needs is essential every year, especially when production is uncertain due to drought or excess moisture.
Prussic Acid Precautions
During periods of drought, it is important to aware of the factors that can be a concern during these conditions, specifically nitrates and prussic acid. It is important to take precautions when using feeds that could contain one or both compounds.
Raising Freezer Beef: When Is the Animal Finished?
Many producers have had their own beef processed for years, and some may have been selling animals to their neighbors on occasion. It's another matter entirely when the objective is satisfying customer expectations, especially if finishing cattle hasn't been a normal part of your operation.
Raising Freezer Beef: Management Considerations
A trend that has become more prominent in recent years is for ranchers to finish a few animals and sell beef direct to the consumer. Proper feeding and management is key to capturing extra value and in meeting customer expectations.
Managing Orphaned Calves
With careful management and proper nutrition, calves orphaned by challenging winter weather can perform similar to calves still on the cow.
Winter Cow Supplementation and Cold Stress
Extreme winter weather makes it challenging to meet a cow’s nutrient requirements. With below-normal temperatures come challenges of ensuring adequate nutrition and protection for livestock, including being prepared to provide additional feed and shelter.
Understanding the Importance of Your Herd’s Energy Reserves
The energy reserves of a herd are a direct correlation to the nutrient supply and balance. Body condition scoring is a practical tool that is simple to implement and allows producers to analyze the energy reserves of their herd and manage winter feeding accordingly.
Raising Freezer Beef: How To Feed Grain-Finished Beef
A trend that has become more prominent in recent years is for ranchers to finish a few animals and sell beef directly to the consumer. This article will address a few options for hand-feeding a small group of cattle to finish.
Feed at Night, Calve During the Day
As cattle producers begin thinking about calving season and management practices to ease the workload, night feeding is something to consider. Producers have questioned whether or not the time of feeding affects time of calving, and the answer is “Yes.”
Selecting a Calving Season Based on Matching Nutritional Needs and Resources
Choosing the calving season is a complex and highly individual decision for each beef cattle producer. A primary consideration in pasture-based cow-calf operations is choosing a calving season that will best match the forage supply to forage demand.