Livestock

Importance of Pregnancy Detection During a Dry Year

With weaning wrapping up, pregnant cows should be identified and turned back out to pasture or crop residue. By removing open or even late cows from the herd, valuable feed resources are saved if drought conditions continue.

Freeze Branding Cattle

Freeze branding is a low-stress way to add permanent identification to cattle that will elicit minimal hide damage.

Heifer Selection and Genomics

Weaning is done and calves are hopefully getting settled into backgrounding yards. Now is the time to select replacement heifers and start them on a development plan that aligns with female management and breeding goals.

Cow Share Agreements

Getting started in the cattle business can be tricky for beginning cattlemen due to the amount of capital investment needed upfront.

Targeted Feeding for Heifer Development

Heifer development starts with proper whole-herd nutrition year round. Reviewing the basics of heifer development starting with post-weaning selection and development is a good place to start.

How Will You Make Hay This Year?

With plenty of spring moisture, hay season will be here before you know it. Have you considered the type of binding material you will use to put up hay this year?

Early Registration for 2021 Range Beef Cow Symposium Ends Nov. 1

October 25, 2021

The two-day meeting will be held Nov. 16-17 at the Monument (formerly the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center) in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Wildlife and the Bottom Line

As the fall harvest wraps up and this year’s calf crop is weaned, many producers may be nervous about what their paychecks will look like for 2016. In tough market conditions, it can be tempting to try to squeeze just a bit more production out of the land.

Haying With Wildlife in Mind

Anyone who has spent time cutting hay knows that hayland can be a magnet for wildlife in late spring and early summer. Hay fields are often considered an “ecological trap” for wildlife; that is, they appear to be high quality habitat for nesting or feeding due to tall, dense grass and legumes, but often lead to increased mortality once harvesting is under way.

Simplifying the Replacement Heifer Dilemma: To Buy or To Raise?

Purchasing or raising replacement females represents a significant investment for cow/calf operations and the impact may be felt for years after.