Livestock

All Livestock Content

Cow with newborn calf in late-winter pasture.

Preparing for the Calving Season

Calving season is a busy time of year as beef producers prepare themselves for less sleep each night, while spending more time observing cows close to calving. So, what can we do to make calving season less stressful for everyone involved?

Three generations of a family farm gathered in a barn.

Three Parts to a Farm Plan: And you need all three

Farmers and ranchers need to create three plans to efficiently transfer the management and ownership of their operations to the next generation. These include: an estate plan, a transition plan, and a retirement plan.

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

SDSU Extension to host cow/calf calving camp

December 11, 2025

South Dakota State University Extension is hosting interactive Cow/Calf Calving Camps for cattle producers.

Group of farm employees and managers gathered at a table.

Building and Retaining a Skilled Agricultural Workforce: Challenges and Strategies

Building a strong, motivated workforce is essential to the future of agriculture. A team from SDSU Extension is exploring the challenges and opportunities facing our agricultural community.

Decoding Bison: Refining the Bison Body Condition Score

Body condition scoring is an effective management tool as it allows managers to safely assess the health of their mature animals quickly and non-invasively.

A green cut alfalfa field dries as the sun sets.

Forage Inventory and Demand Calculator

Calculator for inventorying livestock and forage on hand to determine additional forage purchase needs, or livestock sales.

stack of coins with faded chart lines showing in the foreground

Move the Cows or Move the Feed

This calculator is designed to aid producers making the decision to buy feedstuffs and haul the feed to the operation, or to haul the cattle to the feedstuffs.

Beef Cattle Budgets

What does it cost to maintain a cow for the year? This is a common question asked by producers across the nation.

Cattle grazing in a rangeland area. Three magnifying images show close-up photos of native pollinators visiting forbs growing in the same area.

Rangeland Wildflowers: Their Value to Livestock and Pollinators

Native wildflowers and shrubs are critical to providing a wide array of services that increase the resiliency of rangelands, provide pollinator habitat, and contribute to livestock nutrition.

SDSU Extension invites operators to CAFO environmental training

November 14, 2025

There will be an environmental training session for operators of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on Dec. 3, 2025, at the Crossroads Convention Center in Huron.