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Three young girls weighing sugar on a kitchen scale.

Teaching Math and Science in the Kitchen: 24 Ideas

Children can learn valuable skills in the kitchen: measuring ingredients, following a recipes, and much more. Have you ever considered that these skills double as math and science skills?

Black angus cattle feeding in a feedlot.

What Goes Into Calculating Yardage?

Yardage cost is the non-feed cost per head for every day that an animal is fed harvested feed in some form of confinement. Yardage is usually associated with calves and yearlings in the feedlot, but this concept can apply to drylotted or wintering cows as well.

Corn earlobe being stored in a bunker for later use as cattle feed.

Valuing High-Moisture Corn and Earlage

A key advantage to using commodities that meet standard specifications and are frequently traded is that it is very easy to establish an economic value that is accepted by most users. The marketplace sets the value of corn, and other feedstuffs on a daily basis, provided those products meet some set of standard specifications.

A group of brown cattle foraging in a green field.

Prussic Acid Poisoning

As the first frost date approaches, producers often have concerns about the risk of prussic acid poisoning in livestock. Certain forage plants, especially sorghums and related species are associated with an increased risk of death loss because of prussic acid poisoning.

A patch of western wheatgrass with ergot fungus growing throughout.

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.

A group of cattle grazing on crop residue.

Farm Practices That Improve Soil Health: Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems

An integrated crop-livestock system can provide an alternative management strategy that benefits producer’s income, soil health, and the environment—all while increasing production.

A group of black heifer calves in a feedlot.

Choosing the Right Custom Feeding Partner

Custom cattle feeding can be a “win-win” strategy when done correctly. Feeding someone else’s cattle provides a method to market feedstuffs without tying up the capital required to own the livestock.

Young calves with cattle herd in spring.

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.

Black angus cattle eating a corn feed ration from a small feeding bunk.

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.

Several red angus cattle feeding at a feed bunk.

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.