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How Important Is Water Quality to Livestock?
Water is the most important nutrient to all livestock animals and is sometimes overlooked. Poor quality water can have a negative effect on growth, reproduction, and general productivity of the animal.
Nitrates and Livestock Water Quality
Nitrate poisoning is something we think about with forages such as millet, oats, corn, sorghum, sudan, kochia and others that have been fertilized or if there is a drought, but water can also be a contributing factor.
How Do Sulfates in Water Affect Livestock Health?
Poor-quality water will cause an animal to drink less. As a result, they also consume less forage and feed, which leads to weight loss, decreased milk production and lower fertility.
Blue-Green Algae and Livestock
With warmer temperatures, the conditions are right for blue-green algae blooms. Different species of blue-green algae contain various toxins, which can poison livestock, resulting in rapid death.
Grass Tetany: Now Is the Time To Prepare
Grass tetany is a metabolic disorder associated with grazing lush, rapidly growing pastures. Learn the factors that influence its progression along with tips for preventing and managing it in herds.
What are Those Gigantic Flies?
As we progress later into the summer, we commonly see an increase in horse fly activity.
Mosquitos to Watch for in South Dakota
After many areas in South Dakota experienced heavy rainfalls, mosquitos are now a major issue. Learn which species are most common throughout the state and which carry the highest risk for West Nile Virus.
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.
Sweet Clover Poisoning
Hay that contains sweet clover can be an excellent feed as long as the dicoumarol level is known and feeding management is used to prevent poisoning.
August 2019 Climate Outlook: Cool and Wet
According to the latest climate outlook update, odds are favoring that August 2019 will be cooler than average. The update was released by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center on July 31, 2019.