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Master Gardener Volunteer Program

SDSU Extension’s Master Gardener program develops gardening enthusiasts into expert volunteers who share their research-based knowledge with community members across the state.

Feeding at the Right Price

Managing feedstuffs efficiently becomes more important during drought conditions or low revenue years.

Economic Considerations for Early Weaning

There is an excellent reason why ranchers use early weaning as a drought management tool: Weaning calves early reduces the amount of feed required to maintain the cow.

Cover Crops & Livestock Integration: A Profit Opportunity for S.D. Farms

Cover crops have been gaining a reemerging acceptance over the last decade, with very few producers disagreeing about the potential soil health benefits of adding cover crops to their farming operation.

Improve Soybean Profitability by Reducing Input Costs

While declining prices and increasing costs considerably reduce profit for soybean production, there are certain input costs that might be reduced to increase profitability.

Financial Record Keeping Software: A comparison of Quicken and QuickBooks

As fall nears many producers are beginning to gather their records to prepare for taxes. From these records many important operating decisions are made. Agriculture producers often use computer software to keep financial records. While there are software packages tailored for farm and ranch businesses, many producers successfully use general commercial software such as Quicken® or QuickBooks®. Both products can be useful for an agricultural producer’s record keeping. The question which often arises from producers is, “which one do I need”?

Soybean Production: Cost-effective pest management practices

Chemicals were one of the most expensive individual costs in soybean production, behind only to seed in the non-land cost category. The average cash-rent soybean production farms incurred a crop chemical cost of $39/ac in 2015, an 88% increase from 2010.

Making Use of “Ugly” Feeds

Feed does not have to be perfect to be useful. The key to making smart feeding decisions is knowing what the imperfections are and adjusting accordingly.

Community Gardens: Budget & Fees

In order to have a sustainable project, it is very important to identify all of the expenses that are involved in the operation of your community garden. Are there costs associated with utilizing the site, site preparation (tilling, plowing, soil testing, or soil amendments), on-site resources (hose, fencing, or shared tools), marketing the garden, water usage, or insurance?

Soybeans & Sunflowers: Alternative Cattle Forages

Alternative forages like soybean silage or hay, and sunflower silage, can help stretch conventional forage supplies and help avoid overgrazing pasture.