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Herd Management: Keep or Cull During a Drought?

Drought forces unexpected changes so it’s critical to have a strategy to keep only the “right” females that will benefit the operation.

two producers in a pasture with a cowherd

Rotational Grazing Benefits: South Dakota Producer Perceptions

To better understand producer perceptions on rotational grazing, we sent out 1,500 surveys to South Dakota ranchers inquiring about adoption status and perceptions of rotational grazing.

Silage Moisture Testing Tips

Two key points to keep in mind when making high-quality silage are moisture content before harvest and nutrient content before feeding.

Two young pigs inside a pork production facility.

Creating a Secure Pork Supply Plan

African Swine Fever and preparing for foreign animal disease outbreaks is at the forefront of people’s minds. Your state animal health officials offer guidance for participating in the Secure Pork Supply (SPS) Plan. Let’s take a closer look at the critical steps in developing a personalized SPS Plan for Continuity of Business.

Dealing With Heat Stress in Dairy Cows

Alleviating heat stress is critical to milk production. Heat stress from high environmental temperatures can be compounded by mistakes in managing and feeding cows. Water is your first concern during periods of high temperatures.

Labeled cooler and vaccines ready for anyone who is loading syringes.

Keeping Your Vaccines Viable

Vaccines are a vital part of keeping all livestock healthy. Vaccines help in the prevention of disease, which results in less utilization of antibiotics due to fewer sick animals. A valid vet-client-patient relationship will help you as you select the vaccine of choice for your livestock health program.

Cattle grazing snow-dusted winter pasture.

Protecting Your Pastures While Winter Grazing

Winter grazing of stockpiled grass produced during the growing season can help extend the grazing season and reduce winter feed costs. Learn some strategies to successfully incorporate winter grazing into your operation.

Two ranchers observing a herd of cattle at pasture.

Observing Bulls at Pasture

Checking cows is a daily activity during the summer which becomes even more important once the bulls have been turned out to begin the breeding season. Why? If a bull isn’t doing his job or if he gets injured while on the job, there needs to be a plan B because at the end of the day cows still need to bred.

Proper Ewe Nutrition Benefits Future Lamb Performance

Supplying ewes with greater levels of energy during gestation ultimately leads to greater lamb performance throughout their lifetime.

A group pen in a swine facility with plenty of space.

How Much Room Does a Pig Need?

Let’s take a moment to consider one of the animal observations from the Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) Site Assessment and its impacts. Recommendations exist in facility planning books about the square footage for an animal at each phase of production.