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A close-up shot of big round bales of hay

Drought Emergency Order Provides Flexibility for Forage Transportation

The recent extension of the State of South Dakota’s Drought Emergency Executive Order will provide livestock producers with flexibility to transport harvested forage. The order allows qualifying producers and commercial haulers to continue transporting oversized loads of baled livestock feed under emergency permitting provisions.

a group of people standing in a grassy field

New Eastern South Dakota Grazing School Set For Aug. 11 – 13

July 19, 2021

The new school will be held at the Abbey of the Hills near Marvin, South Dakota and will feature both in-depth classroom education and in-field management of grazing livestock.

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.

Newborn dairy calf and mother cow.

Dairy Embryo Transfer Activity in the United States

The use of embryo technologies has been described as an alternative to improve pregnancy and accelerate genetic improvement in dairy cows. See the latest trends on its use in South Dakota and beyond.

A calving barn.

How Often Should You Check Cows During Calving Season?

The routine “calving check” is one of the most important tasks on the list of beef cattle producers during calving season.

Corn plants with recently emerged tassel and ear in a field.

2019 Corn Growing Degree Day Update

Growth and development in crops are a direct response to accumulated heat units or growing degree days (GDD). The Corn GDD Tool at the High Plains Regional Climate Center can be a useful resource for not only estimating crop growth stage, but also for selecting hybrids within the appropriate maturity group.

Cattle eating feed in a feedlot.

Monitoring Nutrient Status of Beef Cows

Managing cows through the winter provides different challenges compared to managing those same cows during the growing season. With snow cover, cows should oftentimes receive supplemental feed to meet nutrient requirements during late gestation and into calving season due to low forage or limited quantity.

woman with feed bucket feedint pair of heifers

Successful Heifer Synchronization Using MGA

Effective estrous synchronization protocols are one of the keys to successful AI projects.

Red-brown colored weevil with bent antennae originating on the elongated mouthparts.

Watch for Red Sunflower Seed Weevils

In South Dakota, sunflower flowering is well underway. That means it is time to start scouting fields for red sunflower seed weevils. During the last two years, red sunflower seed weevil populations have been higher than normal with areas that exceeded the thresholds by as many as 300-500 adults per sunflower head.

Vast, rolling rangeland with spring plant growth.

SDSU Extension invites public to 2026 SD Grasslands Summit

February 05, 2026

South Dakota State University Extension is inviting everyone interested in grasslands to attend the 2026 South Dakota Grasslands Summit on March 3-4 in Mitchell.