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Prescribed burn taking place in a pasture.

Fire as a Management Tool

When planned for and implemented appropriately fire is a tool that can have tremendous benefits to your grassland community.

Small group of producers discussing a grassland management plan near a fenceline.

Fall Is the Time To Plan for Fire

Fall is the time to begin planning for spring prescribed fire. This article examines the three primary components to a successful burn: burn unit preparation, burn planning and burn implementation.

Woman using a grazing stick to measure forage status.

Using the ‘Grazing Stick’ To Assess Pasture Forage

Assessing pasture forage is a key step in planning grazing strategies. A grazing stick is a tool that uses simple math and measurements to determine herd size, stocking rates and available grazing days. We will address how to use a grazing stick in this article.

Hereford heifers feeding from trough during drought.

Livestock Tools for Managing Through Drought

As drought conditions continue, ranchers are faced with making some difficult decisions. South Dakota State University Extension offers multiple tools and resources that can be used to help make the best management decisions for your operation.

Red combine harvesting corn at an SDSU Extension CPT plot.

Using Data for Better Seed Selection

As harvest wraps up across the region, winter preparation and planning for next year begins. Yield trial results are a key component when making sound seed selection decisions.

Small herd of mixed cattle grazing rangeland in late fall.

S.D. Producers’ Willingness To Adopt Patch Burn Grazing vs. Winter Patch Grazing

Patch-burn grazing and winter patch grazing are heterogenous rangeland management practices that aim to increase the diversity of grass composition to benefit wildlife and maintain livestock production. To learn about producers’ desire to adopt these practices, we conducted an online survey between November 2019 and January 2020.

SDSU Extension to Host Sustaining the Legacy Virtual Conference

November 13, 2020

SDSU Extension will host a Sustaining the Legacy virtual conference on December 2, 9 and 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. CST each evening.

Two people having a conversation, one being the herd manager and the other the employee in a dairy free stall barn.)

Coaching vs. Evaluations To Improve Ag Employee Performance

One of the most difficult things farm managers have to master is coaching employees. Using appropriate coaching methods with employees will help you as a manager to achieve the desired employee performance you are looking for in your operation.

A young man analyzing the results of a pregnancy check on an electronic device.

Preg-Checking Decisions

There is much value in preg-checking spring-calving cow herds in the fall. The most common is to cull open cows from the herd. The second reason would be to reduce the number of late calving cows in the herd.

Pregnant black angus cow.

Late Gestation Planning Prior to Calving

For most, weaning is in the books and pregnancy detection is complete or soon to be underway. Now is the time to pay attention to those pregnant cows out on crop residue or grass.