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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.
Flood Insurance
The higher amounts of snow this year will increase the chance of flooding and the potential water damage to homes and residential properties. Now is the time to consider purchasing a flood insurance policy.
Preserving Your Ability To Care for Your Animals When Flooding Occurs
When winter snowfall begins to melt, severe spring flooding can be a real possibility. Of the people witnessing the rising water, livestock producers and other animal caretakers have perhaps the most daunting task.
Inundaciones: sugerencias útiles
La primavera en el Medio Oeste siempre trae el riesgo de inundaciones, sea por la nieve que se derrite o por lluvia en exceso.
Managing Cow/Calf Pairs With Excess Spring Moisture
Flooding, blizzard conditions and excess snow can wreak havoc on livestock producers. While there is little one can do to stop the melting snow and rising waters, we can try to manage around the water by preparing alternative livestock and feeding areas.
Sheep Breeds
Everyone has heard the fairytale “Baa Baa Black Sheep Have You Any Wool?” but what about the double-coated California Red, the multi-colored Katahdin sheep with hair, or the East Friesian dairy ewe that produces over 1,100 pounds of milk a year? Sheep come in different shapes, sizes, and colors and all of them provide different functions and uses for producers. These can range from meat, wool, and milk production or a combination of characteristics.
National Sheep Improvement Program: Performance-based data you can rely on
Sheep producers continually look for opportunities to improve their flocks through the introduction of genetic traits that will contribute to both improve the performance and physical appearance of the offspring. For hundreds of years, producers used the phenotype or physical appearance traits to select replacement stock, followed by performance trials and wool testing to quantitatively define the traits a specific animal may possess.
Reed Canary Grass: Possible Prussic Acid & Alkaloid Issues
Prussic acid issues with reed canary grass are poorly understood and may go unrecognized if they occur. This article addresses a little-known but interesting aspect of the biology of reed canary grass.
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.
Ergot: A Potential Livestock Poisoning Problem
Cool, damp weather followed by warmer temperatures favors grasses becoming infected with ergot bodies, which can cause a certain kind of poisoning that can affect cattle on pasture.