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July 2019 Climate Outlook: Challenges Continue
This year’s seasonal pattern of wetter than average conditions is projected to continue through July and the rest of the summer season. The latest climate outlook, released June 20, 2019, shows an increased chance of wetter than average conditions in the next one to three months for the state of South Dakota.
Overproducing us Out of Business
There seems to be a misconception nowadays in much of the public that in order for agriculture to be sustainable in the future, there is a need to go organic. Organic agriculture can be sustainable, but so can traditional agriculture.
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.
Promoting Dung Beetles on the Range
In South Dakota, dung beetles help regulate rangeland health through dung dispersal.
Feeding Damaged Wheat to Cattle
Feeding damaged wheat to livestock is one way to salvage value from the crop. Wheat can work well in cattle diets with some limitations.
2018 Field Plot Summaries for Wheat Disease Management Trials
The wheat disease management field experiments conducted in the 2018 growing season evaluated several experimental and commercially available fungicides for managing foliar, head or root diseases of spring wheat. Foliar and spike/head diseases incidence and severity were assessed. The field experiments were implemented at Volga Research Farm and Northeast Research Farm (NERF) near South Shore, SD. Results of the same experiment may vary between Volga and Northeast due to environmental differences between the two locations.
Sorghum Weed Control
Early competition, especially from grass, is critical for successfully controlling weeds in sorghum. There are preemergence as well as postemergence herbicides available for this crop. Early treatment provides the best control of broadleaved weeds with crop stage also being a critical factor for some postemergence treatments.
Natural Resources: The Ranch Foundation During Drought
Just as every factory needs a sturdy and healthy foundation to be sustainable, a ranch manager must keep a watchful eye on the natural resources of the ranch during drought.
Cover Crops After Small Grains
In last few years, interest in using cover crops has been increasing tremendously among crop and livestock producers in South Dakota. Growing cover crops following small grain is gaining more attention due to feasibility in cover crops species selection and also the time of the year where cover crops receive longer growing and establishing time than following row crops.