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.
In abnormal situations, like with the packing plant closure we’re currently dealing with, pork producers may need to “hold” their pigs past normal marketing dates in order for other processing options to open up. We can accomplish that in two ways: altering internal barn environment and changing diets.
Creep-feeding should be evaluated on yearly basis to determine if it will provide production and economic benefits to the operation.
Two crops in one year may sound tempting, and for some crop species is possible, but before doing so, producers should consider possible crops and compare the potential benefits with the drawbacks.
In South Dakota the Department of Agriculture Feed & Animal Remedy Program is the agency that oversees the manufacturing, licensing and labeling of animal feeds and remedies. Local foods producers interested in selling pet foods or pet treats need to be in compliance with this program.
Before pricing forages, producers will want to have a good understanding about the cost of growing a ton of hay, alfalfa or straw.
Managing feedstuffs efficiently becomes more important during drought conditions or low revenue years.
There is an excellent reason why ranchers use early weaning as a drought management tool: Weaning calves early reduces the amount of feed required to maintain the cow.
Liver abscesses are a great example of an important value robber in feedlot cattle that’s not immediately apparent.
An oat crown rust integrated management trial and a sorghum foliar fungicide trials were conducted to determine the efficacy of fungicides to manage crown rust and fungal diseases in oat and sorghum respectively. Crown rust is one of the most devastating diseases of oat in the state. Stragego fungicide was applied at three different timings to determine the most effective timing for crown rust management. For sorghum, the study investigated the efficacy of two different rates of Nexicor for managing sorghum foliar diseases. The oat field experiment was maintained at Northeast Research Farm (NERF), Southeast research farm (SERF) and Volga research farm. The sorghum experiment was at Volga.