Skip to main content

Search

Illustration of a stable fly, horn fly and face fly.

Fly Control Considerations for Cattle on Pasture

Along with being irritants to livestock, horn flies, face flies and stable flies are economically important to producers due to their negative impacts on milk production and calf weaning weights.

A flock of white sheep grazing in a small pasture.

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.

small group of sheep standing in a pasture

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.

patch of reed canary grass in pasture

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.

small group of cattle grazing on cover crops

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.

blades of brome grass with a brown to black, thumbnail-shaped growth on one of the blades.

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.

grey to brown fly with large eyes and elongated mouthparts

What are Those Gigantic Flies?

As we progress later into the summer, we commonly see an increase in horse fly activity.

two black beetles rolling a ball of dung

Promoting Dung Beetles on the Range

In South Dakota, dung beetles help regulate rangeland health through dung dispersal.

a sprawling green plant with flowering yellow heads

Sweet Clover Poisoning

Hay that contains sweet clover can be an excellent feed as long as the dicoumarol level is known and feeding management is used to prevent poisoning.

group of cattle at feedbunk

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.