Pasture
Reading the Range in Winter: What Dormant Season Clues Reveal About Spring
For range and grazing management, winter is one of the most revealing times of the year. With a few hours in each pasture, managers can gather a season’s worth of insight and set themselves up for a more-resilient grazing year.
Range Roundup: Long-Term Grazing Records Can Guide Future Management
For nearly 80 years, researchers at the Cottonwood Field Station have monitored how different stocking rates have shaped plant communities. Today, these records are being compared with modern data to help us better understand how rangelands respond to long-term grazing management.
Winter Pasture Report: How Winter Moisture Shapes Spring Grazing Decisions
While many people are happy to welcome a mild winter devoid of typical South Dakota blizzards, a lack of moisture is concerning as we look ahead to spring.
Pasture
Pastures and rangelands are a valuable resource for owners of equine and livestock.
Noxious and Pasture Weed Plot Data Report
Data books to use as a reference to select appropriate herbicide(s) for noxious and pasture weed
Fall Pasture Report: Considerations for Dormant Season Grazing
Recent fall rains across the region continue to improve soil moisture conditions in preparation for the dormant season. Unlike in years past, a fall green up has been in full swing for much of the region.
Yellow Toadflax Has Begun Producing Seeds: Scout before treating infested areas
Yellow toadflax is a perennial weed that infests pasture and rangeland across South Dakota. This year, with an abundance of heat and moisture, plants flowered in early August and now have started to produce seeds.
In a Bind With Field Bindweed?
It’s August and field bindweed, one of our most-persistent perennial weeds, is flowering. Although field bindweed is not statewide noxious, it’s locally noxious in Bennett, Bon Homme, Clarke, Lake, Stanley, and Yankton counties.
White Thistle Disease: Biological management at work
White thistle disease can be seen among many Canada thistle plants throughout South Dakota this growing season. Plants infected with the disease exhibit significant reductions in both growth and seed head compared with non-infected plants.
Systems Thinking for Agriculture: A tool for addressing complex ranch problems
A systems approach to management encourages producers to take multiple factors into consideration to solve problems within their agricultural operation.