Range
All Range Content
Forage Resources Available to S.D. Farmers and Ranchers
Forages are a very important part of the South Dakota livestock and cropping industries. Often, producers have difficulties finding enough forage for their herd or locating a fellow producer to buy, sell or rent forages and grazing acres too. South Dakota now has two widely-recognized, free resources to aid in these connections.
Structuring Grazing Leases
Fact sheet including ranch resource goals to improve landowner - lessee relationships.
Counties Designated as Disaster Areas and Qualify for Other Programs
Five South Dakota counties have been given disaster declarations due to dry summer conditions. This declaration gives producers in these counties and those in contiguous counties access to USDA-FSA emergency loans.
Fall Calving Cows: Management and Breeding Decisions
As producers with spring calving herds are completing weaning and moving cows to winter range, fall calving herds are gearing up for the next breeding season.
Parasite Control for Cow Calf Operations
Spring is coming and with calving season underway it is important to keep our eyes forward on to the next step in production.
Hay: Stop the Waste
In an effort to prevent increasing the winter feed bill, a new bale feeder design or feeding plan may need to be developed and put into action in order to manage hay waste this winter.
Management Minder Tool: Staying Organized on the Ranch
Daily life is busy on the farm and ranch and it seems as if once calving season is done, there is barely time to rest before fields must be planted or hay made.
Importance of Pregnancy Detection During a Dry Year
With weaning wrapping up, pregnant cows should be identified and turned back out to pasture or crop residue. By removing open or even late cows from the herd, valuable feed resources are saved if drought conditions continue.
Cow Share Agreements
Getting started in the cattle business can be tricky for beginning cattlemen due to the amount of capital investment needed upfront.
Fall Fire Safety
The moisture and cooler temperatures of fall make it easy to become lax about fire danger, however, conditions can still lead to easy ignition and rapid growth of wildfires.