Content by Alexander "Sandy" Smart

Two brown calves stand in a fenced pasture and look at the camera

SDSU beef team growing through innovative research, collaboration

September 09, 2024

It’s an exciting time for the South Dakota State University beef team as a core group of longtime faculty and experts is joined by rising stars in their respective disciplines.

Fence line along a storm-damaged pasture in Butte County, South Dakota.

Pasture Recovery After Hail

When hail hits pastures, it essentially strips the leaves and breaks the stems of plants. When this occurs, it is essential to allow plants and grasses time to fully recover before grazing or haying again.

Tractor with a series of digital icon overlays representing aspects of smart farm technology.

Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Precision Agriculture

Fact sheet on cybersecurity vulnerabilities in Precision Agriculture

Rancher viewing data on a laptop on the seat of his truck.

Online Tools To Help With Rangeland Drought Planning

Learn about some free online tools that producers can use to assess drought conditions, evaluate forage resources, and manage herds through periods of abnormally dry weather.

Grazing exclosure constructed in a rangeland area.

End-of-Season Monitoring

The end of the grazing season is a great time to monitor your pasture/rangeland resources. Learn about some strategies and tools available to help assess where you stand at the end of the season.

Fall pasture with cool-season grass greening up throughout.

Fall Grazing: A Cautionary Tale

It is very tempting to graze new, green cool-season grasses when pastures are dry most of the summer. However, caution should be taken to not overgraze this green-up.

Small group of cattle grazing a vast, well-managed rangeland.

Holistic Ranch Management Helps With Economic and Climate Resilience

Holistic ranch management offers ways to think about ranching as part of a diverse ecological system. Learn how two South Dakota operations have leveraged it to generate multiple income streams from shared resources.

Group of youth participants at rangeland and soil days.

South Dakota 4-H students take 2nd place at National Land & Homesite Judging Contest

June 22, 2023

South Dakota students had a strong showing at the National Land and Homesite Judging Contest last month, including a second-place finish for the Spink County 4-H team.

A woman sits in a grassland with a clipboard making notes. More people with notes and buses are in the background.

SDSU Extension promotes 2023 National Range Judging Contest results

June 21, 2023

South Dakota students had a strong showing at the 2023 National Range Judging Contest.

Tom Hausmann gives a briefing before the burn, while Greg Schmitz listens with the rest of the burn crew.

Mid-Missouri River Prescribed Burn Association: A landowner-led effort along the Missouri River

June 12, 2023

Started in 2016, the Mid-Missouri River Prescribed Burn Association is a landowner-led effort to combat the spread of trees along the Missouri River corridor in Gregory, Charles Mix, Brule and Lyman counties.