Content by Kim Ricardo
Reminders for a Successful Silage Season
Timing plays a vital role in making quality silage. Moisture, maturity, chop length, kernel processing, packing, and covering all determine how the crop will ferment and how much feed value is preserved.
Balancing Genetics
Profitable genetic programs start with a good cow herd, but they should not end there. The ultimate goal is to efficiently produce the right calf, from the right cow, for the right customer.
Forage Production Insurance: Important Changes Ahead for 2027
Due to persistent drought conditions and volatile markets, Forage Production Insurance has become an important risk management tool for forage producers who rely on alfalfa and other perennial forages.
Stretching Forage Supplies with Agriculture Byproducts and Crop Residues
For most producers across the Plains, forage supplies are looking limited because of decreased forage production from persistent drought conditions, making now a suitable time to explore alternative feed options.
Forage-Based Heifer Development Systems
Forage-based heifer development systems offer producers a practical opportunity to reduce input costs while maintaining acceptable reproductive performance. By effectively utilizing available forage resources, heifers can be developed efficiently with reduced reliance on harvested feeds.
Drought Emergency Order Provides Flexibility for Forage Transportation
The recent extension of the State of South Dakota’s Drought Emergency Executive Order will provide livestock producers with flexibility to transport harvested forage. The order allows qualifying producers and commercial haulers to continue transporting oversized loads of baled livestock feed under emergency permitting provisions.
Developing Replacement Heifers During Drought Conditions and High Hay Prices
High-priced hay does not necessarily mean replacement heifers cannot be developed cost-effectively. Alternative feed resources and strategic feeding programs can help producers meet growth targets while stretching limited forage supplies.
How to Interpret Forage Test Results
Forage testing is a management tool that both forage and livestock producers should incorporate into their operations. Knowing the quality of the feed being provided allows producers to meet livestock nutritional needs more accurately and cost-effectively.
Feeding Drought-Stressed Corn to Livestock
Drought-stressed corn can remain a valuable forage resource when harvested and stored appropriately. Successful utilization depends on careful management, including harvesting at the proper moisture content, achieving adequate packing density, and excluding oxygen during storage.
Forage Crop Insurance Options
In this episode of Cattle HQ, Kim Ricardo, SDSU Extension Forage Field Specialist, and Parker Witt, SDSU Extension Crop-Livestock Systems Field Specialist, sit down with Dr. Matthew Diersen, SDSU Extension Risk and Business Management Specialist, and Dr. Sarah Sellars, SDSU Extension Sustainable Farm and Food Systems Specialist, to discuss forage crop insurance programs and the benefits they can bring to operations experiencing extended dry periods.