Restoring rangeland at Ritter Ranch

Effective animal management is essential for maintaining healthy pastures and maximizing forage production

Farm Visits

From the ripe old age of 5 years old, Mike Williams knew he wanted to be a rancher

Pasture diversity gets it done on this Big Sky ranch

Farm Visits

“Where do you want to meet?” I texted Mark from the seat of my rental vehicle, which sat in a Townsend, Mont., gas station parking lot

A unique road to beef-grazing success

Farm Visits

The South Poll cows were red and slick. At their side — an equal number of 1-month-old or younger calves already grazing on spring fescue in a Savannah-like setting

We need to be more drought resilient – Part 2

Stocker systems are an attractive alternative

Resiliency is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. Weather occurrences such as drought are never welcomed, but there are proven strategies that will help cattle produc

Fed hay builds soil fertility

When we combine the beef cow inventory of Tennessee with Kentucky, the number of cows managed pushes these states into the top five beef cow-calf states. The beef cow-calf sector of the southeastern U

Let forage build a better feeder calf

Making hay is an expensive process these days. Harvest costs are up because of the current high cost of diesel fuel, labor, equipment repairs, and machinery costs

With high feed costs and areas plagued with drought, cow-calf producers are looking at options like early weaning, early pregnancy diagnosis to market open females sooner

Move cattle, rest grass

Supplementation may be needed this spring

Regenerative grazing is a set of practices, guided by ecological principles, that uses the benefits of grazing livestock to rebuild soil health and may also help diversify the enterprises

These factors impact performance

Drought has had a large impact on feed inventories and prices, causing many operations to assess and reduce feed costs

Hay yield and quality impact beef cattle feeding costs

Performance of grazing animals is primarily affected by forage quality, the animal’s ability to select plant parts, and forage intake

From the mouths of bale graziers

Over 2.5 million acres of nonirrigated dry hay are produced annually in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida, with an average yield of 5,750 pounds per acre

Stockpiled alfalfa-bermudagrass helps cut purchased inputs

Central Kentucky farmers Dave Burge, Dorris Bruce, and Beth and Brad Hodges have made major changes to their winter-feeding systems in recent years

Stockpiling is an important management practice that defers forage availability for a time of later use. In the southeastern U.S., perennial grasses such as tall fescue and bermudagrass

What’s that hay worth?

Use residual feed intake to improve efficiency

Beef cow-calf, stocker, and backgrounding enterprises rely on the forages available to keep production costs low

Livestock

Feed conversion ratio (FCR or G:F) is the traditional measure of feed efficiency and feedlot performance. This trait is defined as the ratio between the animal’s gain and feed inputs

Oats and brassicas make a great fall pair

Net wrap accumulates in cows fed ground hay

IF YOU are looking for fall or winter grazing, planting oats in the late summer can be a great option. Oats and other winter-sensitive small grains will typically yield more in the fall than winter

Cattle have preferences for annual forages

Plastics net wrap is a common binding material for large round hay bales, but it can present health challenges for cattle due to buildup in the rumen