Farm Help

"Insects are very fecund, and they would take over the world if it wasn't for things that eat them,” Dr. Chris Barnhart, professor of Biology at Missouri State University told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. “Spiders are the primary invertebrate predators, apart from other insects.”

Producers who want to cut hay on state highway right-of-ways need to check in with the appropriate agency first.

According to David McCreery, project and farm manager for the University of Arkansas Applied Broiler Research Farm, decaking is a process necessary to remove the product caused when water, feces and bedding combine to form a ‘cake’ on top of the bedding, typically rice hulls or wood shavings, in a poultry house.

Three Hundred Days of Grazing on your pasture. Do you think that is possible? John Jennings, Professor - Extension Forages, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture said he believes it is.

Who is learning, networking and gaining? You, the producer.

"When it comes to using poultry products, it is important that producers follow all instructions,” said Jeff Smith, sales and marketing representative with Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, Mo. “If proper care and instructions are not followed, the results could be deadly for the animals.”

With the increased adaptation of grazing systems has come some innovative approaches to fencing, as producers seek efficient and economical ways to temporarily section off fields. Fortunately, there are a variety of options.

If you control weeds in your pasture, the cows will thank you for it. Dr. Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri professor and researcher in the Department of Plant Science, told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor their studies have found if half a field is treated with herbicide, that’s where the cows will congregate. “The cows preferred to stay on a herbicide treated portion of a pasture anywhere from 1.5 to 5 times more than they stayed on the portion of the pasture that was not treated,” he said. The researchers ran their test at three Missouri sites, monitoring the animals with GPS tracking collars. “That's a first step for us in being able to say you can show a lot of things on paper,” said Bradley.

For some ranchers a good pond, according to University of Missouri Extension southwest region livestock specialist Eldon Cole, “is as good as they would need.” But with many producers rotating cattle to different pastures, Cole told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, “you can’t just pick that pond up and move it.”

According to Dr. Darren Loula, DVM Christian County Veterinary Service, LLC in Missouri; “Deworming cattle eliminates internal parasites that primarily reduce performance in beef and dairy cattle. Parasites reduce an animal’s appetite, decrease milk production, lower weaning weights, suppress the animals immune system making them more susceptible to disease and decreasing the response to vaccination, and may hinder efficient reproduction. Severe cases may result in significant disease and even death.”