Farm Help

Weaning calves at half the typical age calls for re-thinking your calendar, but it doesn’t obligate a management overhaul. With a few key tweaks, ranchers already weaning at home can reap the rewards of calves that gain faster, convert cheaper, perform better and reduce cow costs.

Pasture planning is a 360-day project. What you plan to do next spring needs to be thought of now. How are you going to pay for practices like over seeding? Are there any programs through the USDA or FSA that might allow you to cost-share some of the forage management techniques?

The forage variety everyone knows as “Kentucky 31” fescue was discovered growing wild by Dr. E.N. Fergus – in Kentucky, in 1931, of course. From the University of Kentucky, it radiated out and was gradually adopted through much of the South and southern Corn Belt as the preeminent cool season perennial.

Weaning calves at half the typical age calls for re-thinking your calendar, but it doesn’t obligate a management overhaul. With a few key tweaks, ranchers already weaning at home can reap the rewards of calves that gain faster, convert cheaper, perform better and reduce cow costs.

Pasture planning is a 360-day project. What you plan to do next spring needs to be thought of now. How are you going to pay for practices like over seeding? Are there any programs through the USDA or FSA that might allow you to cost-share some of the forage management techniques?

The forage variety everyone knows as “Kentucky 31” fescue was discovered growing wild by Dr. E.N. Fergus – in Kentucky, in 1931, of course. From the University of Kentucky, it radiated out and was gradually adopted through much of the South and southern Corn Belt as the preeminent cool season perennial.

Among the vast number of livestock producers in the United States, few may understand the importance of Selenium (Se) in animal nutrition. This micronutrient, needed in miniscule quantities, is a dietary requirement for most animal species.

When it comes to feed limiters, Gary Naylor, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist, claimed, “Salt is the best limiter that we have; it’s the mainstay and it’s reasonably priced.” If it's less feed intake producers want in their herd, salt is a good option, he said.

Most southern growers don’t apply hay preservation chemicals to their forage crops; it’s generally not cost effective, Darren Redfearn, Oklahoma State University professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and forage specialist for Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. However, there are times when the antimicrobials can help save a crop.

Having a good winter pasture can reduce or eliminate the need to feed hay and, additionally, is a source of animal nutrition which is generally better than that of hay or ensilage. However, a good winter grazing pasture can be obtained if the right steps are taken during the summer.