For producers relying on winter pasture to grow purchased or retained calves, weekend rains be what was needed to give us the prospect of at least some wheat grazing, although probably a month later than normal.
Dual purpose crops are planted in mid to late September. Seeding rates, planting dates, and fertilizer management are compromises between the needs for fall forage production and grain production in the spring.
The success of small local packers depends on how durable the demand by consumers is for locally produced food sources and how durable political resolve is to support small local and regional packers.
Rotational grazing provides plants within pastures rest from repeated defoliation by grazers by separating the entire pasture unit into several paddocks.
Mineral nutrition is complex, with different macro minerals and micro minerals that are of concern. Also forages do not stay the same in mineral composition throughout the year and differ by region.
As a rule of thumb, for bermudagrass and other introduced warm-season perennials, each pound of N fertilizer will add about 30 to 40 pounds of forage production per acre.
With the increased costs of beef production (especially feed and fertilizer) technologies that improve the efficiency of production are increasingly valuable.
Rural landowners are often interested in raising livestock to slaughter for personal consumption, local marketing or for normal commodity markets. There are several options producers can use to finish cattle.
When calving in early spring with lush pastures we can find mature cows that are in otherwise good condition with unusual behaviors, unsteady gait or inability to rise—early signs of both grass tetany and milk fever.
