Nutrition

With the hot, humid and rainy return of summer, livestock producers can expect forage leaf and root diseases outbreaks in pastures. 

Blue green algae blooms are an issue that usually gets discussed this time of year. Calm, sunny, dry, and hot days of summer create ideal conditions for blue green algae to thrive in our livestock ponds.

Although many of the pastures are green and lush around the country, this is not the time to forget about trace minerals and their importance to beef production.

Cattle are one potential option to salvage some value if the corn crop does not look like it will yield. 

The Annual Forage Insurance Plan offers an opportunity to manage precipitation risk.

If we want to save the energy of the starch and sugars for our cattle, we need to dry off the first 15-20% moisture as quickly as possible.

Corn prices have been on a sharp downtrend since late May due primarily to a combination of trade uncertainty and a strong start to the growing season.

Grazing summer annual grasses can be a great addition to an operation when annuals are chosen correctly and grazing plans are used.

Don't forget to check the mineral feeders or blocks to be certain that they are supplying the minerals that your cows need.

Livestock producers are urged to routinely monitor ponds and other watering sources during the hot summer months to guard against the formation of blue-green algae.

First cutting is the most important and critical of the alfalfa growing season. A late start of this growing season will determine multiple things during this year’s production.

Fall born replacement heifers have been (or soon will be) weaned and will be at a very critical growing period.

With the limited opportunities and short windows many have had to make hay so far this year, some hay may have been made at higher moisture levels than we would like

Planting summer annual forage crops could be an option where moisture is adequate for emergence or rain still may come.

Shortage of cattle forage forces some Ozark herd owners to chop trees to feed leaves. That method was used in big droughts of the 1930s and 1950s.

Observation can help answer a lot of questions.

Although pea aphid populations can vary quite a bit from field to field it is important to monitor their populations to ensure that loss due to their feeding doesn’t occur.

As grass leases continue to get harder to find and more expensive to acquire, and drought continues, cow/calf producers are showing more and more interest in feeding pairs in a confinement system.

Clean, fresh drinking water is critical for cattle performance in the summer heat.

Creep feeding must be carefully appraised in view of economics of cost of gain, potential market, and the influence on sale price of the calves.