Latest News From Pasture-Forage

Weather events in the weeks, days and even hours leading up to harvest can trump our best efforts and transform a carefully raised feed resource into a nutritional time bomb.

Warm-season annuals are often thought of as emergency grazing and hay crops when late spring and early summer hay harvests are lacking. Recent rains in some areas offer an opportunity to plant warm-season annuals.

Why do some of the best calves catch a cough, known as summer pneumonia? K-State experts discuss the disease and what ranchers can do to best mitigate an outbreak in their herd.

Pollinators placed on international conservation organization’s Red List as endangered. Habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and disease were cited as some of the major factors in the species’ decline.

Intensive or ‘mob’ grazing allows for higher stocking densities, but does it provide benefits to soil health and biodiversity? UNL researchers share their findings after an eight-year study.

Cattle feed cost is the single largest expense in the cow-calf sector, and prices are still on the rise. Explore these four management strategies to help reduce feed expenses in your operation.

Testing the quality of your harvested hay is important as hay quality is variable depending on the type of forage, soil type, fertilizer rate, and the maturity of the forage when it was hayed.

JY Ferry & Son, Inc. in Corinne, Utah, is the 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) national winner. The award annually recognizes outstanding stewardship and conservation achievements of cattle producers.

Drought has been a topic of conversation among ranchers for several months. Join us Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 3 p.m. CST as we discuss drought and it's impacts on producers.

Hot, dry conditions have taken a toll on pasture growth this year. What should cattle producers consider to conserve grass in these dry areas?

Pasture recovery will require more than a few rain showers due to the dry soil profiles and continued high temperatures. Management strategies must focus on pasture recovery after drought.

Haying ditches has unique safety concerns any year due to the highly variable sloped surfaces of ditches. Unsafe conditions can create wear and tear on equipment, damage equipment or cause injuries or even death.

Project will impact working ranches and rural communities, while quantifying the value of soil health and other ecosystem functions.

North Dakota weather conditions this year have provided much needed rainfall, good for forage growth but less than ideal for hay drying and curing.

Prussic acid toxicity led to the death of some cattle in northwest Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Oklahoma State veterinarians provide management tips for cattlemen during times of increased prussic acid danger.

Weed infestations can diminish the nutritional value of pastures, forage availability and stocking rates.

Grasses and crop growth are stunted in Texas under abnormally dry conditions, and damages begin to show as moderate drought sets in. Extremely high temperatures are exacerbating the moisture deficit for pasture grasses.

At some point, a forage yield/quality compromise is reached when plant growth has reached a point of an acceptable yield and forage quality is still high enough to meet nutritional needs of livestock.

With a high likelihood of drought continuing through the summer months, prepare for a shortage in forage production using these tools and strategies!

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis can take a toll on cattle, especially calves. Three bovine veterinarians provide their insights on diagnosing the problem and when to use and not use antibiotics for treatment.

Cover crops for grazing can provide significant cost savings to producers by minimizing the need for baled forages or provide an alternative grazable forage to allow recovery to overgrazed pastures.

As drought continues in the Great Plains, producers are making hard decisions about cowherd management and feeding options, but cost of production and opportunity costs must be carefully evaluated.

Spring green-up has been muted by the ongoing drought and each passing week is critical and by any measure, the U.S. is in the worst condition now of any May in at least the last 35 years.

As tender spring forages begin to grow, what happens when a late frost occurs? How should cattle producers manage the impacts?

Widespread drought, higher costs of production and meager profit margins are driving beef cows to market at an alarming pace.

Rising fertilizer prices has producers searching for ways to cut input costs. Producers should do the math to determine the price at which fertilizer becomes economically cost prohibitive.

American ranchers face a dry start to the summer grazing season as about half of the nation's beef cows reside under some designation of drought. Texas shows 76% of pastures in poor to very poor condition.

Although drought cannot be avoided entirely, a good forage management plan will lessen the impact on forages and hasten pasture recovery when growing conditions return.

The ongoing drought continues to squeeze available hay supplies and drought this year is a severe threat to 2022 hay production. May 1 hay stocks in the 17 plains and western states were down 17.7 percent year-over-year.

Drought is not a new issue to cow-calf producers, but many factors make this year unique. Kansas State will host a webinar to help producers weigh options on May 19.

John Deere announced it has established an allied agreement with Mike and Jason Grady of Twin Pak to better serve existing and future John Deere small square baler customers in the United States.

A solid annual forage strategy can produce cost-effective, high-quality feed, and for some varieties, aftermath grazing.

Elanco Animal Health and Ducks Unlimited announce results from the year-one effort of a multi-year initiative to restore working grasslands in western Kansas.

An emergency preparedness plan can assist a cattlemen’s ability to respond to varying threats.  Developing a disaster plan is a good idea for both people and all the animals they care for on a farm or ranch.

Monitoring horn fly numbers on your cattle helps determine proper fly control management. Here are some management ideas for the season ahead!

High winds and eerily dry conditions across Kansas and the Southern Plains have created what’s been a battleground for continuous wildfires this year, as the fires are robbing some ranchers of vital grass.

Up to $5 million in funding will be provided to bring financial and technical resources to ranchers in the Southern Great Plains to improve grassland management and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Cattle grazing pastures with high soil-test phosphorus may be getting enough of the nutrient from the grass to eliminate the need for a phosphorus feed additive.

Land is the common ground on which all other resources thrive. That’s why monitoring, managing and maintaining soil health is key to productivity and, ultimately, profitability on the ranch.

Grassroots Carbon has provided payment to 10 Texas ranchers for their adoption of reversative grazing pastures which have resulted in nature-based, measured, verified and certified carbon credits.

Drought will be the principal determinant of the general cattle industry scenario in 2022.  The current Climate Prediction Center drought outlook suggests drought may persist in regions of the west and northern plains.

Court denies restraining order filed to halt aerial gunning operation of feral cattle. "The overall situation and the waste of protein is saddening," says NMCGA President-Elect Bronson Corn.

Federal Wildlife Service plan aerial gunning of estray cattle located in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico despite local ranchers concerns.

Nitrogen fertilizer prices have reached over $750/ton for urea (over 85¢/pound of N), with expectations that it could reach over $1,000/ton. Consider using legumes in our pastures to replace N fertilizers.

Beef producers know grazing land is in short supply. With more acres being developed or converted to cropland, cow-calf operations may consider alternatives to traditional pasture management.

The 2022 North Dakota Reclamation Conference, “Investing in Effective Reclamation,” will focus on reclamation practices and technology to improve reclamation success.

With generally rising input costs, cow-calf producers need to put additional effort into cost management.  Managing feed costs will be a key to minimizing cow costs and capitalizing on better market conditions in 2022.

Critical fire weather is forecast through Dec. 26 for portions of North and West Texas, with Dec. 24 holding the most potential for wildfire activity, particularly in the Panhandle

Optimism that has built in feeder cattle markets in the second half of the year has been enhanced and consolidated with the fed cattle market breaking out and moving sharply higher in the last two months of the year.

Alfalfa is the third-highest crop for economic returns in the U.S. and is a feed source for that can reduce the need for costly nutritional supplements when cattle are primarily feed other types of diets.