Electric Fence Tips for Ranchers
Electric fences can actually provide ranchers with cost-effective land management possibilities. The goal is to create a strong perimeter fence with temporary or modest interior fencing, according to the National Grazing Lands Coalition. Then, by training animals to the fence before putting them in, ranchers find the most success. The National Grazing Lands Coalition recommends […]
Understanding Your Pasture & Grazing Agreement Options
The lack of a futures market for forages can make it difficult for landowners and beef producers to establish a fair-market value, particularly for standing forages. Furthermore, the plethora of management and infrastructure considerations that go into establishing a value, while overwhelming at times, often can make the difference between profit and loss on a […]
Soil Testing Basics for Ranchers
Soil testing may not be high on your list of to-dos, but it’s necessary for understanding where soil health is at a given point in time and to measure improvement after implementing changes. And while you may think you can skip soil testing, the small amount of time and energy to do it is cheaper […]
6 Soil Heath Principles for Ranchers
Ranchers might not give enough credit to their soil when it comes to optimizing their pastures. Soil can do quite a bit when it comes to recycling nutrients and making them available to plants, as well as keeping plants healthy. The main principles for healthy soils are to: Download Soil Health Principles For Grazing Lands […]
How Much Food Should Your Livestock Eat?
Knowing how much forage your pasture produces combined with how much food your animals eat can tell you how many animals they can sustainably raise, according to the National Grazing Lands Coalition. Levi Trubenbach, Ph.D, nutritionist with the Livestock Nutrition Center, is often asked: “How much should I be feeding my cows?” “It is a […]
Antibiotic Residue & Tissue Risk Assessment
The Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program for antibiotic stewardship is rooted in a cattleman’s belief of doing the right thing. The judicious use of antibiotic technologies is no exception to the goal of producing high-quality, wholesome and healthy beef. BQA guidelines are designed to make certain all beef consumers can take pride in what they […]
Top Signs That Can Mean an Animal is Sick
Ranchers can’t always tell if they have a sick animal in their herd. That’s because, as prey animals, they don’t want predators to know they’re sick, so they’ve become pretty good at masking symptoms. That means you have to know what normal looks like so you can watch for small differences in behavior. Luckily, there […]
Purpose and Components of Beef Cattle Handling Facilities
Good cattle handling facilities are necessary for all cattle operations, regardless of the number of cattle. Cattle handling facilities have multiple uses: There are several important issues to consider when developing new or renovating existing animal handling facilities, according to the Mississippi State University Extension. The most important consideration is the intended uses or objectives. […]
How to Use Antibiotics Judiciously on Your Ranch
The Beef Quality Assurance Program (BQA) provides 14 Guidelines for the Judicious Use of Antibiotics. Get a framework for decision making here. Ranchers can find more information on these guidelines in the BQA Antibiotics Stewardship for Beef Producers Guidebook, according to the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Download the 14 Guidelines For Antibiotic Use to […]
Beef Cattle Handling Facility Design and Construction Considerations
When evaluating or building infrastructure, ranchers have a lot of considerations, including site drainage, proximity to neighbors (for courtesy and privacy reasons), proximity to utilities, ease of access by vehicles and from pastures, and amount of acreage and cattle capacity they serve. In some situations, ranchers may need multiple cattle handling sites on one operation […]