News

An option available to producers this fall is overseeding the warm season pastures with a cool season forage, assuming we have adequate moisture conditions at planting. With our summer pastures being grazed short, early establishment is very possible and would thus facilitate fall forage production.

The fall hunting season is fast approaching and with it comes an increased interest in deer management. The Noble Research Institute is sponsoring its 5th annual Whitetailed Deer Management Workshop.

Small grain pasture will provide a source of high quality forage, which will supplement or even substitute for hay to carry your herd to next spring. In addition, the bermudagrass sod furnishes solid footing for cattle through wet periods of the season. Sod-seeding permits small grains to be grown in areas where seedbed preparation would not be feasible.

In our area it is usually dry during June, July and August. So how do we supply needed moisture to plants during the dry months? By supplementing the rainfall and keeping the moisture in the root zone.

Drought is a topic on every tongue in our service area. I've recently visited with several producers who have made plans to manage through this drought. But the length and severity of this dry spell is affecting everyone and is very serious for many.

What is the single most important factor influencing the profitability of your farming or ranching operation? If several people were asked this question there would probably be several different answers given.

Mistakes are commonly made when producers face a drought, we've outlined some helpful hints.

I have been of the opinion for a long time that "usual" stocker cattle purchasing, receiving, medicating, etc., has contributed to increased stocker cattle and people stress and thus more stocker cattle sickness, death loss and poor performance during early pasturing.

Cattle producers should be on the watch for nitrate and prussic acid poisoning during drought conditions.

This article will focus on increasing harvest efficiency on rangelands or native grass communities. Harvest efficiency is the percentage of forage grown in a year or growing season that is actually consumed by livestock.