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Dividing a land resource with fencing into paddocks gives the operator control over livestock and allows him to allocate their grazing over a set period of time. How to fence a land resource can become a major issue, and thought and consideration must be given to establishing a fencing plan.

With winter small grain (wheat, rye, triticale) prices near or above all-time highs, producers need to consider adding these crops to their enterprise. Before they try to enter this market, they must be sure they can produce the crop and get it to a profitable market.

With the spring season approaching, pasture management issues are foremost in producers' minds. Fertility, herbicide treatments, pasture establishment and, for some, setting up a rotational grazing system are such issues.

Many Noble cooperators ask, "How do I thicken my stand back up?" Use these tips to develop a healthy stand that can bounce back quickly if rainfall returns to normal.

Precipitation drives pasture improvement, so if you improve the condition of your pastures and rangelands when it does rain, it will help you get through those times when it doesn't. One method of pasture improvement is to provide growing season rest.

With the much appreciated rains we received in August, available forage for grazing in the fall of 2008 is more abundant than we expected. And it couldn't have come at a better time.

If you answer this question by replying that 'you can increase the stocking rate', then you probably have the cart before the horse and we need to re-think the process. The primary objective in rotational grazing should be pasture or range improvement using rest periods.

Grasslands are complex environments comprised of many different kinds of living organisms affected by abiotic factors such as weather. There are few things that are black and white in such complex ecosystems, but there may be some self-evident "truths." If you haven't considered them in your grazing operation, perhaps you should.

It may seem odd that a so-called forage specialist writes about water, but as any forage manager well understands, water is the life blood within any forage system. With abundant water comes the potential for abundant life.

Over the past two decades, winter forage producers have been asking researchers if conservation farming practices are more economical than conventional practices. Studies dating back to mid-1980 have sought answers to these questions.