Managing drought risk on the ranch
Cattle producers are in the planning phase for the upcoming grazing season. In order to successfully plan for this season, they must take an inventory of the forage available and be able to estimate the grazing potential of pastures.
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Forages for summer grazing
Livestock producers and horse owners who use summer annuals for grazing and/or haying are probably thinking about what to plant this year.
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Drought-slammed ranchers may be able to postpone tax payments
Ranchers who sold livestock in 2012 due to the drought may get a little extra time from the Internal Revenue Service to report income from sales.
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Grazing Improvement Act gives ranchers much needed certainty
In Wyoming and throughout the West, we understand the important role our ranchers play in providing safe, high quality beef and lamb for America’s dinner table.
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Pasture recovery options discussed at conference
Beef producers should be mindful of preserving available forages for grazing, particularly as parts of Texas recover from historic drought.
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NRCS offers science, conservation action to areas facing drought
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service water and climate and other experts are predicting drought conditions in the West and places across the nation, marking a possible two-year drought in many states.
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Can you graze cover crops? Yes!
Hay prices are still high and supply is still short. Many Michigan livestock producers are desperate to stretch forage supplies until spring green-up of pastures or the first cutting of hay.
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Ranchers develop planning methodology to best respond to drought
Like a general mapping out his strategy before going into battle, a rancher must be prepared to respond effectively to drought, one of the biggest threats to Great Plains ranchers.
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Forages: Underappreciated and undervalued
A person involved in cow-calf production or raising or backgrounding feeder calves is at some level a forage producer.
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Texas crop, weather: Much wheat is unlikely to make a crop
Despite recent rains that greened up much of the wheat crop, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist is expecting a below-normal crop this year.
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Limit feeding cows
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that the hay supply on farms is the lowest in history. Local and national drought conditions have resulted in the lowest hay production level per acre since 1988.
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ASK THE EXPERT
Question: My pastures were hit pretty hard by drought this season. What should I be looking for to help my pastures recover?
Answer: Matt McGowin, DuPont Crop Protection range and pasture specialist in the mid-South region.Severe lack of moisture and record-setting heat in many parts of the country weakened plants, challenged weed control efforts and amplified plant stress from grazing. The result has been thinner stands of grass that will have a harder time competing with weeds. Read More…
