As an extension economist for the College of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky and also someone who has been finishing cattle for the past nine years on my own farm, I have had the opportunity

Thinking about mineral supplementation programs as being similar to insurance can help with determining what program is right for your operation

Spring is officially here. Some beef producers have finished calving while others are just getting started. Regardless, understanding how to match your available forage to your herd’s nutritional

Are you one of the lucky producers who still has native tall grass prairie?

As spring begins, it is a good time to look back and evaluate how the winter-feeding program went. Did the cows come through the winter in good condition or were they thinner than desired?

This past year was a challenge for many cow-calf producers across the United States due to a lack of rain, too much rain, or unexpected weather conditions. Here are four keys that helped livestock pro

Grazing livestock in Northern regions where winters are long and harsh can prove challenging. For some producers, bale grazing has become a cost-effective, time-saving strategy to break past the pasto

It’s understandable why the U.S. Naval Academy is located near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Md. But also near those same shores, on the other side of the bay, is a herd

Periods of favorable rainfall make every livestock producer look smarter. Periods of drought sort out the smartest among us

Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic compounds that are utilized by nearly every living thing on earth

With rising market prices for live calves, staying up all night to supervise first-calf heifers during calving season is well worth the effort to many producers

In recent years, there has been a broader choice in finished beef available to consumers. The supply of “grass-fed beef” has risen, and it always raises some controversy within the industry

“C’mon out and see how great my cattle and pastures look.”“That’s not a call I typically get,” said Lawton Stewart, a beef cattle nutrition specialist with the University

Ammoniation of crop residues can turn a low-quality forage into a medium-quality forage that can maintain a dry cow without supplementation. Given the drought in the Northern Plains and eastern

The success of a grass-fed beef operation relies on getting average daily gains of at least 2 pounds per day. Animals will need to maintain a body condition score of 6 or better

Every year I hear cattle producers make the comment: “Cattle don’t seem to do as well as they used to when grazing corn residue.”

It makes sense to cover the ground and protect our precious soil and water resources, especially after harvest of corn silage; but why not also produce additional forage?

Margins are precariously thin for cow-calf and stocker operations. As the time has come to hunker down for winter feeding and grazing, harvested forage quality may very well be the determining factor

Due to the current beef-market situation, many producers are evaluating ways to cut costs without negatively impacting production. Feeding cows comprises the largest percentage of annual producti

Summer annual forages (such as pearl millet, sorghum x sudangrass hybrids, etc.) are known for their remarkable ability to grow fast and produce several tons of forage in a short time period, ev