Topic
17 stories, newest first.
Prussic acid spikes in sorghum-family forages after a frost and in any regrowth for weeks after. Nitrates build in drought-stressed corn, sorghum, and small grains and do not go away with time or frost. The rules for grazing and haying through October, and the test that costs less than one cow.
6d ago
A dry cow in mid-gestation gets by on almost anything. The same cow in the third trimester needs a quarter more energy and more protein, and if the hay does not have it, the calf gets it from her back. The numbers for a 1,300-pound cow, how to hit them with hay and a supplement, and the two mistakes that cost you next year's calf.
Oct 11
Outside storage on bare ground costs 20 to 40 percent of the dry matter in a round bale, and the part that rots is the part the cow was going to eat first. Rows, gravel, tarps, and barns, ranked by what they save and what they cost. Plus how to feed the bad ones so the cows do not do the sorting.
Oct 7
Culls are 15 to 20 percent of a cow-calf operation's income, and the market for them has a seasonal pattern as reliable as the calendar. Prices bottom when everybody culls, in November and December, and peak in spring. When to sell a thin cow, when to feed her first, and how the grades work.
Oct 5
Most electric fence failures in winter are not the wire and not the charger. They are three ground rods that were fine in wet June ground and are now sitting in frozen dust. How to test the ground, read the voltage, and find the short before the cows do.
Oct 3
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program is the biggest pot of cost-share money most ranchers never apply for. Applications are accepted year-round, but each state sets ranking cutoffs, and most of them land between October and January. What it covers, what it pays, and how to get in line.
Sep 29
A $25 forage test tells you whether that $200 hay is worth $200. Crude protein, TDN, RFV, moisture, nitrates. What the numbers mean, what a dry cow actually needs, and how to use the test to buy hay and build a ration.
Sep 22
A cow drinks 10 to 15 gallons a day in winter and eats less when the water is ice. Tank heaters, freeze-proof waterers, geothermal tubes, and the stuff that fails. A checklist for the month before the first hard freeze.
Sep 18
Clip or graze it to 3 or 4 inches, put on 40 to 60 units of nitrogen, and stay off it until December. Done right, an acre of stockpiled tall fescue replaces a ton of hay at a fraction of the cost.
Sep 15
A cow needs to be a 5 at calving to breed back on time. The 90 days between weaning and hard winter are the cheapest window to put condition on her. How to score, what to do with a 4, and why the 7 percent rule matters.
Sep 14
An open cow eats $400 of hay this winter and gives you nothing in April. With cull cow prices near record highs and hay short, the fall preg check is the single most profitable hour you will spend in the chute this year.
Sep 11
Nearly 60% of the Lower 48 is in drought as of September 1. In Wyoming three-quarters of pasture and rangeland is rated poor or very poor — roughly double the five-year average.
Sep 10
South Dakota pasture values rose nearly 16 percent even as the drought footprint doubled. Nebraska alfalfa is up $10 to $20, Wyoming baled hay up to $30. A state-by-state look at what feed is costing going into fall.
Sep 10
USDA wants the herd rebuilt. The market is paying you not to. A worked example of what a retained heifer has to be worth in 2028 to beat selling her in October 2026, and the three things that decide it.
Sep 9
If your pasture is short and hay is $30 higher than last year, the decisions that save the most money get made in September, not January. Test your hay, cull now, limit-feed, and know when a cow is cheaper to sell than to winter.
Sep 8
Winter wheat that goes in early enough to graze has never been worth more. But planting ahead of the Hessian fly-free date, in a warm fall, trades grazing days for a stand you may lose. The dates by region and the math on gain.
Sep 5
The $16 billion Supplemental Disaster Relief Program has been extended one last time. Payment factor is now 70 percent. If you had a 2023 or 2024 weather loss, indemnified or not, the FSA office needs your paperwork this month.
Sep 2
