Proper nutrition involves providing a balanced diet to meet the energy, protein, vitamin, and mineral requirements of beef cattle to promote growth and health.
Grazing cattle sounds so simple. The forage grows, the cattle eat the forage, and it all ends with a “happily ever after.” Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as it sounds. To maximize cattle performance while grazing, producers must pay attention to the forage itself and how it can affect the grazing animals.
In 2023, a grazing farmer network in northwestern Wisconsin was asked to identify the greatest needs for research. At the top of their list was the practice of winter bale grazing. We designed a research project that sought to answer some of their questions about the practice.
Para mantener su tamaño, la tasa de reemplazo anual de un hato para carne por lo general es igual a la cantidad de vacas que salen anualmente debido a la
muerte, a su comercialización o su sacrificio. Se ha sugerido una tasa de reemplazo típica del 15 % (Thomas). Entonces, para el hato promedio de vacas y becerros de Wisconsin con 25 vacas, se necesitan cuatro reemplazos por año. Los productores deben decidir entonces si adquirir reemplazos o criar sus propias vaquillas es lo mejor para sus operaciones.
Creating beef-on-dairy calves can add additional revenue to your dairy operation, but if considering transitioning from a dairy operation to beef enterprise, there are several points to consider.
Getting hay harvested in a timely manner has been troublesome this year, resulting in an abundance of poor-quality forage.
To optimize cow productivity, evaluating nutrient levels in winter feed for cows is necessary.
For many producers, ‘preconditioning’ is synonymous with ‘vaccinating’; however, while vaccinations are important, they take a back seat to calves’ preconditioning nutrition. Separation anxiety at weaning causes the release of cortisol which suppresses the immune response and increases susceptibility to diseases.
Water is often overlooked as the most important nutrient for beef cattle.
A late summer seeding of alfalfa following a spring wheat crop is a great option to maximize seasonal productivity and fits very well as a part of a diverse crop rotation. Aside from the usual considerations when performing a late summer seeding of alfalfa, there are a few considerations to keep in mind when planting alfalfa following a wheat crop: the potential for residual herbicide damage to alfalfa and the impact of volunteer wheat.
The explosive growth of solar sites, especially large, utility-scale (>100 MW) sites that require state approval, has put solar in competition with agriculture for land use.
