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Nutrition, Forage & Grazing
Grass and hay are the foundation of most beef operations, and feed is the biggest cost after land. These guides cover forages, minerals, winter feeding, stocker and feedlot rations, water and grazing management.
72 guides in this section.
- Ration Basics for Beef Cows
A good ration gives the cow what she needs at each stage of the year without wasting feed. The basics are simple, and the details are worth working... - Winter Feeding Strategies for Beef Cattle
Winter feeding is usually the biggest cost on a cow-calf ranch. A plan made in fall, based on tested hay and honest condition scores, keeps cows... - Hay Testing for Beef Cattle
You cannot tell what is in a bale by looking at it. A hay test costs little compared with the feed it helps you manage. - Choosing Hay for Beef Cows
Good hay for a beef cow is not the greenest or the cheapest. It is hay that fits what the cow needs at that stage of the year and is clean, sound and... - Hay Storage and Spoilage Prevention
Hay is a big investment, and rain, ground moisture and poor stacking can quietly waste a lot of it. A little planning protects both the feed and the... - Silage for Beef Cattle
Silage is forage preserved wet through fermentation instead of dried as hay. Done well it holds feed value and gives you flexibility in a poor hay... - Corn Silage in Beef Rations
Corn silage is a high-energy forage that many backgrounding and finishing operations lean on, and some cow herds use it too. Its value depends on the... - Haylage vs. Hay for Beef Herds
Haylage and hay both turn spring and summer growth into winter feed. The difference is moisture, and that single factor changes harvest timing,... - Protein Supplements for Beef Cows
Protein is often the first nutrient to fall short when cows graze mature, dormant or low-quality forage. Supplementing it wisely can keep cows... - Energy Supplements for Winter Cattle
Winter asks more of cattle than most producers realize. When forage is mature and the weather turns raw, a cow can run short of energy long before... - Mineral Supplementation for Beef Cattle
Minerals are a small part of the diet that carry a large share of the load. Reproduction, growth, immunity and bone all depend on them, and forage... - Salt and Trace Minerals for Cattle
Salt is the oldest supplement on the ranch and still one of the most overlooked. Trace minerals ride along with it in many programs, and getting both... - Water Quality for Beef Cattle
Cattle drink a great deal of water, and everything in that water goes into the animal. A pond that looks fine can still hold salts, algae or... - Water Systems for Pastures
A good pasture water system makes grazing easier, keeps cattle healthier and protects streams and ponds. It also needs planning, because a poor... - Forage Testing and Ration Balancing
You cannot judge feed by looking at it. A forage test turns hay or silage into numbers, and ration balancing uses those numbers to match feed to what... - Pasture Management Basics
Pasture is the cheapest feed most ranches will ever have, and also the easiest to waste. Good management comes down to a few habits: know what is... - Rotational Grazing for Beef Cattle
Rotational grazing divides pasture into smaller sections so cattle graze one at a time while the rest recover. The idea is simple, but the results... - Grazing Stocking Rates
Stocking rate is the number of animals placed on a given amount of land for a given length of time. It sounds like arithmetic, but it is the single... - Carrying Capacity Calculations
Carrying capacity is the number of animals a pasture can support over the long haul without damage. Estimating it means comparing the feed the land... - Stockpiling Forage for Winter
Stockpiling means letting pasture grow in late summer and fall, then grazing it in winter instead of feeding hay. It can cut hay needs, but it takes... - Grazing Cover Crops
Cover crops planted to protect soil can also feed cattle. Grazing them can stretch your forage supply and pay for part of the seed, but the plan has... - Annual Forages for Beef Cattle
Annual forages grow fast, fill gaps in the grazing year and can rescue a short pasture. They also cost money to plant every year, and a few carry... - Warm-Season Grasses for Ranches
Warm-season grasses grow best in summer heat and go dormant in cool weather. They carry many southern and central ranches through the hottest, driest... - Cool-Season Grasses for Beef Cattle
Cool-season grasses grow in spring and fall and slow down in summer heat. They anchor pastures across much of the northern and upper southern United... - Native Range Management
Native range is a living system of grasses, forbs and shrubs that has fed grazers for a long time. Managing it well is mostly about timing, rest and... - Improving Pasture Fertility
Fertile pasture grows more grass, holds up better under grazing and feeds cattle more reliably. Improving it is a slow job that starts with knowing... - Soil Testing on Ranches
A soil test is the least expensive input on the ranch and one of the most useful. It replaces guesses with information, as long as the sample is... - Lime and Fertilizer Decisions
Lime and fertilizer are among the biggest cash inputs a ranch makes on its land. Good decisions come from testing, setting priorities and being... - Weed Control in Pastures
Weeds are usually a symptom of a thin, stressed pasture. Control works best when you fix the cause, identify the plants correctly and then choose... - Brush Management on Ranches
Brush crowds out grass, hides cattle and drinks up water. Controlling it takes more than one pass, and the plan should include what you want growing... - Poisonous Plant Control
Most poisonous plant losses are not mysteries. They happen when hungry cattle meet a plant they would normally leave alone, so control starts with... - Pasture Renovation Basics
A tired pasture rarely needs a plow first. It needs a diagnosis, and the diagnosis decides whether you fix management, fertility, weeds, or the stand... - Fencing for Rotational Grazing
Rotational grazing lives or dies on the fence. A layout that is easy to build, easy to move and easy to maintain makes it far more likely you will... - Water Placement and Grazing Distribution
Cattle go where the water is, and they hang around it. If one tank serves a large pasture, the ground around it takes the punishment while distant... - Managed Intensive Grazing
Managed intensive grazing means moving cattle through smaller paddocks on purpose, with rest periods for the forage. It can improve pasture use, but... - Drought Feeding Plans
The best drought decisions are made before the drought. A written plan with clear trigger points keeps you from making expensive choices in a panic... - Feeding Cattle During Drought
Once the grass is gone, the job shifts to keeping cows fed, watered and healthy on whatever feed you can find. The priorities are water first, then... - Emergency Forage Options
When hay runs short, people look at anything green: annual forages, crop residues, ditch grass, cover crops. Some of these options help. Some carry... - By-Product Feeds for Beef Cattle
By-product feeds are the leftovers from making food, fuel and other goods. For beef cattle they can be a useful source of energy or protein, but they... - Limit Feeding Beef Cows
Limit feeding means giving cows a controlled amount of a more concentrated ration instead of free access to roughage. It can save feed in some... - Feed Bunk Management
The bunk tells you more about your cattle than almost any other spot on the place. Learning to read it, and to feed on a steady routine, prevents... - Reducing Feed Waste
Feed is usually the biggest cost on a beef place, and a good share of it can be lost between the field and the cow. Finding and fixing those leaks is... - Feeding Weaned Calves
Weaning is one of the hardest days in a calf's life. What you feed, how you set it up and how closely you watch in the first weeks can shape health... - Backgrounding Nutrition
Backgrounding grows calves on forage and moderate rations between weaning and the feedlot or the next stage. The nutrition plan should fit the calf,... - Preconditioning Nutrition Programs
Preconditioning prepares calves for the move to the next owner by getting them weaned, eating and vaccinated before they leave. Nutrition is what... - Nutrition for First-Calf Heifers
A first-calf heifer is still growing while she carries a calf, and soon after calving she has to nurse it and breed back. That is a lot to ask of one... - Feeding Bulls During Breeding Season
A bull may spend weeks walking, fighting and breeding more than eating. Going into the season in good condition, and keeping him fed through it,... - Nutrition and Bull Fertility
A bull has to be right from the inside out to breed well. Feed affects growth, body condition, libido and the quality of sperm, and some of those... - Body Condition and Winter Feeding
Winter feeding is where many herds lose or keep their rebreeding. Body condition scoring turns a guess about whether cows are doing well into... - Supplementing Low-Quality Forage
Dormant grass and old hay can fill a cow without feeding her well. Supplementing low-quality forage is about adding what is missing so the cow can... - Urea and Non-Protein Nitrogen Safety
Urea and other non-protein nitrogen sources can be a useful part of a feeding program, and they can also kill cattle quickly when handled wrongly.... - Ionophores in Beef Rations
Ionophores are a class of feed additive used in some beef rations. This article explains the idea in plain terms. Whether and how to use one is a... - Feed Additives for Beef Cattle
The feed store shelf is full of products that promise better gain, healthier cattle or lower costs. Some additives have solid purposes. Others are... - Rumen Health in Beef Cattle
A cow is really a rumen with legs. The microbes in there digest feed that people could never use, and when they are happy, the cow does well. Most... - Acidosis Prevention in Cattle
Acidosis happens when the rumen becomes too acidic, usually after cattle eat too much easily digested feed too fast. It ranges from a quiet drop in... - Bloat Prevention Through Feeding
Bloat can turn a quiet pasture into an emergency in a matter of hours. Most of the prevention work happens before the cattle ever see the risky feed,... - Feeding Cull Cows
Every herd culls cows each year, and what you do with them in the weeks before sale can change what they bring. The decision deserves the same... - Nutrition for Calving Cows
The last part of pregnancy is when a cow's needs climb fastest, and what she eats then affects her calving, her colostrum and how quickly she... - Postpartum Nutrition in Beef Cows
After calving a cow is milking, recovering and getting ready to breed again, all on the same feed. This stretch decides a lot about next year's calf... - Nutrition and Rebreeding
A cow can only rebreed on time if her body has the resources to restart her cycle. Nutrition is the biggest lever a producer controls. - Grazing Behavior of Beef Cattle
Cattle do not graze a pasture evenly. They pick favorite spots, favorite plants and favorite times of day, and understanding those habits is the... - Pasture Weighing and Monitoring
Most ranchers can eyeball a pasture and say it looks good or looks short. Measuring it, even roughly, turns that guess into a number you can plan... - Forage Inventory Planning
Forage inventory is a balance sheet for feed: what you have on one side, what the herd will eat on the other. Doing it before winter keeps surprises... - Feed Cost Per Cow Per Day
Feed is usually the biggest bill on a cow-calf ranch. Knowing the daily cost per cow gives you a number to compare against, and a way to spot trouble... - Least-Cost Winter Feeding
The goal in winter is not the cheapest feed. It is the cheapest feeding program that keeps cows in the condition they need for calving and rebreeding. - Custom Grazing Agreements
In a custom grazing arrangement one person owns the cattle and another owns the grass. A clear written agreement keeps both sides on good terms when... - Lease Pasture Decisions
Leased grass can stretch a small ranch or grow a herd without buying land, but a bad lease can cost more than it returns. The decision starts with a... - Cover Crop Grazing Systems
Cover crops can feed cattle and protect soil at the same time, but they bring new risks and a new set of decisions. A plan made before planting makes... - Regenerative Grazing Basics
Regenerative grazing is a set of management ideas aimed at healthier soil, plants and water on grazed land. You do not have to adopt a label to use... - Annual Forage Calendar for Ranches
A forage calendar lays out your year on one page: when grass grows, when it stops, and what the cattle need in between. It shows gaps while there is... - Drought Planning for Cattle Ranches
Drought rarely arrives all at once. It creeps in, and the ranches that cope best are the ones that wrote down their decisions before the grass... - Wildlife and Cattle on Shared Rangeland
Most western and southern ranches share their grass with deer, elk, antelope, birds and a long list of smaller animals. Managed well, the overlap is...