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Winter grazing opportunities
By Richard C. Snell Barton County Extension Agent, agriculture As our growing season winds down, it's time to plan and assess our winter grazing options. [Read More]
Grazingland Sustainability initiative available statewide
South Dakota Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Grazingland Sustainability Initiative is being offered. The application deadline for this special, statewide initiative is being extended until Nov. 20. [Read More]
Rangeland workshop set for Nov. 17
Texas The Texas AgriLife Extension Service and its Sterling County Range and Livestock Committee will conduct a rangeland workshop at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 17 at the Sterling County Community Center in Sterling City. Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered, one in the general category and one in the laws and regulations category. [Read More]
Graziers to meet at Lake Ozark, Mo., Nov. 2 and 3
Missouri Topics ranging from the size of cows used for grazing pastures to studying dung beetles as indicators of grassland health are on the agenda for the annual meeting of the Missouri Forage and Grassland Council, Nov. 2 and 3, at the Lake of the Ozarks. Keynote speaker Kirk Gadzia will discuss "Managing for Healthy Land, Healthy Animals and Happy People." [Read More]
"Grass farmers" let livestock do the work
"(Grass farming) is not labor intense and it's not equipment intense. It's basically using the animals to do the work for you," said a Nebraska grass farmer at the Nebraska Grazing Conference. Both John McGlynn of Knox County and Randy Jenkins of Custer County own and manage custom grazing operations. [Read More]
Rain eliminates late cutting, raises worries about winter hay quality
Arkansas There's been too much of a good thing for the state's hay producers: water. "We've probably had only about three weeks of good hay-curing weather this whole season," said Joe Vestal, Lafayette County Extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. [Read More]
Vilsack, Salazar praise "FLAME" Wildfire Supresssion Reserve Fund
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Nov. 6 applauded the passage of legislation creating the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund. This new wildfire suppression legislation will help the USDA Forest Service and DOI manage wildland fires safely and effectively, while simultaneously diminishing the need to transfer funds from other important programs and services. President ... [Read More]
Producer seeks quality forage with less fertilizer
A light rain is falling as Denny Pogue walks through the tall grass, moving electric fencing to form a new two-acre paddock for his cows and calves. He does this every evening when he gets home from his job in town. "What we are really trying to do is raise real high quality forage without using large amounts of fertilizer," Pogue said. [Read More]
Forages program offers something for all producers
Missouri According to Garry L. Mathes, Chair of the 2009 Missouri Livestock Symposium Planning Committee, this year's program could be the best ever. Mathes indicates that speakers will be coming from 11 states to share their knowledge and expertise with livestock producers. [Read More]
Doppler ultrasound helps scientists understand fescue toxicosis in cattle
Doppler technology--the very same used by meteorologists to track thunderstorms--is being used by Agricultural Research Service scientists to better understand the rate at which fescue toxicosis restricts blood flow in cattle. Tall fescue is the predominant grass used for grazing in the United States. But more than 80 percent of the tall fescue in the "Fescue Belt" region--the transition zone between the temperate ... [Read More]
Wild horse plan rekindles cattle grazing debate
RENO, Nev. (AP)--A new federal proposal to manage wild horses is rekindling debate over another fixture of the Western range: cattle. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently proposed moving thousands of mustangs to preserves in the Midwest and East to protect horse herds and the rangelands that support them. Interior Department officials had warned that slaughtering some of the 69,000 wild horses and burros under federal control might be ... [Read More]
Prescribed Burning Workshops to be held in central and eastern Kansas
Kansas Fire safety is a priority topic of the upcoming Prescribed Burning Workshops scheduled to be held in central and eastern Kansas this fall. Carol Blocksome, Grassland Water Quality Extension Staff at Kansas State University, Manhattan, said that these workshops are a continuation of workshops conducted in western Kansas last fall. [Read More]
Deadline Nov. 20 for new grazing lands initiative now available statewide by NRCS under EQIP
South Dakota South Dakota livestock producers can apply for the Grazing Lands Sustainability Initiative, a management-oriented incentive to improve drought sustainability on grasslands. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is offering GSI through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. [Read More]
Pestman weed and brush online decision aid now available
Pestman, a new online application for weed and brush control, is now publicly available, according to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist. "Pestman is a decision-support system that provides sound pest management options associated with weed and brush control, as well as costs associated with the options considered," said Wayne Hamilton, AgriLife Research range scientist and lead researcher with the Center for Natural Resource ... [Read More]
Watch out for nitrate poisoning in forages, forbes
Texas This year's fall weather--rain and cloudy following a drought--and its effect on forages can be a recipe for nitrate poisoning of livestock, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert. And under these conditions, cattle don't have to consume improved forages to be at risk, as many weeds also can build up high levels of nitrate, said Dr. Vanessa Corriher, AgriLife Extension forage specialist. [Read More]
Nebraska rancher wins national award
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)--A Nebraska rancher has won a national award in recognition of his contributions to the industry and to land management practices. Jack Maddux of Wauneta received the Golden Spur Award this year from the Ranching Heritage Association. Nebraska Cattlemen President Todd Schroeder says Maddux deserves the award because he knows a great deal about the ranching and livestock business, and Maddux is willing to share that. [Read More]
Control of Eastern red cedar urged
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)--Conservationists and fire-control experts told state lawmakers Oct. 27 that more resources are needed to control the spread of Eastern red cedar trees, a major source of fuel for wildfires. Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, told members of the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee that Eastern red cedars contributed heavily to wildfires in April in Midwest City and elsewhere that destroyed more than 100 structures. ... [Read More]
Millions of newly released acres flood markets
TRIBUNE, Kan. (AP)--Millions of acres of native grasses coming out of a federal program that pays property owners not to farm environmentally sensitive land will soon be once again planted to crops. More than 3.4 million acres nationwide were taken out of the program in September when the owners' contracts expired. Most of them were in Texas, Colorado and Kansas, but hundreds of thousands acres also are coming out in Montana and the Dakotas. [Read More]
3 million acres taken out of conservation program
TRIBUNE, Kan. (AP)--Surveying undulating grasslands that disappear into the western Kansas horizon, retired farmer Joe Govert pointed out parcel after parcel no longer enrolled in a federal program that pays property owners not to farm environmentally sensitive land. The arid, wind-swept ground stripped of topsoil by Dust Bowl storms has laid undisturbed beneath a protective cover of native grasses that took two decades to re-establish under ... [Read More]
Grant available to help combat noxious weeds
Colorado The Colorado Department of Agriculture has grant funds available to help fight seven species of noxious weeds on Colorado's eastern plains. "The grants provide an opportunity for county noxious weed programs and Conservation Districts to gain financial support in the eliminating weeds that could have devastating effects on Colorado's natural resources," said CDA's State Weed Coordinator, Kelly Uhing. [Read More]
Producers work to rid their land of tamarisk
Colorado When urban residents "weed" their lawns or gardens, it might involve an afternoon's work, but when an agricultural producer rids the land of weeds, it can involve a lot of people. Producers along the Arkansas River from Canon City to the state line past Holly, have undertaken a project to rid their land from tamarisk or salt cedar. [Read More]
Safe Burn School helps landowners learn about range management
Kansas A Safe Burn School was presented by Kansas State University Extension, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and local conservation districts in Rush Co., Kan. Safe Burn Schools, presented throughout the state, provide information about the use of prescribed fire as a range management method. Those in attendance included landowners, producers, emergency personnel, and contractors offering burn ... [Read More]
Commissioner Staples urges producers in need of hay to utilize hay hotline
Texas Despite some substantial rain across parts of the state, many Texas ranchers continue to struggle to feed livestock due to the lingering drought that has cost the state's agriculture industry approximately $3.6 billion in losses. "The drought has done more than dry up our land and evaporate our reservoirs; it also has destroyed thousands of acres of hay resources for producers who raise cattle, goats and horses... [Read More]
Invasives can cost millions; new ones moving into Nebraska
Nebraska Invasive species can dramatically change the landscape, rivers' hydrology, soil nutrient cycles and land use, said a University of Nebraska-Lincoln project coordinator. "Overall, we see dramatic changes to many ecological processes," said Karie Decker, UNL Invasive Species Project Coordinator. [Read More]
Wildlife's home on the Colorado range
PUEBLO, Colo. (AP)--Pronghorn race along a grassy landscape dotted with cholla cactus between watering holes surrounded by trees. A hawk swoops down and comes up with a snake in its talons. A coyote kicks up its heels. [Read More]
Soil fertility essential for alfalfa establishment
Missouri Alfalfa is the most productive legume in Missouri. It can be grazed or fed as hay, is productive all summer long except during extreme drought, and has high yield potential. [Read More]
N.M. ranchers worry about water protection proposal
ABIQUIU, N.M. (AP)--Thousands of miles of New Mexico rivers and streams would gain special protection under the federal Clean Water Act as part of a proposal being pushed by Gov. Bill Richardson and environmentalists. But ranchers worry the plan is a backdoor effort to stop grazing on public land. State environment officials have spent more than two years refining a proposal to designate rivers and streams in wilderness areas across the ... [Read More]
