Stocking rate - Articles - Page 2

South Central: Increasing forage yield and quality

April 12, 2023

Stocking rate and fertilizer application are the two main factors that producers can control in terms of increasing forage production for grazing or hay.

[Podcast] 2023 NCBA Cattle Industry Convention – Part 2

February 24, 2023

In the second of three podcasts, David and Carrie visit with more guests at the NCBA Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans.

Proper stocking rate as a drought resiliency tool

Once a ranch determines the feed requirements of its cows and the carrying capacity of its land, drought becomes a much more manageable challenge to navigate.

February 24, 2023

Eric Bailey

Drought has affected large swaths of the U.S. in recent years. Do we need to consider drought moving forward when making decisions about carrying capacity on farms and ranches?

Knowing your numbers is a must

Mismanagement of resources is rarely the intention – but is often the outcome of operating with too little information. Producers who fully understand terms such as percent-weaned calf crop, calving interval and forage utilization set themselves up for success.

September 23, 2022

Russell Carrell

Raising cattle is a romanticized industry. As entertaining as shows such as Yellowstone can be, beef production remains a business that depends on sustainable management of natural, monetary and human resources.

SUMMARY

How much forage do you actually have?

Matching the correct herd size and grazing time with pasture production every year is crucial for maintaining long-term pasture productivity and profitable animal production.

August 25, 2022

Alex Caldeira Rocateli

The forage produced in pastures changes yearly due to rainfall and temperature fluctuations. Changes in forage production need to be adjusted to match the herd size with the amount of forage produced to avoid pasture under- or overgrazing.

8 practices for grazing during drought

May 31, 2022

Billy Whitehurst

As I write this, we have just received some much-needed moisture, whereas others in our county just 40 miles away are plowing in the dust.

Southeast: 4 ways to extend the grazing season through pasture stocking rate

May 24, 2022

Kim Mullenix

Stocking rate is defined as the number of animals per unit area over a given period of time and is often reported as animals per acre or pounds of animal bodyweight per acre.

Stocking rate affects ranch profitability

May 24, 2022

Rick Machen

Twenty years ago, a colleague and I began an extension publication with this sentence: “Without question, stocking rate is the most important grazing management decision a rancher makes.”

Grazing management of rangelands in drought

May 24, 2022

Melinda Ellison

Multiyear drought in much of the western U.S. has made it evident that we will have to make some tough grazing management decisions this year, and likely in the coming years as well.