Maximizing available forage is a priority for any successful beef producer. Rotational grazing – a practice that can be implemented in a multitude of ways – is gaining popularity in every cattle-producing part of the country.

At some point, every pasture or hayfield needs to be renovated. Although there are many useful approaches to improving a piece of land for forage production, some cover crops offer distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Shipwheel Cattle Feeders, under the stewardship of Andrea Stroeve-Sawa, exemplifies a modern approach to cattle farming that successfully integrates custom cattle feeding with flexible grazing strategies and continuously improves.

This month's new product rollout features products from Case IH, Corteva Agriscience and Bobcat Company.

Wowk Ranch near Beauvallon, Alberta, specializes in breeding, training and selling high-quality horses of various breeds and runs 200 commercial cattle that they feed with a team in the winter.

Fall is a wonderful season for agriculture and a time to, hopefully, reap the bounty of the year’s production.

The late-afternoon shadows of early fall cast by the sinking sun in the west were growing longer as I at last urged the final stragglers of the 50 or so cows out of the bottom of the draw.

“It’s not a complete silver bullet, but nothing is,” says Jay Smith of the J Lazy S Angus Ranch of Carmen. He and his wife Chyenne are using virtual fencing to manage cattle grazing on their Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (USFS) permits after the 130,000-acre Moose Fire scorched their USFS grazing allotment in 2022. “I think the proof’s in the pudding when I say we want to keep using it,” he says. “The cost and the work were worth it.”

Livestock enterprises can use crop acres seeded to cover crops and crop residue to stretch the grazing season and save on feed costs. Crop operations benefit from the nutrient value added through livestock manure and to help with pest management.