Livestock, Pasture and Rural Development

Throw Some Shade: Protecting Livestock from Heat Stress

ATTRA

JUNE 11, 2024

By Nina Prater, NCAT Agriculture Specialist As the summer heat ramps up around the country, it’s a good time to make sure we livestock producers are protecting our animals from heat stress. In this blog, I’ll briefly cover a few ways we can keep our livestock safe in the heat. Check out this webinar to learn more about solar grazing.

Livestock

Livestock Poultry Cattle Pasture

Providing Water to Livestock in Frigid Weather

ATTRA

JANUARY 16, 2024

By Linda Coffey, Margo Hale, and Dave Scott, NCAT Livestock Specialists With many parts of the country currently experiencing bitter temperatures, we’re re-posting this blog from March 2021 to offer potential livestock watering strategies for your farm during severe cold snaps. Livestock waterer made from a 55-gallon barrel.

Livestock

Livestock Cattle Pasture Poultry

How Does Soil Compaction Impact Grazing Lands?

ATTRA

OCTOBER 24, 2023

By Justin Morris Has your pasture been plagued by poor plant growth? Does water pond on the surface of your pasture either during or right after a rain or irrigation event? Or does water run off your pasture to the point that it leaves behind ugly scars of erosion or floods out other areas that are lower in the landscape?

Soil Compaction

Soil Compaction Pasture Livestock Water Rights

Pasture Cropping: Planting Summer Cover Crops in Cool-Season Perennial Pastures

ATTRA

APRIL 23, 2024

The nighttime temperatures have been high enough to wake up the cool-season perennials in the pastures. The first question to ask is: do you really need to take on the work of establishing cover crops in pastures? The principal concern with no-tilling cover crops into perennial pasture sod is plant competition.

Pasture

Pasture Crop Seeding Crop Rotation

The Season of Mud

ATTRA

APRIL 2, 2024

Our pastures are devastated by livestock feeding areas, hooves, gate ruts, excessive rain, snow melt, and lack of vegetative cover during the non-growing season. We are too aware of the cost of pasture forage restoration, truck fenders, and loss of man hours, but there is also a cost to the health and welfare of our livestock.

Soil Compaction

Soil Compaction Pasture Forage Livestock

Diagnosing Soil Compaction on Grazing Lands

ATTRA

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Here is a link to a video that talks about assessing pasture soil health using these tools. First, locate an area of the pasture that seems representative of the whole pasture. An 18-inch-long slice of soil positioned horizontally on a pasture to make it easier to look at soil structure and rooting depth.

Soil Compaction

Soil Compaction Pasture Rural Development Livestock

The Causes of Soil Compaction on Grazing Lands

ATTRA

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

By Justin Morris In an earlier blog , we discussed what compaction is and how it negatively affects plants, soils, livestock, and even economics. Causes of Compaction There are generally two major causes of soil compaction on pastures: hoof impact and overgrazing. Roots are essential for healthy soil structure to be maintained.

Soil Compaction

Soil Compaction Livestock Forage Pasture

Farmers in Hurricane Helene’s Path Face Hard Winter – But We Can Help

ATTRA

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Pasture fences have been destroyed or damaged by so many trees falling across them that repairs will be time-consuming and costly. Winter is underway, and people, land, and livestock are still struggling to recover, but I am impressed with the outpouring of assistance and volunteers who are still trying to get lives back to normal.

Farming

Farming Farming Acre Rural Development

Living Lawn Mowers in a World of Mowing Madness

ATTRA

MARCH 26, 2024

However, managed pastures with legumes, high-quality hay, and minerals can help keep goats healthy. Related ATTRA Resources: Sheep and Goats: Frequently Asked Questions Getting Started with Livestock Dairy Goats for the Farm An Illustrated Guide to Sheep and Goat Production Small-Scale Livestock Production Episode 179.

Livestock

Livestock Rural Development Construction Pasture

All Chopped Up with Somewhere to Grow

ATTRA

OCTOBER 31, 2023

ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Rural Development

Rural Development Manure Compost Pasture

Small is Beautiful: The Wonderful World of Invertebrates

ATTRA

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Pasture fertility, healthy livestock, reduced nutrient runoff, all thanks to dung beetles. Even if you’re not a romantic, there are still plenty of other reasons to love dung beetles: it’s estimated that they provide millions of dollars’ worth of nutrient retention and pest fly reduction per year. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Pasture

Pasture Rural Development Manure Food

Identifying Waste: Becoming a Lean Farming Machine

ATTRA

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Planting, harvesting, breeding, raising livestock all require a period of waiting, but there are forms of waiting that can be minimized in farming operations, such as equipment repair, delayed harvest times due to unavailable labor, and delays of shipments of agricultural inputs. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Farming

Farming Farming Processing Livestock

Working on the Business: Tax Day Musings

ATTRA

MAY 14, 2024

By Linda Coffey, NCAT Livestock Specialist Here in Arkansas, the grass is growing, hens are at full lay, baby lambs are everywhere, and calves are arriving. But in my day job as an NCAT livestock specialist, I’ve been working on improving the curriculum for our Women, Livestock, and the Land course. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Livestock

Livestock Marketing Rural Development Farming

NCAT Soil for Water Mississippi: Learning Together?

ATTRA

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Dr. Lemus has been crucial in assisting the livestock producers across Mississippi understand the needs of each individual pasture toward better soil health. Leyla Rios, both of MSU Extension, strives to better understand forage present and soil health results from the implementation of conservation practices through an HMI framework.

Livestock

Livestock Rural Development Forage Agriculture

Strengthening Local Processing Act – Critical Reasons for Support in the Farm Bill

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Recent Actions In recent years, and most noticeably during the supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, several agencies within the USDA – including Rural Development and the Agricultural Marketing Service – have helped direct critical funding specifically to small and very small meat processing plants.

Processing

Processing Poultry Farming Farming

Ask a Scientist: Will the New Farm Bill Transform the US Food System?

The Equation

AUGUST 10, 2023

Last fall, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and more than 150 other organizations, including nutrition, sustainable farming, rural development, racial equity, labor, and environmental groups, sent a joint letter to President Biden, urging him to prod Congress to pass a new farm bill this year that transforms the US food system.

Food

Food Farming Farming Agriculture

Agriculture Informer

Throw Some Shade: Protecting Livestock from Heat Stress

Providing Water to Livestock in Frigid Weather

Trending Sources

How Does Soil Compaction Impact Grazing Lands?

Pasture Cropping: Planting Summer Cover Crops in Cool-Season Perennial Pastures

The Season of Mud

Diagnosing Soil Compaction on Grazing Lands

The Causes of Soil Compaction on Grazing Lands

Farmers in Hurricane Helene’s Path Face Hard Winter – But We Can Help

Living Lawn Mowers in a World of Mowing Madness

All Chopped Up with Somewhere to Grow

Small is Beautiful: The Wonderful World of Invertebrates

Identifying Waste: Becoming a Lean Farming Machine

Working on the Business: Tax Day Musings

NCAT Soil for Water Mississippi: Learning Together?

Strengthening Local Processing Act – Critical Reasons for Support in the Farm Bill

Ask a Scientist: Will the New Farm Bill Transform the US Food System?

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