Herd rebuilding or expansion must start with enabling grazing land to support the additional animals over the long term.

Milk production per cow will be somewhat decreased on pasture when compared to feeding in confinement. Per cow costs of milk production also decrease when dairy farms turn to managed rotational grazing and maximize cow numbers per acre.

Nebraska producers Brock and Heidi Terrell and University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) extension educator Mary Drewnoski helped address whether strip grazing is worth the additional time and labor when utilizing cover crops in the fall season.

2022 was a challenging year regarding precipitation throughout much of the Central and Western portions of the U.S. Many major cow-calf production regions, particularly in the central and southern Plains, are continuing to experience drought.

Successful beef producers maximize available pasture. Planting annual forages is a time-tested way to increase yield per acre for a grazing herd of cattle.

Following drought, stand damage is readily apparent – even on well-managed pastures. When drought occurs during active growth of warm-season grass pastures, it is almost certain that root growth will be restricted, in addition to the more obvious decline in forage yield.

Grazing cows isn’t only for dry cows, heifers or beef cattle anymore. An increasing number of dairy producers are pasture grazing the milking herd.

Extending the grazing season is a good goal for all graziers to have, and creating a forage chain is one way to make that happen, says Kent Solberg, senior technical adviser of the Sustainable Farming Association.