Tall fescue is a hearty deep-rooted perennial that grows widely across 15 states in the southeastern U.S. and covers more than 35 million acres.

Undesirable genetic traits causing fetal abnormalities have occurred throughout the evolution of livestock selection. There are more than 20 genetic traits cattle breeders monitor in the A.I. industry.

Many years ago, in a college course on toxic plants, I learned about the popular ornamental houseplant dieffenbachia, also known as “dumb cane.”

Bodyweight alone may be the defining reason mature cows are not affected by toxins that can cause abortion in younger animals. Or perhaps it’s just, well, cow sense.

Vetch is not vetch is not vetch. Poison ivy is not an ivy, and poison oak is not an oak. Yes, names for common plants can be delightfully whimsical and inconsistent, but there’s nothing delightful about the toxins in these plants.

By midsummer last year, many streams were just a series of stagnant pools. When livestock crowded the streambanks for water, state and local officials issued stern warnings again and again.

No range management textbook is complete without a cautionary photo of bloated livestock that got into a patch of something or other that they oughtn’t to have. Native rangelands host a range of picturesque killers from larkspur to lupine to locoweed. Let stockgrowers beware!

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.