Silvopasture is a practice that integrates livestock, forage production and forestry on the same land management unit. It has the potential to be a great fit for producers looking to up their grazing game and add a revenue stream.

When a dry spell arrives, producers scramble to make the best decisions for grazing pastures, buying hay and caring for livestock. Running stockers as a drought safety valve could be a smart idea.

Determining how much pasture is needed for summer grazing can be difficult. There are many factors that affect pasture productivity including last growing season’s conditions.

TRAFALGAR, Ind. - Six years ago, Thomas Burgett, a third generation farmer and a sergeant with the Indiana State Police, noticed that the 100-year-old family farm was struggling financially and experiencing significant soil erosion and fertility issues. This directly affected the rate of gain within the cattle herd, so a family decision was made to switch to rotational grazing in an effort to practice more regenerative agricultural methods. The results have boosted the productivity and sustainability of the land and the animals while providing a new path forward for the Burgett Farm. 

Cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass that has invaded vast swaths of Western rangelands, is responsible for much of the increasing wildfire danger in the Intermountain West. However, scientists at the University of Nevada – Reno have discovered that fire danger can be reduced through the application of targeted cattle grazing in the dormant growing season by attracting the cattle with stations containing protein feed supplements.