Pasture Management

Room to roam: What the Grazing Action Plan actually means

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:55:38 -0400

Back in November, the USDA and the Department of the Interior announced a partnership promising something many Western cattle producers haven’t heard in years: more opportunity for grazing on public lands, not less.

Midwest/North: Growing summer annual forages

wmeteer@gmail.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

With poor profitability projections on most row-crop budgets, planting summer annual forages and using forage mixes for grazing should be considered on marginal acres.

Considerations for adapting virtual fence for managing livestock grazing

kevin.sedivec@ndsu.edu — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Fencing is a critical tool for enhancing grazing management through managing livestock access and distribution. However, constructing physical fences, both permanent and temporary, can be labor-intensive and costly. The introduction of virtual fencing into North America has many ranchers wondering how it works and whether it fits their operations.

Midwest/North: Don't overdo it on spring greenup

wmeteer@gmail.com — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Turning cows out on immature forages can have long-reaching consequences, including permanent damage to grass stands, high risk of grass tetany and a need for supplementation to fill nutritional gaps.

Southeast: Manage spring grazing for success all season long

kmason21@utk.edu — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Although it is nice to have abundant forage during springtime, rapid growth often outpaces animal demand and may quickly push plants beyond the vegetative stage, which reduces nutritive value and pasture longevity.

Southeast: Stretching winter feed with stockpiled forages

kmason21@utk.edu — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

With proper planning, stockpiled forage can extend the grazing season, save money and keep cows in good condition.

Forage monitoring primer: Pasture or range, the principles are the same

dcallister@uidaho.edu — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Cowboys and farmers tend to emphasize the differences between pasture and range, but when we bring it back to the plant level, there are more similarities than differences.

A little research can pay big dividends

dferguson@countrynaturalbeef.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Ranchers rely on equal parts faith and science to have adequate grass to maintain their cow herd and ensure quality calves for beef. Faith comes through praying for the right growing conditions, while science implements good land and resource management to enhance the soil, grass types, moisture levels and more to get the most grass from each acre for as long as possible.

West: Nitrate toxicity in hay – a hidden risk after a dry summer

sfonnesbeck@uidaho.edu — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:00:42 -0400

As dry conditions persist across much of the West, beef producers should be cautious about a silent threat in their hay: nitrate toxicity.

Midwest/North: More grazing days = more profit

wmeteer@gmail.com — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Allowing cattle to graze into late fall and early winter is crucial to maximizing profits. Stockpiling cool-season forages and growing cover crops for forage present opportunities to extend the grazing season.

West: Analyzing your pasture or range

sfonnesbeck@uidaho.edu — Wed, 21 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

While the quantity of grass is looked at often enough, have you taken some time to test the quality of those grasses?

Spring grazing tips and grass tetany prevention

ckinder@uidaho.edu — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0400

As the year transitions from winter to spring, producers are ready to stop feeding hay, and the livestock are eyeballing the “weakest link” in the fences to get to the green grass.

Building resilience into your grazing system

kevin.sedivec@ndsu.edu — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Resiliency can be interpreted as the ability to withstand or recover from disturbances in grazing systems. This can include resilience to natural disasters, but it also includes the ability of perennial forages to recover from grazing.

Fall pasture management considerations

scottj@uidaho.edu — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Leaving sufficient residual plant material (leaves, lower stem bases and crowns) is essential to maximize next year’s production for perennial grasses.

Growing greener: Revolutionizing cattle farming with sustainable and regenerative principles

kaydence.michalsky@arrowquip.com — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Sustainable and regenerative principles in cattle ranching are not new, but ranchers may not know how to revolutionize ranching with these practices and make cattle operations more resilient for whatever comes next.

The role of grazing in soil aggregate stability

jenny.txglc@gmail.com — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Soil aggregate stability is critical to the soil’s ability to infiltrate and hold water.

Summer grazing considerations for beef cattle

megan.vanemon@montana.edu — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

As temperatures start to rise and grass begins to green up and grow, considering the availability of forage in each pasture can help livestock producers make management decisions at turnout.

How to use a forage calculator

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Have you ever considered adding a forage calculator to your toolbox? Integrating this method of measuring forage carrying capacity and stocking rate can help with the improvement of production management practices on pastures and rangelands.

[Podcast] Genetics' role in marketing cattle and increasing pasture's carrying capacity – with Ken Odde and Justin Derner

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Progressive Cattle Editor Tyrell Marchant visits with Ken Odde from Kansas State University about his work on the newly formed Genetic Merit Pricing Task Force and how he thinks genetic data will impact how cattle are bought, sold and raised in the future. Then, Tyrell sits down with Justin Derner from USDA-ARS at the Range Beef Cow Symposium to discuss what producers can do to make sure their pasture is doing everything it can for their cattle, and vice versa.

Overgrazing and strategies to prevent it

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Overgrazing pastures and rangeland has detrimental consequences on cattle, forage, soil and producers’ bottom lines.

Getting the most out of your pastures with multispecies grazing

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 00:00:29 -0400

When it comes to better pasture maintenance and increasing the overall richness of the soil, have you considered the idea of integrating multispecies livestock into your grazing program?

Increasing Forage Biodiversity: Advice For Ranchers

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Improving plant biodiversity on your ranch will often increase forage supply, forage quality, and soil health, along with carbon capture potential. Increasing plant biodiversity often comes in the form of interseeding or overseeding desirable grasses and/or legumes to change the composition or productivity of a forage base. Forbs can also be of interest but are not considered here.

Beware of green fever

spackman@nmsu.edu — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0400

It would be easy to be lured into the idea that more grass means more livestock and profits. Caution is warranted to prevent falling into a “green fever” trap.

How to keep your grass growing in the hot, dry months

ellison@uidaho.edu — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Encouraging animals to disperse and utilize the full range can be a pain this time of year, but necessary for the health of the range plants.

Before rebuilding the cattle herd, focus on rebuilding pastures

jeffery.clark@corteva.com — Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

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

Paying attention pays off: What your pastures need from you

scottj@uidaho.edu — Sat, 06 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Using cattle to graze standing forage can significantly reduce feed costs and aid in decreasing the cost of production.

Thinking outside the box with strip grazing

Wed, 03 May 2023 16:01:19 -0400

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.

3 seeding tips for perennial pastures

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Traditional annuals and more exotic cocktail cover-crop mixtures can make great forage for cattle on a temporary basis, but over the long haul, a good stand of perennial pasture can be the best choice.

Soil health: Principles before practices

jenny.txglc@gmail.com — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 20:13:48 -0400

Soil health is our objective. If it isn’t, it dang sure should be. Always.

Preventing grass tetany

jsagers@uidaho.edu — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 10:45:59 -0400

Grass tetany can be a problem, but the solutions are simple.