A new four-part series of fact sheets on contract grazing for cattle is now available on the Iowa Beef Center (IBC) website. Two Iowa State University (ISU) Extension specialists are Iowa representatives to the specialized working group within the Green Lands, Blue Water project that developed the new resource. Joe Sellers, ISU Extension beef program specialist, and small farms specialist Andy Larson worked with project members from Wisconsin and Minnesota to identify needs and information for those who graze cattle....More

The Grazing Manager (TGM) is a computer-based, decision-support tool that budgets forage demand against forage supply using DD as the measure....More

USDA’s Crop Progress report this week indicates that winter wheat planting is progressing at a very normal pace.That’s good news for the beef industry, which sorely needs to see the wheat crop progress normally in order to provide pasture for calves and, as was the case last year, a good number of cows given the poor pasture conditions in much of the country....More

This is the time of the year to start thinking about annual forages as a part of the total forage program. There are plenty of high-quality forages for production. They can be used for grazing, hay silage or greenchop. Of course, summer annuals have to be produced each year, and your input costs will be higher. Summer annuals can be used to supplement permanent pastures, thus enabling better management of perennial pastures and rangeland....More