“When it turns dry, people get desperate, and that hay can be worth quite a bit,” Redmon said. “Back in 2011 during the drought, the last round-bales of hay into Abilene were priced at $180 a bale. If the bales weighed 1,000 pounds, that’s $360 a ton. I would use current market prices to start figuring the crop’s potential as hay.

Oftentimes, the marketing and increasing value of cull cows are overlooked by producers. This is mainly due to the fact the cow is open or aborted, feed is limited and it is not cost-effective to keep a non-efficient part of the ranch around with increasing feed prices and decreasing forage availability.

Yucca is a native perennial plant throughout much of the central western states of the U.S., ranging from the Mississippi to California. Yuccas are hardy plants and survive drought, fire and livestock grazing.

Water resource managers face difficult decisions because of this shortage. Western states should prepare for potentially increased vulnerability to forest and rangeland fires and mandatory water restrictions. In addition, wildlife that depends on surface water is going to suffer.

Early May provides the first look at the forage conditions facing the beef cattle industry in 2013. Moisture conditions have improved marginally, with the most recent Drought Monitor indicating that 33 percent of the U.S.

Drought, flooding, extreme heat, subzero temperatures: All of these climatic events and more in Kansas can threaten the supply and affordability of the nation’s beef supply.

“Grass growth and production in the region appears to have been delayed two to three weeks,” says Kevin Sedivec, North Dakota State University Extension Service rangeland management specialist. He recently toured much of North Dakota, northwestern South Dakota and eastern Montana.

These mites prefer arid conditions but do not do well in very hot temperatures, and they will enter diapause (i.e., inactive, ‘resting’ period) during the summer. The mites over-summer as white eggs in the soil; they will hatch when temperature and moisture levels are adequate, and females from that generation will lay red eggs.

Livestock under normal conditions are fairly adept at selecting forages with safe nutritional values based on preference, learned behavior and a function called “negative feedback” which basically is the memory that a plant generated illness, depressed condition, or discomfort when eaten.

Nebraska Cattlemen (NC), Sand County Foundation and Cargill are proud to announce The Beel Ranch as the recipient of the 2013 Leopold Conservation Award, which honors Nebraska landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources.