Livestock

In this section, you’ll find articles on raising livestock, including cattle, hogs, and poultry. This includes herd management, health, equipment, technology, and more.

Growing your future cows starts now, experts say

Raising replacement heifers is costly, but raising heifers that will perform poorly as lactating cows will cost you more, say Purina’s calf and heifer specialists Connie Walters and Rebecca Klopp.

Holstein heifer calf in hutch with red and yellow feed buckets.

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Not just for sleep: Melatonin awakens scientists to its health benefits for cattle

A new study from Mississippi State University finds that feeding melatonin to cattle reduces stress in herds during hot and humid summer weather.

Three Black Angus yearlings on green summer pasture

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Level up on soil health with livestock

Tom Cannon turned to no-till in the late 1990s after watching his wheat dry up and blow away in the harsh Oklahoma wind.

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Technology helps dairies use data to get profitable

Dairy farmers know more about dairy cows today than generations before them. Why? The adoption of technology on farms is a primary reason.

Brown and white crossbred dairy cow with blue tracking collar

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Hempseed cake a practical feed source for cattle, say experts

Along with the development of hemp as a legal U.S. agricultural crop, there's been a growing shift to move hemp's byproduct – hempseed cake – into cattle diets as a viable feedstuff.

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Q&A with Todd Wilkinson, NCBA president

The new NCBA president reflects on the past, comments on the present, and looks to the future.

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Keeping cows cool from heat stress

As summer weather approaches, now is the time to focus on cow comfort, feed and water intake to buffer some of the effects of heat stress.

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It's time to remove fescue seed heads to reduce toxins

Beef producers should begin removing seed heads from tall fescue grass pastures soon to reduce toxic endophytes that thwart cattle herd health and profits.