Home » Animal Production » Page 2

Animal Production

Showing 21-40 of 46 results

Confinement Building Redesign Sheds ‘Sunlight’ on Animal Welfare

Paul Sobocinski  has a 240 acre crop and livestock farm that includes hogs and cattle. In 2001, he received a SARE grant for the conversion of an existing pole barn to a deep bedded sow and piglet nursery. In 2012 he received a second NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant for $7,450 to renovate an existing 24 […]

Adapting Cover Crops to Northern Climate Conventional Cropping Systems

Northeast Minnesota is home to a large beef cow-calf sector, several dairy farms, and an increasing amount of cash grain farming. In each of these types of operations, annual cultivation of corn, soybeans, oats, and barley is common.  Annual cultivation of these crops can lead to high rates of nutrient leaching and soil erosion, decreased […]

Finishing Time and Weights of Grass-fed Beef Animals

For more than 20 years, Jane Jewett has owned WillowSedge Farm near Palisade, Minneosta. She and her family raise and direct-market pork, poultry, lamb, and grass-fed beef on 113 acres. An increasing interest in grass-fed beef operations led Jewett to make the transition to grass-fed beef in 2008. Her interest in applying for an NCR-SARE […]

The Bison Producer's Handbook

This comprehensive book about American bison production and marketing has information for veteran farmers/ranchers and newcomers alike.

Managing Drought Risk On the Ranch

Producers throughout the nation continue to grow increasingly concerned about water scarcity. Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural educators are exploring new approaches to the challenges associated with water shortage and drought. The National Drought Mitigation Center, (NDMC) based in Lincoln, NE, has a mission of “helping people and institutions develop and implement measures to reduce societal […]

Bovine Mastitis Treatment

While mastitis is the most frequent disease condition in dairy cattle, the most common treatment for it -antibiotics- aren’t used in organic milk production. Mastitis affects animal health, longevity in the herd, and the production of quality milk. Although non-antibiotic products for mastitis have been marketed, limited data is available regarding the safety and efficacy […]

Artificial Insemination

Artificial insemination (AI) has become widely popular in breeding livestock, because it allows farmers to make faster genetic improvement in their animals, enhance biosecurity, and decrease breeding related costs of production. Despite these benefits, some farmers are hesitant to use sheep breeding because sheep have a complex reproductive anatomy. Farmer Don Brown and Dr. Craig […]

Aquaponics in the Classroom

Students at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy are being exposed to their core science concepts in a new way. They are learning biology, chemistry, physics, and other core scientific concepts through hands-on modules based on an aquaponics system. Through an NCR-SARE Youth Educator grant, instructors Kevin Savage and Gary Delanoy have created a curriculum that meets […]

Profitable Rabbit Production

Rabbit meat is high in protein and low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium when compared to most of the meats eaten in the U.S. Rabbit meat has great potential to feed people in developing countries and could be promoted in the U.S. as a healthful, natural meat and a small farm asset (Fanatico, Anne. “Rabbit […]

Alternative Parasite Treatment

Sheep and goat enterprises offer diversification opportunities for small and limited-resource farmers. Control of internal parasites is a primary concern for many sheep and goat producers and is particularly challenging in humid areas. Resistance of intestinal parasites to commercial anthelmintics (drugs that are used to treat parasitic infections), and the inability to use commercial anthelmintics […]

Rancher Internship Program Invests in the Future of Kansas Agriculture

Ranch ownership transitions can be complex, involving issues such as generational needs, tax issues, social attitudes, and recreational landowner competition.  In an effort to help simplify the process, Calvin Adams of Beloit, KS, Cade Rensink of Ada, KS, and Ted Alexander of Medicine Lodge, KS, and the Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship Program are […]

Toolkit Supports Livestock Decisions

The Agricultural Innovation and Commercialization Center at Purdue University has developed a Comparative Decision Support toolkit online resource to assist with entry-level decision-making about small-scale livestock enterprises.   This Comparative Decision Support (CDS) toolkit provides realistic expectations across multiple livestock enterprises. It uses an individual’s input and returns customized results. In 2010, Purdue University graduate […]

Aquaculture and Aquaponics

Aquaculture is the cultivation of fish, aquatic animals, and plants. Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower, and/or herb production. In aquaponics, nutrient-rich effluent from fish tanks is used to fertigate hydroponic production beds. SARE has supported advances by producers, researchers, and educators that are helping to advance aquaculture and aquaponics into working models of sustainable production.

Grazing and Pasture Management

Grazing management is critical to any pasture-based livestock farming system. Practices such as rotational grazing, intensive rotational grazing, and management intensive grazing can be critical to successful and sustainable grazing systems. NCR-SARE has supported research and educational opportunities around the topic of grazing and pasture management in order to help producers reduce costs and increase profits. 

Dairy Management

The sustainability of a dairy farm relates to many factors revolving around farm management, use of resources, and quality of life. NCR-SARE has supported research and education opportunities in a wide variety of dairy topics including organic dairying, value-added dairy options, pasture productivity, animal management, milk marketing, small ruminant dairies, and farm energy.

Ohio Milk and Cheese Initiative Explores New Market Opportunities in Ohio

Abbe and Anderson Turner’s Lucky Penny Farm is a family-owned dairy goat farm located on a once-fallow century farmstead in Northeast Ohio’s Hiram Township. The 14-acre farm includes Nubian, La Mancha and Alpine dairy goats. They also run a creamery located in Kent, OH. “I love working with small ruminants,” said Abbe Turner. “The size […]

Video: From Pasture to Plate: Exploring Grass-Based Dairy in Wisconsin

Wisconsin researchers were awarded a SARE grant to investigate the properties of grassfed milk when made into cheese, butter, or other products. This 13 minute video summarizes the research they’ve done and the development of the grass-based (or pasture-grazed) dairy industry to date.