K-State experts discuss sustainable grazing practices
April 19, 2024
In this video, K-State Research and Extension cow-calf specialist Jason Warner and ruminant nutritionist Logan Thompson talk about how sustainability fits into a cow-calf system.
“Sustainability is a bit of a buzz word; it means a lot of different things to a lot of people,” Thompson said. “Sustainability is not just environment. We also have economic considerations and other social considerations. If our beef cattle producers are not economically viable…then they’re not sustainable.”
Thompson notes that having cows that fit the producer’s management strategy and landscape – and birth a calf each year – are keys to longevity in the cow-calf business.
“Grazing operations are very complex, as our producers know,” Thompson said. “It’s not as easy as in our confinement operations to control what that animal is doing and eating every single day."
“Things we are looking at need to be very easy to implement for our producers. When I think of ‘easy to implement,’ the first thing I think about is a grazing management plan: do you have one and what does it look like? Do you have a long-term plan to maintain a healthy landscape?"
The full video is available online at https://youtu.be/xCXKbYLThcQ.
K-State Research and Extension video by Dan Donnert
RELATED:
Stocker and Backgrounding Cattle Management and Nutrition, https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/C723.pdf
Enhancing Intensive Early Stocking plus Late-Season Grazing for Stocker Cattle in the Kansas Flint Hills, https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3569.pdf
MORE INFORMATION: Jason Warner, jasonwarner@ksu.edu; Logan Thompson, thom94@ksu.edu
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K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.