AGR-281: Improving Kentucky Horse Pastures

Chris Teutsch, Krista Lea, Ray Smith, Bob Coleman | Feb. 13, 2025 (New)

For many horses, quality pasture can provide almost all nutrients needed for maintenance or light work for much of the year. Pasture reduces the cost of keeping horses while providing safe footing and minimizing impacts on the environment.

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ASC-270: Overview of the Mineral Nutrition of Yaks

Jeff Lehmkuhler, Katherine VanValin, Darrh Bullock, Les Anderson, Michelle Arnold | Feb. 12, 2025 (New)

Mineral nutrition is a critical aspect of livestock management, particularly for yaks grazing on the challenging terrains of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau or the diverse range conditions of North America. As these animals adapt to their environments, understanding their mineral requirements becomes vital for ensuring health, productivity, and overall well-being.

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IP-56: Assessment of the Potential for Livestock and Poultry Manure to Provide the Nutrients Removed by Crops and Forages in Kentucky

Les Anderson, Jenny Cocanougher, Richard Coffey, Bill Crist, Ron Fleming, Kim Henken, Doug Overhults, Tony Pescatore, Monroe Rasnake, Bill Thom | Feb. 5, 2025 (Revised)

Livestock and poultry manure has been used for many years to provide basic fertilizer nutrients to improve crop and forage production. In addition, it has long been known that the chemical and physical properties of soils can be improved by applications of animal manure. Because of these benefits, much of the manure produced by livestock and poultry has been and continues to be applied to cropland and pastureland. Not only does this practice benefit crop production, it also has the environmental benefit of recycling nutrients to the soil from which they originated.

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ASC-267: Controlling the Calving Season

Les Anderson, Katherine VanValin, Darrh Bullock, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Kevin Laurent | Dec. 11, 2024 (New)

In 2017, the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), a USDA source for cattle production statistics, reported that less than half of cow-calf herds across the country had a defined calving season. One reason is that most herds surveyed (85%) had fewer than 50 cows and therefore the cattle enterprise was likely not the primary source of income for these producers. Two common arguments against having a controlled breeding and calving season are, “I do not have anywhere to put the bull,” and “I like having a calf ready to sell whenever I need it throughout the year.”

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PR-860: 2024 Cool-Season Grass Horse Grazing Tolerance Report

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch, Jimmy Henning, Tim Phillips, Laurie Lawrence | Dec. 6, 2024 (New)

Cool-season forages such as Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and orchardgrass are dominant pasture grasses for horses in Kentucky. Variety evaluations for yield have been carried out for many years, but little work has been done to evaluate varieties of these grasses for persistence when subjected to close, continual grazing by horses.

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ASC-262: Increasing Calories in Your Horse’s Diet and Other Tips

Fernanda Camargo | Oct. 14, 2024 (New)

Not all horses are made the same. With hundreds of different breeds and uses, a lot of caring horse owners may become overwhelmed and not fully understand the different demands of each individual horse, resulting in some horses with sub-optimal body condition scoring. If you have a horse that needs to gain weight, here are some practical tips that will help you achieve your goal.

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ASC-265: Estrus Synchronization Protocols for Beef Females

Les Anderson, Darrh Bullock, Kevin Laurent, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Katherine VanValin | Oct. 11, 2024 (New)

Artificial insemination (AI) can be an effective tool for beef producers to use to make faster genetic progress in the herd. Unlike the dairy industry where cattle are handled multiple times a day, incorporation of AI can be difficult because beef cattle are not handled often or easily. Decades ago, scientists began developing methods to control the expression of estrus to decrease the amount of labor and time required for AI. An understanding of estrus synchronization protocols can be beneficial to producers considering using AI in their genetic program.

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ASC-266: Reproduction in the Bull

Les Anderson, Darrh Bullock, Kevin Laurent, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Katherine VanValin | Oct. 11, 2024 (New)

The fertility of the herd bull is essential to a successful cow-calf operation. In many respects, it is more of a concern than the fertility of a single cow. Sub-fertile bulls create lower calving rates and can be responsible for poor herd-weaning weights: For every heat cycle a female fails to conceive, there is a corresponding decrease in calf weaning weight from 25 to 45 pounds because of a younger calf being weaned. It does not take long to realize that poor fertility or infertility of a bull can be extremely expensive to the cow-calf producer.

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ASC-263: Converting from Year-round to Controlled Calving

Les Anderson, Darrh Bullock, Ben Crites, Kevin Laurent, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Katherine VanValin | Jul. 19, 2024 (New)

In the United States more than half (55%) of all beef cow-calf operations do not have a defined calving season. Typically, in these operations, bulls are not removed from the herd and remain with the cows the entire year. This "uncontrolled breeding" results in cows calving over several months or, in some cases, cows calving every month. Calving year-round presents many challenges in herd management and decreases productivity. In some cases, producers have an off-the-farm job and limited time can be left to dedicate to the cowherd. In these scenarios, it is crucial to maximize time and labor efficiency.

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ASC-264: Artificial Insemination in Beef Cattle

Les Anderson, Darrh Bullock, Kevin Laurent, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Katherine VanValin | Jul. 19, 2024 (New)

Successful artificial insemination (AI) breeding programs depend on adequate facilities, good herd health programs, sound nutritional management, using experienced and well-trained technicians, high fertility semen, and the ability to observe or synchronize a fertile estrus. Most problems and(or) failures in AI programs are associated with poor nutritional development in replacement heifers, inadequate body condition of cows at and after calving, failure to identify or control estrus in females, and/or failure to breed them at the proper time. Rarely is infertility the result of poor-quality semen or technician error.