Do you supplement your sheep and goats? Do they have access to the nutrients they need each day? As someone who is personally involved in the small-ruminant industry, I have a firsthand understanding of the lack of good-quality, palatable supplements formulated specifically for sheep or goats.
A Blueprint for fetal programming
Fetal and developmental programming have been big buzzwords for several years now. If you don’t know what they are, a quick Google search will take you to numerous articles, studies and blogs on the subject. Fetal programming, in short, is the theory that the maternal environment during gestation can have a lasting impact on the offspring.
Goodbye winter, hello heat stress: Tips on keeping cattle comfortable
While some areas of the country are still getting over the long-suffered winter weather conditions, other parts of the U.S. have warmed up to typical mid-spring temperatures. As I write this from my home in Virginia, we are expecting highs in the 80s for most of this week — which means that livestock here and in other parts of the South are already experiencing some form of heat stress.
CRYSTALYX through the generations
CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements have existed since the late 1970s. Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of things work well and have watched our customers, young and old alike, succeed with CRYSTALYX programs.
Co-grazing: Not just for wildlife anymore
Every now and then I get a call from a gentleman who was our neighbor for a number of years when I was growing up. Usually he tries to mess with me, but now and then, he really does need some advice. This time around it was the advice.
Top 10 reasons to use a self-fed protein supplement in the spring
A couple years ago, I wrote a blog about the top 10 reasons to use a self-fed protein supplement in the Fall. Today, I will tackle 10 reasons you should consider using a self-fed protein supplement in the Spring.
Thinking multiple steps ahead for cow-calf producers
This is a topic that I have tried on several occasions to write about but thought that it might be too ambiguous in terms of what could possibly be written that would seem valuable enough or intriguing enough to be read by cow-calf producers. What has kept this topic simmering on the backburner have been observations not only at work but also with my kids at home.
Is sulfur an issue In CRYSTALYX?
I recently had a question about the amount of sulfur in a CRYSTALYX® block, and is that level something we should be concerned with? The short answer is “no”, but let’s dig a little deeper.
Resource utilization and how beef cattle production benefits the environment
The discussion about food and the environment impact of animal agriculture has generated debate for many years. A disturbing trend is how the ultimate goal of eliminating animal agriculture is hidden in the recommendations of some organizations which attempt to tell the consumer what is best for them and the world in general.
Take extra care with sheep hooves in wet weather
Horse folks are often fond of the saying – No hoof- no horse. Well, horses aren’t the only animals in which we need to worry about hoof soundness. Hoof soundness in sheep is absolutely critical. Grazing sheep that are lame won’t venture out and forage well and thus may gain less weight or even lose weight. Breeding rams that are lame will not travel to seek out ewes in heat and may lose libido all together. Prolonged wet conditions make foot rot complaints common.
