A USDA webinar during July reemphasized a message that pork producers have known for a while: heat stress can be detrimental to the wellbeing of their livestock. Jay Johnson, a research animal scientist dedicated to livestock behavior research, listed numerous different production losses that rising global temperatures will create for the industry: Reduced lean […]
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Unlike their feral cousins, not all domestic cats have the same chances to use the natural world around them to help care for their teeth and gums. Felines in the wild chew on bones or grass to eliminate harmful plaque, but those methods of improvised dental care can respectively fracture teeth or cause some […]
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Feeding your four-legged friends requires more than filling their empty stomachs. Pet owners are not only responsible for the nutrition of their cats and dogs, but also ensuring their pets can use those nutrients to the fullest. One easy way to do that: feed your pets probiotics. For those who don’t know, probiotics are […]
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Deer hunters already put a fair amount of thought into what their local wild deer are eating. Whether planting food plots or setting up salt licks, they research what food and supplements will attract bucks and distract them long enough to line up a perfect shot. Yet when you’re raising deer, you not only […]
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The last few years have been a struggle for pork producers all over the country. Everything from closed processing plants at the beginning of the pandemic to increased transportation costs, supply-chain snags and labor expenses in 2021 forced hog farmers to repeatedly make tough choices. With all these extra burdens on hog farmers, every […]
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Consumers expect more and more from their animal feed. Whether raising healthy and productive livestock for market or boosting the wellbeing and happiness of their pets, people want to know they are purchasing high-quality feed ingredients. Though there’s a good deal of art that goes into mixing up the right feed product recipes, there’s […]
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Farmers have felt the real impact of extreme weather events—especially from intensifying cases of severe heat and drought. As a result, many are ready to act. For example, this year’s Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll shows that over half of the respondents were worried about the impact of climate change on their operations, […]
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There’s an oft repeated myth in popular culture about the cast iron stomachs of goats. Though they’re willing to try plenty of high-roughage foods, they’re not the trash compactors that people imagine them to be. Just like any other animal on your farm, you need to be careful about the type of feed ingredients […]
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The first two weeks of a calf’s life are critical to their lifelong health and resilience. In the first 24 hours, calves depend on four quarts of high-quality colostrum to impart key nutrients and antibodies that spur development and jumpstart their immune health. But this first day of nourishment isn’t a catch-all. The quality […]
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In the past, sheep nutrition was hindered by the land available to shepherds and farmers, who were always at the mercy of the quality of local silage and land. Now, a purchase from your trusted feed supplier can provide your flock with feed supplements that enhance their performance and enable them to overcome any shortcomings […]
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