Ben Beckman

Nebraska

Beef Systems Educator for Nebraska Extension and Contributor at Freelance

Grazing-Forages-Beef Systems. Beef Systems Educator for Nebraska Extension.

Articles

Fertilizing pastures in Northeast Nebraska

6 days ago | norfolkdailynews.com | Ben Beckman

If you are looking for improved pasture yields this upcoming growing season, taking a look at your fertility plan may be beneficial. Soil type, topography and plant species, along with your operational goals, all play a role in determining what approach will work best for you. Unless you’ve done one recently, conducting a soil test to determine pH and nutrient levels — especially phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and nitrogen (N) — should be your first task.
Evaluating alfalfa stand counts

1 week ago | wlj.net | Ben Beckman

Were you expecting more from last year’s alfalfa yields? Did your plants get enough time to winterize in the fall? Do you have concerns about stand winter kill? Evaluating your alfalfa stand in the spring is key to planning management and setting expectations for this year. As stands begin greening up, alfalfa stand assessment can be completed using a hay square as a quick and easy way to look at the overall stand health. While we call it a hay square, square or circle shapes work equally well.
Grass tetany

2 weeks ago | norfolkdailynews.com | Ben Beckman

Greening spring pastures and growing cover crops are great opportunities for livestock to graze and reduce the need for fed forage. This fresh growth also allows animals to start putting back on condition that may have been dropped over the winter months. However, this is also the perfect set of conditions for a case of grass tetany. Grass tetany is the result of low levels of magnesium in an animal’s blood stream.
Evaluating alfalfa stands - North Platte Bulletin

3 weeks ago | northplattebulletin.com | Ben Beckman

Were you expecting more from last year’s alfalfa yields? Did your plants get enough time to winterize in the fall? Do you have concerns about stand winter kill? Evaluating your alfalfa stand in the spring is key to planning management and setting expectations for this year. As stands begin greening up, alfalfa stand assessment can be completed using a hay square as a quick and easy way to look at the overall stand health. While we call it a hay square, square or circle shapes work equally well.
Spring alfalfa plant evaluation

1 month ago | norfolkdailynews.com | Ben Beckman

As temperatures begin to rise, don’t forget to take a bit of time to assess alfalfa stand health going into this year’s growing season. Snow cover over the winter helped insulate plants from extreme temperatures, but exposed plants, older stands or late harvested alfalfa still have a potential for winter kill. Even before plants begin to green up, individual plant assessments can be done.
Colostrum: Setting calves up for success

1 month ago | norfolkdailynews.com | Ben Beckman

Spring is a busy time for producers, balancing fieldwork and calving season. Unfortunately, some tasks may slip through the cracks, including ensuring that calves receive adequate colostrum. An estimated 11%-31% of calves fail to receive enough colostrum at birth, which can significantly affect calf health, performance and profitability. Providing colostrum early and in sufficient quantities helps calves thrive, making it a critical part of newborn calf care.
Understanding a hay test: TDN

1 month ago | hpj.com | Ben Beckman |Dave Bergmeier

Alfalfa, Beef, Crops Often, the terms Total Digestible Nutrients and energy are used interchangeably when discussing forages and feeds, but realistically TDN is one measurement of energy. There are many different components that make up what we call TDN. TDN is a combination of digestible fiber, lipids and proteins. Acid detergent fiber or ADF, is used to help calculate TDN from the fiber component. The lower the ADF, the higher energy the forage contains in most situations.
What to know about grazing frosted forages

1 month ago | agupdate.com | Ben Beckman

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Pasture and Forage Minute: Understanding ADF and NDF Measurements in a Hay Test

2 months ago | m.farms.com | Ben Beckman

By Ben BeckmanGood cow nutrition is crucial following calving to get cows rebred. Today, let's look at the reason for using our top tier hay after calves hit the ground. Because cows experience a lot of stress after calving, they need good feed. Not only is the cow producing milk for her calf, she is also preparing her reproductive system to rebreed. As a result, nutrient demands are high. Energy requirements increase about 30% and protein needs nearly double after calving.
Understanding a hay test

2 months ago | hpj.com | Ben Beckman |Dave Bergmeier

Alfalfa, Crops, Forage Crops Acid Detergent Fiber and Neutral Detergent Fiber or both show up on forage tests, but measure different aspects of digestibility. Both ADF and NDF are part of the detergent analysis system used to analyze forages. NDF provides us with a measure of the forage sample’s cell wall, basically the total fiber. This includes the cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and silica portions of the forage which are the primary structural components for all plants.