Sitemap
Below is the sitemap of all the articles ever written on Grass-Fed-Solutions, organized by themes to help you quickly find the articles that are most relevant to you.
Cattle Ranch Management
- The secret to low-cost cow-calf cattle farming - how to be profitable regardless of cattle prices and the weather. Four-part article series:
- Sustainable Cattle Farming Tips - a primer on the right way (and the wrong way) to incorporate low-cost pasture-based farming practices into your cattle farming strategy.
- Top 9 ways to reduce beef cattle farming expenses - the nine biggest issues affecting both conventional and grass fed cattle farms, and how to fix them!
- How to survive the transition period during the switch from conventional to grass fed cattle ranching.
- The 3-dimensional farm plan - how to use your cattle fence layout to create your grass-fed production plan.
- Tips for drawing your cattle management farm plan - Handy tips on how to plan your electric cattle fence installation and grazing strategies using map layers.
- Dealing with existing cattle fences - Fence planning advice for farmers with pre-established infrastructure.
- Who do we trust? Assessing the safety of common agricultural products used by the cattle industry.
Quiz Yourself
Calving
- Spring Calving - An Ounce of Prevention... - this essential survival guide for farmers who have not yet made the switch to summer calving features 22 of my favorite strategies to increase calf survival, reduce calving problems, reduce post-calving diseases, and make life easier for both you and your cow herd during a spring or winter calving season.
- The Benefits of Calving on Pasture - why calving on pasture during the growing season is so much better than calving at any other time of year.
- The Ideal Calving Date for Raising Cattle - learn how to calculate the precise calving date that will have the most positive impact on your cattle herd and your farm's finances.
- Calving on Pasture - learn how to manage your calving program on pasture in the midst of a daily pasture rotation.
Genetic Selection, Breeding, and Cattle Fertility
- Beef Cattle Breeds - This article explains the step-by-step selection process to follow when choosing the perfect cattle breed (or breed combination) to suit your cow-calf ranching strategy.
- Selecting (and Culling) for Your Cattle Breeding Program - how to pick only the most fertile and the most low-maintenance cows and bulls for your cow/calf herd.
- Purebred vs Crossbred vs Mixed Breed Cattle - Which is the right fit for your farm? (Part 1/2) (Part 2/2)
- 42-Day Cattle Breeding - why using a 42-day breeding season (or less) is essential for improving the genetics on your cattle ranch.
- Lifelong Beef Cattle Fertility - Calving date, as well as pasture quality and body fat during adolescence will affect the fertility of your breeding stock for the rest of their adult lives.
Grazing + Pasture Rotation
- Rotational grazing goals - how to harness the power of the herd migration in your pasture rotation.
The Core Grazing Rules (series)
- Grazing Management Summary - a handy stripped-down reference list of the seven Core Grazing Rules that every grass fed beef producer needs to know in their sleep.
- Versión española: Las siete reglas fundamentales para una gestión exitosa del pastoreo
- The Daily Pasture Rotation - (Grazing Rules # 1-4)
The day-to-day pasture management rules at the heart of all grazing programs.
- Versión española: La Rotación Diaria de Pradera
- The Grass-Fed Solution to Cattle Feeding - (Grazing Rule # 5)
Learn why it is always cheaper to raise beef cattle in a pasture rotation than by feeding cattle.
- Intensive Grazing - Preparing Pastures for Winter Grazing - (Grazing Rule # 6)
Learn how to create the perfect winter pastures to extend your grazing season long after the growing season ends.
- Intensive Grazing - Winter Strategies - (Grazing Rule # 7)
How to manage your rotational grazing program after the growing season ends.
- Voisin-style Rational Grazing - interview with Daniel Suárez, cattle rancher and grazing educator.
- Version Española: El Pastoreo Racional Voisin - entrevista con Daniel Suárez, ganadero y capacitador de pastoreo.
- Training Cattle for Winter Grazing - how to train your cattle to graze through deep snow (it's easier than you think!).
- Livestock Bedding and Shelter During Winter Grazing - how to keep your cattle warm and dry while out on winter pasture, while minimizing your winter bedding, manure handling, and cattle sheltering expenses.
Cattle Nutrition
- Raising Beef Cattle on Grass - how to prepare your cattle herd to thrive in your grazing conditions.
- Cattle Body Condition Scores - more tips on how to use body condition scoring to optimize cattle health and fertility.
- Cattle Nutrition Tips - strategies to safely reduce your cattle's nutritional requirements so you can extend your grazing season even deeper into the winter.
- Cattle Supplements and Minerals - A step-by-step guide to creating a mineral and cattle supplement program for your pasture rotation.
- Version española: Suplementación Nutritivo Para El Ganado
- Compensatory Gain - the Secret Pasture-Based Cattle Farmer's Advantage - Using compensatory gain is a free cattle management trick to help you reduce your cattle feed costs while dramatically improving pasture weight gains.
- Beef Cattle Management - how to use your electric fence grid to influence everything from disease resistance and cattle fertility to weight gains and feed costs. Your electric fence grid is your cheapest tool in cattle management toolbox!
Grass and Soil
Pasture Management with Electric Fences (series)
- Grass Improvement: pasture management with electric fences (Part I) - using cattle as the tool improve pasture yields, improve grass quality, loosen compacted soils, and reseed pastures.
- Soil Fertility: pasture management with electric fences (Part II) - how to use your grazing strategy to improve soil fertility, manage riparian areas, and protect sensitive micro-climates in your pastures.
- Soil Moisture: pasture management with electric fences (Part III) - how a carefully planned pasture rotation will increase soil moisture, improve groundwater and reduce the risk of drought, and prevent erosion in your pastures.
- Weeds: pasture management with electric fences (Part IV) - how to eradicate pasture weeds without pesticides, mowing or other expensive interventions simply by carefully controlling your cattle's grazing impact.
Electric Fencing
- Training cattle to electric fences - create effective psychological barriers in the minds of your cattle.
The Smart Electric Fence Grid - Planning and Construction (series)
Permanent Electric Fence Corridors
Portable Electric Cross-Fences
Integrating Cattle Water into your Electric Fence Grid
Electric Fencing and Cattle Water in the Winter
- Temporary Gates and Swivel-Lock Insulators - how to create instant temporary gates anywhere in your electric cattle fence grid.
Livestock Water
- Cattle Water Requirements - How to calculate daily cattle water requirements and peak demand flow rates for your rotational grazing program.
- Mobile Cattle Water - how to build your own mobile cattle watering system for your pasture rotation.
- Livestock Water Corral - Construction tips for building a central water site for your rotational grazing program.
- Cattle Water? - Let Them Eat Snow! - How to safely rely on snow as your cattle's primary drinking water source during the winter pasture rotation.
Grass Finishing
The Seven Unbreakable Rules for Producing Great Beef (series)
These simple but strict rules are key to finishing beef cattle, regardless of whether you are finishing cattle on grain in a feedlot or on grass in a pasture.
The seven unbreakable rules for producing great beef (article series - intro page)
- Microscopic fat cells within the muscle fibers makes meat tender.
- The 'finished weight' when an animal is fat enough for slaughter will vary from breed to breed and depends on the frame size of the individual animal.
- A meat animal must be gaining weight at the time it is slaughtered.
- Cattle stress makes meat tough and flavorless.
- Nutritional stress is as damaging, or more damaging, than handling stress.
- The side-effects of stress can last weeks or even months after the stress itself is over.
- Cooking techniques are just as important to beef tenderness and flavor as what the farmer does with the cattle on pasture. Switching from cooking grain-fed to grass-fed beef requires a few very simple adjustments.
- Versión española:Las siete reglas del ganado vacuno rematado a pasto
- How to calculate target slaughter weights for your beef cattle finishing program.
- Grazing Alfalfa - Are you brave enough to try it with your cattle?
Marketing
Beef Cattle Marketing Options (series)
- p1 - building your own direct marketing pipeline for your beef
- p2 - the team approach to direct-marketing - multiple farmers, one marketing pipeline
- p3 - Selling grass fed beef through traditional commodity beef cattle marketing channels
Eating Beef
- Grass Fed Beef Taste Test Challenge - Does grass fed beef taste any different than grain fed beef? Which tastes better? Find out what makes them taste different and weigh in with your opinion!
- Is grass fed beef tough or tender? - Is beef tenderness affected by what type of feed is used to fatten cattle for slaughter? And if there is no inherent difference in tenderness between grass fed and grain fed beef, then what else makes the difference between tender and tough beef?
- Why is the fat on my grass fed beef yellowish instead of bright white? - Fat color is a function of what kind of vitamins are present in the cow's diet. Grass fed beef has yellowish fat because it is rich in beta-carotene, providing you with a naturally-occurring source of vitamin-A!
- Comparing Grassfed Beef to Grainfed Beef - how diet affect cattle and why this should matter to the humans who eat their beef.
- Grass Fed Beef Buying Tips- know what questions to ask to gauge tenderness and flavor before you buy your beef.
- Marbling - Beef fat is essential to meat tenderness, but is marbling as important and as reliable as you think it is? And does marbling still matter when grass fed beef crosses your palate?
Tips and Tools
- Reader Farm Stories - contact form and reader-submitted story directory.
- Soil Carbon Cowboys - Meet some of the ranchers using rotational grazing to build soil carbon, improve soil moisture, reduce erosion, and dramatically improve pasture productivity.
Organizational Site Divisions
My Favorite Cattle Farming Books
- Full list of recommended books
- Grass Fed Cattle: how to produce and market natural beef - by Julius Ruechel
- table of contents for Grass Fed Cattle
Administrative Pages
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