Grasses and Grazing

Livestock often need to be fed hay during the winter and during droughts. Hay, pasture and supplemental feeds contain nutrients needed by both plants and animals.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas with a lifespan of approximately 1,000 years. CO2 emissions are part of the global carbon cycle in which carbon in various forms is exchanged between the atmosphere, soil and water.

Photosynthesis is a little like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream – it comes in a variety of flavors. Some folks can probably recite all the ice cream flavors from memory, but how many folks know the types of photosynthesis?

The grazing season was well underway in the southern U.S. when tornadic weather spawned in early May. Across the country, 14 states have declared worsening drought stages in the peak of calving season.

Grazing cover crops can be a cost-effective way to achieve multiple operational goals. Cover crops can provide ground cover to prevent erosion, improve soil health over time and provide nutrient-dense forage for grazing. However, turning cattle out onto cover crops to graze without understanding the risks can lead to a wreck.

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a series about foraging through the weeds of climate change. Read part 2 "The biological risk of drought"

The first extreme precipitation event of 2021 hit Tennessee the end of March with a 12-hour deluge delivering 4 to 8 inches of rain in a swath tracking northeasterly across the eastern side of the Ohio River Basin.