Cattle

The Kerr Center’s beef cattle program has these goals:

  • balance production level with production cost
  • forage-based: grazing management maintains soil fertility and promotes plant diversity
  • training the next generation of ranchers

1st principle of sustainability: create and conserve healthy soils

“Grass farmer plan”: high-density rotational grazing fosters health from the ground up:

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Many animals for a short time in a small area

Benefits:

  • soil: concentrates animal manure/urine for fertility; reduces compaction
  • plants: keeps plants vegetative and growing; increases diversity; reduces weeds
  • animals: fresh and nutritious forages; reduced parasites
  • rancher: reduces costs; increases profits

Learn About…

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Adapted Breeds

The constant quest for an animal optimally suited to its environment.  Learn more

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Fence

Permanent or temporary?  Electric or non-?  Mesh or barbed?  Which is best for which animals and situations?  Learn more

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Animal Health

A whole-farm approach to thriving livestock.  Learn more

forage

Pasture/Grazing

Healthy soils, healthy forages – warm-season and cool.  Haying vs. grazing.  The keys to management intensive grazing.  Learn more

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Watering

Watering system design; gravity flow from ponds; tractor-tire water tanks.  Learn more

Cattle Publications

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Watering Systems

This is a presentation by Brian Freking from the livestock track of the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program. It…
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New Use for Old Tires

This fact sheet explains why the Kerr Center livestock program uses old tires from heavy equipment as watering tanks, and describes the process of preparing and installing them.

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Heifer Management

This report covers heifer selection and nutrition, early puberty, target weight concept, proper feeding, breeding, calving difficulty, and bull selection.

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Herd Health Overview

This presentation includes a detailed discussion of vaccines, discusses managing both immunity levels and disease exposure, and addresses the effect of difficult births.

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Compensatory Gain

This is a report published in 2000, describing the results of a multi-year study at the Kerr Center that evaluated…
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Cattle Dentition

This is a handout by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It is a visual…
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Beef Cattle Assessment

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It covers economic comparisons…
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