Livestock Library

This presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, discusses the selection of breeding stock in meat goat operations. It covers goal setting, importance of buck genetics, performance data, on-farm…

This presentation discusses the management of goat reproduction to maximize profits.

This presentation covers ways to use grazing rotations and stocking of multiple livestock species to manage parasites in meat goats.

This is a report summarizing the results of the first five years (2007-2011) of the meat goat “buck test.”

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2008 Future Farms conference. It makes an economic case for adding goats to existing cattle operations, and addresses diet, predator control, fencing, and parasite management.

This presentation describes a holistic approach to goat health management, and includes a list of related resources.

This is a presentation from a 2011 meat goat field day, covering in detail the biology of the barber pole worm as well as various approaches to managing this meat goat parasite.

This is a diagram, from a 2010 workshop at the Linda and Dave Sparks farm, of the low-cost pens that the Sparks built for working their meat goats.

This list of goat health products used in the Kerr Center’s goat program includes notes on use and suppliers.

This presentation describes goats’ feeding behavior and dietary requirements, with an emphasis on managing goats on pasture.

This presentation by Chris Rice, from the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, discusses the management of forage for grazing animals on the small acreages typical of many Oklahoma farms. It uses the example of…

This NRCS fact sheet was used as a handout in the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher program.

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from a 2011 meat goat field day, covering the growing problem of dewormer resistance in the barber pole worm, and a monitoring-based strategy for managing this meat…

This is a report on a five-year project that evaluated goats as an alternative to chemical and mechanical means of brush control. It covers fencing, facilities, breeds, stocking rate, animal management, and predators, along with…

This is a list of materials to have on hand during goat kidding.

This is a report summarizing the results of the 2011 meat goat “buck test.”

This is a report summarizing the results of the 2011 meat goat “buck test.”

This is a report summarizing the results of the 2010 meat goat “buck test.”

This is a report summarizing the results of the 2009 meat goat “buck test.”

This is a report summarizing the results of the 2008 meat goat “buck test.”

This is a report summarizing the results of the 2007 meat goat “buck test.”

This intern report describes the chicken tractor used in the Kerr Center’s pastured poultry projects from 2009-2010.

This intern presentation presents the results of a summer project that investigated multi-species rotational grazing with cattle and pastured laying hens.

This intern report describes organic, free-range, and pastured poultry production systems, and discusses housing and fencing.

This presentation, by Erin Campbell-Craven, defines pastured poultry, describes the common features of both broiler and layer operations, describes the Kerr Center’s pastured poultry projects from 2009 – 2011.

This toolbox is written for anyone who desires to make a profit from range poultry production, whether by direct-marketing ‘pastured poultry,’ building a processing plant, or working cooperatively with other producers. This Toolbox was produced…

This report provides an overview of the general requirements for organic certification and for food processing facilities, followed by a discussion of four different on-­farm enterprises, including table eggs.

This diagram illustrates the basic interconnection between soil, forages, animals, and weather in livestock production.

This presentation covers simple soil health monitoring techniques, basic soil science, and sustainable livestock management.

This presentation discusses the management of goat reproduction to maximize profits.

This presentation covers ways to use grazing rotations and stocking of multiple livestock species to manage parasites in meat goats.

This presentation describes a holistic approach to goat health management, and includes a list of related resources.

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It covers beef cattle health management, including calving issues and proper use of vaccines.

This document covers livestock health management from a whole-farm perspective, including an emphasis on “wellness promotion” as opposed to “disease prevention,” and a discussion of stress management.

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

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

This list of goat health products used in the Kerr Center’s goat program includes notes on use and suppliers.

This presentation describes goats’ feeding behavior and dietary requirements, with an emphasis on managing goats on pasture.

This is a handout by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It is a visual guide to determining a cow’s age by looking at her teeth.

This is OCES publication ANSI-3283. It has been used as a handout at several Kerr Center workshops on beef cattle as a reference for body condition scoring.

This is a list of materials to have on hand during goat kidding.

This is a list of supplies to have on hand during cattle births.

This is a handout by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It consists of a short list of health management practices grouped by age, from 6 week prior to birth…

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It covers economic comparisons between conventional cattle management and management focusing on cost efficiency.

This page contains links to soil quailty indicator worksheets for assessing indicators including bulk density, infiltration, slaking, soil crusts, soil structure and macropores, earthworms, soil enzymes, total organic carbon, mineral cycle, and water cycle.  

This intern report compares the cost of baling versus buying hay, taking into account labor, machinery, and fertilizer.

This diagram illustrates the basic interconnection between soil, forages, animals, and weather in livestock production.

This presentation discusses the management of soil fertility under organic regulations.

This is Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service leaflet number L-249.

This presentation discusses soil nutrient management.

This is Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service publication number HLA-6036.

This is a presentation by Brian Freking from the livestock track of the 2012 Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program.  It covers the purpose of soil sampling, how (and how not) to take a sample,…

This presentation discusses the management of soils for market farming operations.

This presentation covers simple soil health monitoring techniques, basic soil science, and sustainable livestock management.

This report covers site preparation, lime application, fertilization, weed control, legume selection, seed inoculation, estimating establishment costs, grazing management, companion grasses, winter and summer annual and perennial legumes, and pasture surveying.

This is the 2011 fee schedule from OSU’s Soil, Water, and Forage Analytical Laboratory.

This is OCES Fact Sheet BAE-1749.  It has been used as a handout at several Kerr Center livestock workshops.    

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2008 Future Farms conference. It makes an economic case for adding goats to existing cattle operations, and addresses diet, predator control, fencing, and parasite management.

This is a report on the Kerr Center’s experience with management intensive grazing (MIG). It defines MIG, explains and demonstrates how to calculate grazing period, rest period, and stock density, and summarizes two Kerr Center…

This is a book chapter, used in the livestock track of the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program, that discusses how to divide a farm into paddocks for rotational grazing. It covers soil and water…

This fact sheet describes how to eliminate bermudagrass from future vegetable fields using a sorghum-sudangrass cover crop.

This intern report describes the results of a summer project that attempted to make finished compost in 14 days using the Berkeley method.

This is a report examining the economics of buying vs. baling hay.  

This is a book chapter, used in the livestock track of the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program, that discusses how to set stocking rates. It includes a discussion of seasonal carrying capacity and grazing-period…

This presentation describes goats’ feeding behavior and dietary requirements, with an emphasis on managing goats on pasture.

This presentation by Chris Rice, from the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, discusses the management of forage for grazing animals on the small acreages typical of many Oklahoma farms. It uses the example of…

This presentation by Will Lathrop, from the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, discusses the general principles of extending the grazing season with cool-season and stockpiled forages. It includes early results from an ongoing grazing…

This is a publication from the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, used in the livestock track of the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher program.  

This is an article from the summer 2005 issue of Field Notes. It explains the basic principles behind rotational or management intensive grazing.

This is a two-page guide to calculating the amount of required and available forage for cattle, and timing the movements of a herd in a rotational grazing system.  

Extensive bibliography, step-by-step outline, and list of common materials giving carbon:nitrogen ratio for each.

This handout discusses points to consider when blending organic fertilizers. It contains several tables of nutrient contents of different organic fertilizers.

This is a presentation by David Sparks, D.V.M., from the 2011 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock conference. It covers economic comparisons between conventional cattle management and management focusing on cost efficiency.

Learn about seasonal forage availability and rotational grazing.

This is a list of ATTRA publications related to sustainable and organic pasture and forage management.

This is a list of ATTRA publications related to sustainable and organic beef production.  

This is a soil sample submission form from A&L Laboratories.

This is a fee schedule from A&L Laboratories.

This guide covers procedures, tools, sample preparation, size, depth, and timing, and recommendations for specialized sampling locations and situations.

This is a presentation by Walt Davis from the 2000 Future Farms conference. It describes the management decisions in a transition from high- to low-input beef cattle production, and the resulting improvements in profitability and…

This publication from West Virginia University Extension Service, describes how to make a device for measuring the amount of available forage in pastures.  

This is a presentation by Ron Morrow from the livestock track of the 2012 Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program, covering the details of planning and managing a rotational grazing system.

This Missouri NRCS publication covers in detail all aspects of water supply for livestock under rotational grazing management.

This University of Arkansas Extension publication describes two methods of using ponds for watering livestock while limiting direct access: floating fences, and drawing water from ponds.

This is a presentation by Brian Freking from the livestock track of the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program. It covers paddock design, water requirements for cattle, lanes, stabilized stream crossings, fenced pond access points,…

This paper critically examines the impacts of the increasing use of the Ogallala-with specific focus on the situation in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions, and the possibility of adopting sustainable development practices to curb the increasing aquifer water depletion and deterioration.

This Oklahoma Producer Grant project fact sheet describes several practices – including permanent sod, limited-access watering points, and buffer strips – to improve water quality in ponds.

This Oklahoma Producer Grant project fact sheet includes a farm/ranch profile, project objectives, project description (water line, watering points, results), and tips/lessons learned.

This article, from the summer 2004 issue of Field Notes, profiles Oklahoma rancher Walt Davis, who switched to low-input rotational grazing to reduce costs, only to find his pastures diversifying and his operation qualifying for…

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.

This presentation by David Redhage discusses practical considerations for fencing livestock out of streams, laying out watering systems for rotational grazing, setting up siphon systems for gravity-fed watering from ponds, and protecting stream crossings and…

This presentation covers grazing systems and their benefits, grazing terms and calculations, pasture design, and grazing strategies.

This presentation by Chris Rice, from the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, discusses the management of forage for grazing animals on the small acreages typical of many Oklahoma farms. It uses the example of…

This University of Tennessee Extension publication discusses the benefits of excluding livestock from streams, and the resultant need to develop alternative means of watering livestock.