Tub supplements for cattle are often molasses based. The following information answers some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding feeding molasses-based tub supplements to brood cows.

When feeding hay in winter, how much supplement should I feed?

The adage if you don’t test, it’s just a guess rings true in this case. Without knowing the quality of the hay, it is simply a guess as to how much supplement should be fed or if supplement is needed at all. A forage analysis will provide information on relative forage quality, the percentage of total digestible nutrients (TDN), and the percentage of crude protein (CP) in the hay. Even with medium-quality hay (10% CP and 50% TDN), energy is typically more limiting than protein for brood cows.

Supplementation is defined as a part of a whole or, in the nutrition world, something that can be added to make up for a deficiency or complete the diet in beef cattle systems. When the forage base of a diet alone does not meet animal nutritional demands, additional supplementation is often required. Cows in most production systems require some form of supplementation during the winter in order to meet demands for pregnancy, lactation, and/or maintenance. Understanding animal nutrient requirements, forage nutritive value, and various winter supplementation strategies can help improve herd production and better optimize investments in managing annual cow carrying costs.

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Preparing a holiday meal can be hectic. Remembering to check the turkey, make the gravy and cook all of the fixings is enough to exhaust even the best hosts. Even after the meal is over and the dishes hit the sink, the job is still not finished. Proper food safety — before, during and after making the meal — is important. According to Alabama Cooperative Extension System experts, food safety can be the difference between having and not having a critical health issue.

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In episode 9 of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s From the Ground Up! Podcast, Meredith Shrader joins host Brian Brown to talk about home invaders. Shrader is the lead diagnostician for Auburn University’s Plant Diagnostics Laboratory. The duo discusses how to keep creepy crawlies out of the home during autumn and winter months.

Choosing plants is a fun part of landscaping. Before you plant, consider several factors. Placing the right plant in the right place grows healthier plants and minimizes problems.

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Host Olivia Fuller welcomes Harli Willis of Alabama Extension to talk about one of Extension’s newest programs, Operation Grow. The duo speaks about how the program is helping military veterans across Alabama in episode 13 of the Farming Basics Podcast.

Following forestry best management practices in timber harvesting helps prevent or reduce nonpoint source pollution. They are important in avoiding sediment problems at stream crossings.

Forestry best management practice (BMP) guidelines prevent or reduce nonpoint source pollution to a level compatible with water quality goals. Sediment causes the most concern in timber harvesting. Rainfall on bare soil leads to soil erosion, and when soil reaches a waterway, it becomes sedimentation. Stream crossings are a direct link for sedimentation if BMPs are not properly implemented. Loggers use stream crossings to access timber on the other side of a stream that may not be accessible otherwise due to constraints such as property lines, terrain, road access, etc. Forest road stream crossings must support the weight of loaded log trucks, while skid trail stream crossings are often of lower structural quality and serve the temporary need for dragging (skidding) trees from the other side of the stream to the log landing or deck. Skid trail crossings are temporary crossings that need to be removed and close-out BMPs implemented once the timber harvest is completed. Close-out BMPs help reduce or prevent sedimentation issues. BMP recommendations (guidelines) exist for different road and skid trail crossing methods. Stream crossing selection, location, and application of BMPs before, during, and after timber harvesting activities are critical to water quality protection.

As the youth e-cigarette epidemic continues to trend, new generations are positioned for a lifetime of nicotine addiction. Approximately 2.55 million United States middle- and high-school students reported current e-cigarette use in 2022. New data reveals that nearly 800,000 teens vaped for the first time in the past year. When it comes to youth vaping, a critical time-out is needed to clear the air and determine fact from fiction.

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