With summer annual grasses like sorghum-sudan, pearl millet, and forage sorghum coming into their own, getting good hay put up can be a bit of a challenge — especially when you’re dealing with thick stems and drying delays. A few simple steps can go a long way in making sure your hay is both high quality and safe to feed. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

Heat stress is often talked about with feedlot cattle, but animals on pasture can be at risk too. All livestock can struggle when high temperatures, humidity, low wind, and warm nights stack together. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

Make plans now to attend the 2026 Nebraska Grazing Conference in Kearney on August 4th and 5th. For 26 years, the Nebraska Grazing Conference has served as a forum for advancing the science and practice of grazing management by bringing together producers, researchers, educators, conservation professionals, and industry leaders from across the Great Plains. Mitch Stephenson, Nebraska Extension Range Management Specialist.

Clean water is critical for cattle health, especially during heat events. However, dry conditions can make water quality worse. As water evaporates, salts and minerals become more concentrated. In some locations, this can cause cattle to limit intake, refuse water, or develop health issues. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

Summer thunderstorms can quickly turn good hay drying weather into wet windrows. That does not mean the hay is a total loss, but rain on cut forage can reduce both yield and quality. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

As we enter a period of hotter and drier weather, grasshoppers will begin to move into crops from field edges. In the coming weeks, be sure to scout your fields to ensure defoliation from grasshopper feeding is kept at a minimum. Samantha Daniel, Nebraska Extension Crops and Water Educator.

Sorghum, sorghum-sudangrass, and sudangrass can be valuable emergency forages in dry years, but they carry one major livestock risk: prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide — HCN. Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

In Nebraska, there are two species of fly that cause the most economic injury to pasture and rangeland cattle. Selection of an appropriate control method for each will depend on the time of year; the efficacy, cost, and convenience of the treatment; and your herd management practices. Samantha Daniel, Nebraska Extension Crops and Water Educator.

Precipitation and temperature play major roles in pasture productivity, and knowing how to adjust grazing to match current conditions is key. Are you shifting your management to meet pasture conditions? Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Forage Systems Educator.

In Nebraska, you can't predict the rain, however you can protect your bottom line. If you plant annual forage or cover crops for livestock feed, dry weather doesn't have to mean a total loss. Shannon Sand, Nebraska Ag Economics Extension Educator.