For cow-calf producers, the last few months have been very challenging from a weather standpoint.  This has left many first-calf heifers and cows in less than optimum in terms of body condition at the time of calving.  Weather conditions have also significantly depleted feed resources available as many producers have had to feed earlier and more than normal.

As technology improves and continually moves forward, more and more information can be gathered remotely to make informed decisions on Nebraska's farms and ranches. Remote Sensing is the science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, typically from drones, airplanes, or satellites. Since the 1970s, the Landsat satellite program has collected earth imagery data. Current satellites with this program take imagery and sensor data from earth's entire surface once every 16 days.

The recent flood resulted in loss of feed stocks for herds. Currently, many fellow producers are stepping up to the plate and donating grass hay. For cows that had already calved, but lost their calf in the flood medium quality grass hay, fed free choice, will likely meet their energy and protein needs. However, cows that did not lose their calves in the flood and/or had not calved yet, their nutritional requirements will be much greater. To keep the cows and calves healthy and get cows rebred, meeting their nutritional needs is important.