How-To Library

Preparing the bins used for grain storage is essential in keeping your wheat harvest safe from spoilage and pests.

You can easily provide chicks with a healthy, balanced diet using pre-formulated, store-bought feed. Usually sold as chick starter feed or chick starter mash, these formulations provide all the chicks' necessary nutrients from day one until their eighth week.

A good brooder provides your chicks a safe, clean home with plenty of airflow, warmth, food and water. You can purchase new brooder elements, or you can use items around your house to build a happy home for your new chicks.

More and more people each year become interested in raising a small flock of chickens for a hobby or to help lower the family food bills. Get your backyard flock off to a good start with this step-by-step guide on what to do after you bring your new chicks home. This article covers details on preparing your chicks' brooder, tips on feeding and watering and advice on keeping your chicks healthy and disease free.

A breakdown of Southern States Cover Crop and Wildlife Mixes

Fall is here and it’s time to start thinking about winterizing your barn.

Best management practices are methods designed to increase crop yield and minimize any negative environmental impact on the land. By employing a few simple practices, a farmer can have a successful harvest and promote good land stewardship as well.

As the summer days grow longer and hotter, many animal owners find themselves facing drought conditions, or at least considering the possibility of dry days ahead. The following tips and reminders can help horse and livestock owners get through the hard times until rains return.

Feed represents the single largest cost in all types of sheep and goat production. This is because nutrition exerts a very large influence on flock reproduction, milk production, and lamb and kid growth. The nutritional needs for ewes and nannies are not static. Late gestation and lactation, for example, are the most critical periods, with lactation placing the highest nutritional demands on nannies and ewes. For these reasons and more, this article will emphasize the feed and supplement requirements of ewes and nannies.

As summertime approaches, temperatures begin to rise, and the concern for heat stress in cattle grows. The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that 2021 was among the top six warmest years on record. It is suggested that 2022 will follow this trend. If that’s the case, it is strongly recommended to study and understand the signs of heat stress in cattle, to maintain a healthy herd throughout the summer season.

Thinking of starting a small hobby farm or hobby farming? Check out these tips and ideas from Southern States on shelter, soil, management, fencing, and more.