How-To Library

Nationwide® members file claims for animal “breakouts” on their farms and ranches that total close to $8 million a year. Consider these best practices to help you keep people and animals safe on your farm or ranch.

Caring for your pet’s health and wellbeing is the most important part of being a good pet owner. Feeding high-quality food, getting plenty of exercise, and maintaining a regular check-up schedule with your veterinarian will help to keep your pet feeling their best. To get the most out of your next visit to the vet, be sure to ask these essential questions to give you more insight into your pet’s health.

It’s not uncommon for domestic cats and dogs to want to make a tasty treat out of chicks or even full-grown chickens. However, while your pets may behave unpredictably around your chicks, there are steps you can take to protect your new feathered friends.

The first step in creating a quality pasture is to select grasses and legumes that will thrive in your soil & environment. Grasses known to produce quality forage are fescue, orchardgrass, timothy, ryegrass, and bermudagrass.

With winter weather fast approaching, it’s time for beef farmers to develop and finalize their winter herd management plans. Cold temperatures bring added stress on cattle as they adjust to temperature fluctuations, wind, snow, rain and mud.

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.

Even if you have taken the time to store hay and silage for the coming months when grass is sparse, you still have more preparations to make. As the temperatures start to dip, it’s time to reevaluate your fall cattle mineral requirements.

After a summer full of scorching temperatures and few rainy days you may wonder how hard did the drought hit the United States this year? The answer is hard, especially in the nation's corn belt where most states experienced extreme to exceptional drought statuses.

Whether you’re bringing up a swine herd or just a couple of hogs, follow these five techniques to keep your pigs happy on the farm. N.C. State University Swine Nutritionist Eric van Heugten says that different life stages require different nutrients. “The greatest bang for your buck would be to go to at least two diets: One for young pigs and lactating sows, and one for older pigs and gestating sows.”

Minerals make up a small (but extremely important portion) of dry matter consumed by beef cattle. When it comes to selecting the appropriate mineral for your herd it’s important to look at a number of factors.