Pasture, Purchasing, and Herd Care

This unit teaches students how to manage pasture, manure, and water resources; select and purchase cattle; employ low-stress handling techniques; and implement basic herd health and biosecurity practices. It builds on foundational animal science concepts and prepares students for advanced production, breeding, and marketing units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze pasture, manure, and water management needs using basic assessment tools to develop a sustainable resource management plan
• Apply objective selection criteria (conformation, age, weight, genetics, and market goals) to evaluate and make purchasing decisions for beef cattle
• Demonstrate safe, low-stress cattle handling and restraint techniques, including proper use of facilities and personal protective equipment to reduce injury and stress
• Evaluate and implement preventive herd health measures, including vaccination, parasite control, quarantine procedures, and basic recordkeeping to support biosecurity