Livestock and Forage Production

According to the 2017 U.S. Census of Agriculture, there were 1,821 farmers (producers) that managed 1,154 farms with 93.3 million in total farm gate sales in Jackson County, utilizing 275,022 acres of land.  Of these, 527 were livestock farms that reported total livestock sales of $12.2 million.  Of the 527 farms, 366 were beef cattle operations, 265 horse, 87 goat, 139 poultry, 35 swine, 20 sheep, 9 bees, and 3 dairy farms.   A total of 25,283 beef cows graze on 66,514 acres of pasture and range land with an average stocking rate of 2.6 acres/cow.  There are 3 dairies with 1,060 milking cows.  There are also 383 hay or silage operations with a total of 20,062 acres that produce 65,960 tons of stored forage annually, with an average yield of 3.3 tons/acre.

Forages & Feeds

• Forages
  • UF/IFAS Florida Forages
  • UF Forage (Pasture Grasses & Legumes) Publications
  • Dr. Ann Blount’s Winter Forage Recommendations (pdf)
  • UGA Small Grains Performance Tests
  • Southern Small Grain Resource Management Handbook
  • UF Fertilizer Recommendation Guide
  • UGA Forages
  • Auburn University Pasture & Forage
  • Auburn University Forage & Agriculture Publications
• Pest Management
  • UF Weed Management in Pastures Fact Sheet
  • UF Weed Extesnion Web Site
  • UF Insect Management in Pasture Fact Sheet
  • UF Featured Creatures: Insect Pest Photo Identification
  • UGA Pest Control Handbook (Warning: Some chemicals listed may not be sold in Florida)
  • Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus in Oats and Other Small Grains
  • UF/IFAS Integrated Pest Management
  • Virginia Tech Weed Identification
• Toxic Plants and Feeds
  • Poisonous Plants of the Southern United States
  • Poisonous Plants of the Southeastern United States–Auburn University (pdf) this document is under review
  • Poisonous Plants of North Carolina–NCSU
  • Poisonous Plants of Pennsylvania–Penn State (pdf)
  • Poisonous Plants (alphabetical listing)–Purdue University
  • Poisonous Plants of the U.S.–University of Illinois
  • Canadian Government Poisonous Plant Database
  • Moldy Grains, Mycotoxins and Feeding Problems
• Forage Budgets
  • University of Georgia Enterprise Budgets
  • Auburn University Enterprise Budgets
• Feeds
  • USDA National Feedstuffs Market Report
  • USDA Memphis Feedstuffs Market Report
  • University of Missouri Bulk Feed Prices (by distributor)
  • Bulk By-product Feed Reference Guide (pdf)
  • Southeast Weekly Hay Report
  • Jackson County: Hay for Sale (pdf)
  • Florida Hay Suppliers–FDACS
  • FDACS Florida Market Bulletin

Livestock

• Beef Cattle
  • UF Beef Cattle Fact Sheets
  • UF Animal Science Department Beef Cattle Publications (Short Course Proceedings & Research Reports)
  • Beef Publications from UF/IFAS Range Cattle Station
  • UF Cattle Disease & Vaccination Fact Sheets
  • Auburn University Beef Cattle Nutrition Fact Sheet (pdf)
  • Mississippi State University Beef Cattle Production
  • Oklahoma State University Beef Extension Web Site
  • University of Kentucky Beef Cattle Publications
  • Texas A&M Beef Cattle Publications
  • North Carolina State Beef Cattle Publications
  • University of Nebraska Beef Cattle Production
  • University of Nebraska Beef Cattle Publications
  • Virginia Tech Beef Cattle Publications
  • University of Missouri Beef Cattle Publications
  • University of Minnesota Beef Industry Center
  • Talking Points on Mad Cow Disease (BSE) for Cattle Producers
  • USDA Foot and Mouth Disease Information
  • Florida Department of Agriculture Anthrax Information
  • UF College of Veterinary Medicine on Humane Euthanasia
• Cattle Market Information
  • Southeast Cattle Advisor
  • Weekly Summary of Florida Auction Prices
  • Weekly Report from the Dothan Livestock Market
  • Weekly Summary of Alabama Auction Prices
  • Weekly Weighted Average Prices for Alabama Feeder Calves sold
  • Weekly Summary of Georgia Auction Prices
  • USDA National Weekly Livestock and Feedstuff Market
  • Kansas State Livestock & Meat Marketing
  • Florida Market Bulletin
• Meat Buying Guide
  • Beef & Pork Whole Animal Buying Guide
• Budgets and Records
  • Complete Ranch Record Book (212 pages) (Complete 212 page version for 100 cows & 12 Fields)
  • Ranch Record Book Sheets (56 pages - single copies of each record for making copies)
  • University of Georgia Enterprise Budgets
  • Auburn University Enterprise Budgets
  • Iowa State Custom Rate Survey
• Cowpen and Farm Facility Construction Plans
  • Midwest Plan Service
  • North Dakota State Plans
  • Univ Kentucky Plans
  • Univ Tennessee Plans
  • Louisianna State Plans
  • Candian Plan Service
• Beef Web Sites
  • UF Animal Sciences Department
  • South Florida Beef-Forage Program
  • UF Florida Bull Test
  • BEEF Magazine’s Cow-calf.com
• Dairy
  • UF/IFAS Dairy Extension
  • UF Dairy Extension Publications
  • EDIS Fact Sheets on Dairy Production
  • UF Dairy Reproduction
  • University of Wisconsin Diary Publications
  • University of Kentucky Dairy Publications
  • Virginia Tech Dairy Publications
  • Oklahoma State University Dairy Publications
• Horses
  • University of Kentucky Equine Herpesvirus Information
  • Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) & West Nile Virus
  • Jackson County Ag Center Schedule of Events (includes local horse shows)
  • HorseQuest–Southern Region Cooperative Extension
  • UF Horse Publications
  • UF Equine Institute Proceedings on Health Management
  • University of Kentucky Horse Publications
  • Oklahoma State University Horse Publications
  • Virginia Tech Horse Publications
  • Florida Market Bulletin: Horses, Mules, Ponies
• Goats
  • FAMU Goat Program
  • University of Maryland Sheep & Goat Information
  • Clemson University Goat Handbook    (unavailable)
  • Clemson Meat Goat Enterprise Budget for 50 Head (pdf)
  • UGA Meat Goat Production
  • North Carolina State Meat Goat Information

  Goats for Sale

  • Florida Market Bulletin: Goats
• Market Information
  • Weekly Summary of Alabama Goat Auctions
  • Weekly Summary of Georgia Goat Auctions
• Poultry
  • UF Backyard Poutry Flock Guide
  • UF Extension Poultry Production Publications
  • Common Poultry Diseases (UF Extension Fact Sheet)
  • UF Small Farms Poultry page
  • Arkansas Small Flock Poultry Page
  • Mississippi State Small Flock Poultry Fact Sheets
  • North Carolina State Small Flock
  • Kentucky Small Flock page
  • Wisconson Small Farms Poultry page
  • Pennsylvania State University Poultry Extension
  • Oklahoma State University Poultry Production Fact Sheets
  • USDA Pasture Poultry publication
  • Construction Plans
  • Virginia Tech Small Scale Poultry Housing
  • Portable Poultry House
• Swine
  • UF Extension Swine Publications
  • Auburn University Swine Nutrition Research
  • North Carolina State University Swine Fact Sheets
  • Purdue University Pork Production
  • University of Kentucky Swine Publications
  • Oklahoma State University Swine Publications
  • Virginia Tech Swine Publications
  • Pork Whole Animal Buying Guide
• Recreational Fish Pond Management Guides
  • Florida Pond Management Guide
  • Florida Fish & WIldlife Commission Guide
  • MississippiPond Management Guide
  • Louisianna Pond Management Guide

  Extension Fact Sheet Collections

  • UF Pond Publications
  • Southern Region Aquaculture Center Publications
  • Mississippi State University Pond & Fish Publications
  • Auburn Pond & Fish Publications

  Pond Weed Fact Sheets

  • UF Aquatic Weed Identification
  • Texas A&M Pond Weed Identification & Management
  • Mississippi State Pond Weed Identification
  • Auburn University Fact Sheet: Weed Management in Lakes and Ponds (pdf)

  Pond Construction

  • Auburn Pond Construction Guide
  • USDA Pond Construction Guide (96 pages)
• Livestock and Farm Facility Construction Plans
  • Midwest Plan Service Construction Plans
  • University of Kentucky Farm Building and Equipment Plans
  • North Dakota State Ag Building and Facility Plans
  • University of Tennessee Ag Building and Equipment Plans (Not all of their plans are available online, but have excellent horse barn plans)
  • Penn State University Agricultural and Biological Engineering Idea Plans
  • Colorado State University Agricultural Blueprints and Housing/Equipment Plans
  • Canadian Plan Service Construction Plans
  • British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture Construction Plans