Iowa beef producers have been in a heavyweight fight with Mother Nature for the past couple of years. 2019 was the blow of devastating floods and 2020 is the one-two punch of drought and derecho damage. No matter how vicious … Read More
The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting “the winter of the great divide” for the 2020-21 season – cold and snowy in the north with drought in the west. Time will tell if this prediction is accurate but one thing you can … Read More
Healthy horses spend 70 percent of their day eating forage and drinking water. During the winter, horses have a natural tendency to drink less water in colder temperatures so you need to be diligent with providing fresh, clean water at … Read More
Company Also Honored as SBA’s Region 7 Exporter of the Year (DES MOINES, Iowa) – The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the selection of Ritchie Industries, Inc. in Conrad as the 2023 SBA Small Business Exporter of the Year … Read More
What is the best way to tell if a horse is getting the proper amount of water? In general, there are two simple tests you can do to assess how well your horse is hydrated – the skin pinch and … Read More
The biggest measure of water quality is total dissolved solids (TDS). TDS is comprised of inorganic salts (principally calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates) and some small amounts of organic matter. Elevated TDS can make your water have … Read More
Water is essential to the well-being of your horse. Take the time to plan an effective watering system that offers your horse free-choice access to clean, fresh water at all times and be rewarded with a healthy and happy horse. … Read More
Best management practices involve delivering fresh water to your horse. The days of horses accessing streams and ponds are dwindling for many reasons, including water quality concerns and environmental impact. “We can use the natural water sources such as streams … Read More
Underlying health issues can impact your horse’s water consumption, with the most common issue being diarrhea. Monitoring manure will give you a head’s up on how much water is being lost. On the flip side, horses who have drier or … Read More
During the warm seasons, horses may have access to pastures with forage that contain 60 percent to 80 percent moisture which goes toward their daily water requirements. Winter feedstuffs such as grain and hay contain less than 15 percent moisture. … Read More
