Difficult Times are Seeds for Innovative Alternatives!

Stan Smith, PA, OSU Extension, Fairfield County

Despite the major “green-up” we experienced last week across the Ohio Valley as a result of Katrina, forage supplies remain very tight. As we’ve visited with area cattlemen this summer discussing the alternatives that might be considered, we’ve occasionally heard “reasons” some of these ideas simply won’t work. Well . . . as Dr. DeBruin mentioned back in 1999 when we experienced similar concerns, a cow can digest most anything that we can burn with a match if she has too, we just need to figure out how to get it to her.

Two weeks ago we flew about 260 acres of oats, cereal rye, and/or annual ryegress onto standing corn and soybeans. The photos below exhibit the start the oats were off to 12 days later.

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Below, oats and annual ryegrass aerial seeded over doublecrop soybeans on August 23. Photographed September 4. Note the beans are ~ 16 inches tall, average less than 9 pods per plant, and will be grazed later along with the oats and ryegrass.

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Today, we are flying more seed onto standing soybeans with the goal of having grazeable forages later this fall after the beans are harvested . . . it’s not too late to realize 1-2 tons of forage growth yet this fall.