By Glen Arnold, OSU Extension Field Specialist, Manure Nutrient Management
Kevin Elder, Livestock Environmental Permitting, Ohio Department of Agriculture
With warmer than normal weather forecast for the next couple of weeks, corn and soybean harvest in Ohio is expected to get back on track. Livestock producers and commercial manure applicators soon will be applying both liquid and solid manure as fields become available. Continue reading
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team
The effects of winter feeding systems in gestating sheep on ewe and lamb pre-weaning performance.
As the breeding season comes to an end and winter approaches, it is important to consider how pregnant ewes will be managed as lambing season approaches.
There are several options available to producers for winter feeding strategies such as stockpiling forages on pasture, stored hay, grains, and recently the use of byproducts. Winter feeding can be a challenge as providing enough energy to meet the maintenance requirement of the gestating ewe and growth of the fetus becomes difficult.
Image Source: University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Department of Animal Sciences
In order to determine the effects of Continue reading
Dr. Mark Sulc, OSU Extension Forage Specialist, The Ohio State University
As cold weather approaches, livestock owners who feed forages need to keep in mind certain dangers of 
feeding forages after frost events. Several forage species can be extremely toxic soon after a frost because they contain compounds called cyanogenic glucosides that are converted quickly to prussic acid (i.e. hydrogen cyanide) in freeze-damaged plant tissues. Some legumes species have an increased risk of causing bloat when grazed after a frost. In this article I discuss each of these risks and precautions we can take to avoid them. Continue reading
Dr. Jeff McCutcheon, OSU Extension Educator, Southeast Regional Director
In Ohio it is possible to graze year round. Of course grazing in winter does take planning. Summer is the 
best time to plan for fall and winter grazing. Why? Because many of our options have tasks associated with them in summer. By planning ahead it is possible in Ohio to have adequate quality, grazable forage for most of the winter. Depending on the class of livestock and their stage of production it is possible to need to feed for weeks in winter as opposed to months.
The cheapest option for fall grazing is Continue reading
Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Extension, Sheep and Goat Specialist
As part of efforts to eradicate scrapie, US sheep and goat producers are required to follow federal and 
state regulations for officially identifying their sheep and goats. Prior to October 1, 2017, the National Scrapie Eradication Program provided free plastic ear tags and applicators. As of October 1, the program will only provide free metal tags. Continue reading
Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator, Noble County
The 2017 Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium is approaching. This annual event is organized by the Ohio 
Sheep Improvement Association (OSIA). The objectives of the symposium are to assist sheep producers with increasing productivity through educational programming from which every segment of the sheep industry can benefit.
This year’s symposium will begin with the Shepherd’s College from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. on December 1, 2017 at Fisher Auditorium on the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center (OARDC) Wooster Campus. Dr. Erin Recktenwald of Michigan State University will lead off with Continue reading
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team
The most common method for finishing lambs in the United States is the use of a high concentrate diet. Although
high concentrate diets allow for lambs to be finished at a younger age, one down fall of this feeding strategy is that lambs may to accumulate an excessive amount of carcass fat. An alternative method to finish lambs would be the use of pasture. Forage fed lambs develop less carcass fat, but require a longer period of time to finish and are harvested at an older age when compared to concentrate fed lambs. In order to determine which feeding strategy will yield the greatest amount of marketable product, a comparison of light and heavy weight lambs on two different diets has been summarized.
In order to make this comparison, lambs were harvested Continue reading
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team
For most Buckeye’s, this past weekend (October 21-22, 2017) was spent watching Penn State beat that team up north as The Ohio State Buckeyes had the weekend off. However,this was not the case for the sheep producers of the Hardin County Sheep Management tour. For these producers, their weekend was spent in Washington county touring sheep operations that most described as unique due to the benefits and challenges associated with raising sheep in the hills of southeastern Ohio. Continue reading
Video credit: Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine
For those that are interested in the basics of parasitic resistance and a quick overview of how to manage parasites on-farm, view the video below. This is a great resource for all producers raising grazing livestock.
Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Wayne County
Grazing management during the months of September and October directly impacts the vigor and growth of pasture
in the spring. For the perennial grass plant the fall season is a time of laying the foundation for next year’s growth. Although seed production is one way that a perennial plant can survive from year to year, in pastures the more important way that plants survive is through re-growth from buds located at the crown of the plant. It is during Continue reading
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team
How does corn processing and fiber source affect feedlot lamb performance, diet digestibility, nitrogen metabolism?
(Image source: Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
Behaviorally, sheep and cattle are very different, especially in the way they eat. Sheep are more selective in their eating pattern and spend more time physically chewing and breaking down their feed than cattle do.
Regardless of the animal we are feeding, it is common practice in the livestock feed industry to process the grains fed to our animals. An issue with feeding processed grain is that due to an increase in surface area, the starches in grain become more readily available for the animal to digest. As a result, an increase in digestion may lead to metabolic issues such as acidosis in our ruminant species.
Therefore, a question of interest that arises is can sheep be fed unprocessed grains without Continue reading
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team
What effect does pen flooring type and bedding have on the performance of finishing lambs?
A common management practice used to finish lambs is to house and feed lambs in an enclosed feedlot. Feedlots are used to protect the lambs from several environmental factors, predators, and parasites as well as ensuring the quality and amount of feed each lamb is receiving. Within the feedlot environment, variation in structural design and feedlot management is to be expected. As a producer, have you ever considered Continue reading