Winter Feeding Beef Cows on Pasture

– Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist and Jason Hartschuh, Dairy Management Field Specialist, OSU Extension

Little has happened to improve the feed situation since drought conditions began. Photo: Wiseman

2024 has been a roller coaster year with regards to pasture production and growth across much of Ohio. Here in the east central part of the state, drought took ahold in July and really hasn’t eased up much. Pasture conditions continue to rate as poor or very poor and the hay crop was just a small percentage of a normal second cutting. Third cutting hay crop was nonexistent across the area.

At a series of programs across the region Jason Hartschuh and I discussed management options for winter feeding of beef cows in drought impacted areas the following were some of Continue reading Winter Feeding Beef Cows on Pasture →

Drought Damaged Pasture; What’s next?

– Jordan Penrose, Ohio State University Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Morgan County

Despite recent rainfall, drought conditions persist in SE Ohio.

Drought conditions have affected most of Ohio at one point or more this summer and fall, and we need to consider the long-term effects that this could have on forages. Where I am at in Morgan County, in the southeastern part of the state we are still in D4 Exceptional Drought, and most farmers have been feeding hay and hauling water for a couple of months now. Forages have taken the back seat for now, as we try to make sure livestock have feed and water. While getting livestock through the winter is the main goal right now, we need to start looking at what will need to be done with pastures and hayfields. When we got rain in October from Hurricane Helene, our pastures and hayfields came out of dormancy and started to grow on my family’s farm. Hopefully, most of you took note as well if that rain brought your pastures and hayfields out of dormancy and had some sort of growth. The reason that I hope you took note is to gauge what Continue reading Drought Damaged Pasture; What’s next? →

Rethinking High-Risk Stocker Calf Management

– Dr. Michelle Arnold – DVM, MPH UK Ruminant Extension Veterinarian

Figure 1: Photo from “High-Risk Cattle Management and Stocker Calf Health”, by Brent Credille, DVM, PhD. (Veterinary Clinics of North America, Food Animal Practice vol 38 (2022) page 235).

Bovine Respiratory Disease (“BRD”) or “shipping fever”, also known as bronchopneumonia, continues to be the most common cause of illness and death in postweaned (stocker) calves despite significant improvements in the vaccines and antibiotics available today. Traditionally, disease prevention through vaccination was thought to be the answer to improving stocker health outcomes but the current vaccination recommendations are not meeting the challenge as morbidity and mortality rates continue to rise. There is an increasing amount of research focusing on the importance of the normal, healthy “microbiota” (bacterial population) in the upper respiratory tract to maintain calf health and improve immunity. This normal microbial population modulates, or controls, host immune defenses through several mechanisms including Continue reading Rethinking High-Risk Stocker Calf Management →

Posted by at Posted in Health

Hay Supply is Likely Up, but Winter Feed Costs Still Matter

– Dr. Kenny Burdine, Extension Professor, Livestock Marketing, University of Kentucky

By mid-November, most cow-calf operators are either feeding hay, or will be starting to feed hay very soon. As a general rule, winter feed costs are the largest expense for a cow-calf operation. Hay supply was very tight coming out of 2022, but generally improved throughout the course of 2023 as production levels were higher. For estimation purposes, USDA groups hay into two categories: Alfalfa and Alfalfa Mixtures and All Other Hay. Non-Alfalfa hay (referred to as All Other Hay) is likely most representative of hay that is typically fed to beef cows. In the October Crop Production report, USDA lowered their 2024 non-Alfalfa hay production estimates from August. While this is significant, the October estimate was still more than 5% higher than 2023. With greater hay production, higher hay stocks in the spring and a likely smaller cowherd, hay should be more readily available this winter across the US.


It is also interesting to look at hay production in different parts of the US. Table 1 shows Continue reading Hay Supply is Likely Up, but Winter Feed Costs Still Matter →

Pasture and Range Conditions Review

– Will Secor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor & Extension Livestock Economist, Masters of Agribusiness (MAB) Coordinator, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, University of Georgia

Recent rains have reduced the severity of drought.

Wet weather has been a welcome relief for many areas of the country over the last few weeks. In particular, rains in late October and early November alleviated drought or the severity of the drought for many areas of the Southern Plains and Southeast. However, significant portions of the U.S. remain in drought.

As of the end of October, the last report for the year, the USDA found that 51 percent of U.S. pasture and range conditions were poor or very poor. This compares to last year’s closing figure of 37 percent and the five-year average’s number of 36 percent. The only region with pasture and range conditions better than last year was the Northeast.

Conditions at the start of the reporting year (May 2024) were Continue reading Pasture and Range Conditions Review →

Posted by at Posted in Forages

Is the grass dead or dormant?

Where to from here?

– Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County, Ohio

Prolonged drought in much of the state has led to many conversations about how bad the observed condition of pasture actually is and if it will bounce back when precipitation comes.

Back in July and August, I answered those questions with the response of “Right now, the grass is dormant. It is saving resources to rebound when moisture comes.” Now in October and November, I am less confident that the brown and crusty grass we see is dormant. Some of it is dead and some of it is Continue reading Is the grass dead or dormant? →

How will the election results impact the cattle markets?

– Dr. Andrew Griffith, Assistant Professor, Livestock Marketing Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

What impact are election results going to have on cattle markets? The same question could be and probably has been asked as it relates to all commodity markets, inflation, interest rates, the general economy and any other subject.

President elect Trump’s first administration was extremely favorable toward agriculture, which is expected to be the case this term. The largest direct impact on cattle prices and other agricultural commodities will likely come from international trade policy. Good, bad or indifferent, underlying supply and demand factors will influence prices more than the political climate. However, the political side of the equation could influence markets more this time around since the GOP will have majorities in both houses of Congress.

The first thing that should be on the radar from an agricultural standpoint is completing a new Farm Bill. The Farm Bill has been held up for a couple of years, but there should be a clearer path to completion in 2025.

A Closer Look at the Replacement Female Market: Change in Price and Volume

– Rob Ziegler, Extension Specialist, College of Agriculture, Life Science and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming

The October USDA Cattle on Feed Report estimated heifers make up nearly 40% of all cattle on feed inventories; a signal of producer’s intentions (or lack thereof) to retain heifers as replacements. Consensus is that the heifer mix needs to be somewhere in the 36-37% range to signal signs of herd rebuild, a level we haven’t seen since 2018. That said, the bred female market has received less attention recently, but moving forward will likely be a primary focus for when cattle producers consider increasing their cow herds.

The University of Wyoming compiled replacement female prices available through the Livestock Marketing Information Center and Continue reading A Closer Look at the Replacement Female Market: Change in Price and Volume →

Is Anyone Keeping Heifers?

– James Mitchell, Livestock Marketing Specialist, University of Arkansas

Is anyone keeping heifers? It’s a question I’ve been asked at every Cattlemen’s meeting I’ve been to this fall—and one I’ve been asking myself. The answer appears to be a definitive no from all the information I’ve gathered. Every data source I can think of points to the same conclusion. Of course, some producers will retain a few heifers this fall, several do so every year. But in aggregate, there’s no sign of herd rebuilding.


The first graph above shows total feeder and stocker cattle receipts, including auctions, direct sales, and video auctions. This year, auction receipts are Continue reading Is Anyone Keeping Heifers? →

Are the Winds of Change Still Blowing?

– Stan Smith, Program Assistant, OSU Extension, Fairfield County

Considered the ‘bale of the future’

While discussing feed quality and yield concerns in this publication, sixteen years ago I suggested perhaps the “winds of change” had simply come full circle. Considering the feed and forage shortages many Ohio cattlemen are facing today, now as I look back, I wonder if we’ve really returned to some of the deep rooted beliefs that allowed our ancestors to survive. Let’s review.

While a youth in the late fifties and sixties I cut teeth on an Allis Chalmers Roto Baler. I never really asked why we had a round baler when no one else in the community did. I simply knew that when it was time to make hay, Steve and I were expected to be there.

Grandpa, dad and my uncle had built a pull type, ground driven bale elevator that conveyed those round bales, which had been Continue reading Are the Winds of Change Still Blowing? →