Check for Contaminants in Hay

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

If feeding purchased hay, scout for toxic weeds before, during, and after feeding.

Making and feeding hay can be tricky business. After a long season feeding hay, livestock producers are getting a lot of experience judging hay by its appearance. The way hay looks and feels can be helpful for making assumptions about hay, but appearance, smell, and texture are just a few indicators of quality. It takes these factors plus a laboratory analysis to truly understand the nutritional value of hay.

Even with a hay test in hand, we should still use our senses of sight, smell, and touch to help evaluate quality because sometimes we can spot an unwanted contaminant in hay that a lab test would miss.

The following are hay quality indicators that we can pick up on using our senses to determine if hay is worth Continue reading Check for Contaminants in Hay →

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: Improve Hay Quality in 2025

– Dr. Chris Teutsch, Forage Extension, UK Grain and Forage Center of Excellence at Princeton

Figure 1. Impact of stage of maturity at harvest on forage quality (Blaser et al., 1986).

Last fall we analyzed 1,127 hay samples as part of the Eastern, Central, and South-Central Kentucky Hay Contests. A summary of the results can be found in Table 1. Nutrient requirement s of various livestock classes can be found in Table 2. So here is what we found:

• Crude protein (4.6 to 26.7%) and total digestible nutrients (39 to 76%) varied widely
• 3% of the hay samples contained less than 50% TDN
• 1.4% of the hay samples contained less than 8% crude protein
• 283 samples or 25% contained enough energy to meet the requirements of a beef cow at peak lactation
• 777 samples or 69% would meet the protein requirements of a beef cow at peak lactation
• 1111 samples or 99% contained enough protein to meet the needs of a dry pregnant cow
• 1091 samples or 97% contained enough energy to meet the requirements of a dry pregnant cow

In general, a higher percentage of hay samples required Continue reading NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: Improve Hay Quality in 2025 →

Beef School Session Focuses on Open Cows and Culls

Register today, it’s free!

All things considered – drought followed by mud followed by the coldest mid winter in years, plus temperatures that have gone from one extreme to another . . . multiple times – the past 6 to 8 months have collectively been some of the most stressful conditions experienced in Ohio in years. Regardless if calving in spring or fall, that stress can prove to be devastating on the pregnancy rates of a cow herd.

If you own cows, make plans to join us during next Wednesday’s third session of the Ohio Virtual Beef School when we dive into two questions that should be on every cattleman’s mind: Why Are My Cows Open? and Open Cows – Keep or Cull?

If you still need to register in order to receive free log-in details, visit: go.osu.edu/beefschool25.

Weekly Livestock Comments for March 14, 2025

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

At midday last Friday, the Choice Select spread was $11.55 compared to $8.22 a week ago.

FED CATTLE
Fed cattle traded $6 higher on a live basis compared to last week. Prices were mainly $203 to $205 on a live basis. Dressed trade was mainly $325.

The 5-area weighted average prices thru Thursday were not available due to a lack of reportable trade the first four days of the week. A year ago, prices were $187.82 live and $298.41 dressed.

Cattle feeders and packers have been too busy this week to trade cattle until Friday afternoon. This is said as a joke in that both parties have toyed back and forth all week, but the parties struggled to come to terms on prices this week. This is not a new occurrence as slow trade has been common due to packers losing money and cattle feeders knowing they hold the cards as it relates to supply moving to slaughter. Based on the first few thousand head that traded this week, it would appear cattle Continue reading Weekly Livestock Comments for March 14, 2025 →

Cattle Prices Hit New Highs

– Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University

Five-weight steer average prices in Mississippi topped $321 per cwt last week. Reported averages in Kentucky were over $332 per cwt, and Oklahoma City topped $354. These are all record-high prices and sharply above year-ago levels. Cull cow and bull prices are also at record highs.


The 2025 CME feeder cattle futures contracts have shown significant strength recently while Continue reading Cattle Prices Hit New Highs →

2025 Off to the Races

– Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist, OSU Extension

There’s are opportunities during this ‘bull’ market.

“They’re coming around the stretch and heeeere they go!” Over the past couple of summers, I have found myself chauffeuring my parents to several county fairs watching the harness racing programs. While I am not a horseman by any means (that’s my father to some degree), I do enjoy watching them race. Most of the time it’s a fast paced competition, and usually a thrilling finish, unless the horse I wagered $2 ends up off stride and out of the money.

So far this cattle market in 2025 has been that kind of exciting, with every week as of late setting a track record. Who would have every thought we would see Continue reading 2025 Off to the Races →

The Top Ten New Years’ Resolutions for Cow/Calf Producers

– Dr. Michelle Arnold, DVM – Ruminant Extension Veterinarian (UKVDL)

Figure 1: The UK Beef Cow Forage Supplement Tool can be found at http://forage-supplement-tool.ca.uky.edu/

The Top Ten New Years’ Resolutions, first published in January 2022, serves as a good reminder of the management practices that almost always need fine-tuning in cow/calf operations. As winter gives way to spring, try to incorporate one or more of the following resolutions, updated for 2025.

In 2025, I resolve to . . .

1. Improve the water the cattle drink: Water is exceptionally important, relatively inexpensive, and readily available but it is often the most ignored nutrient. Water consumption varies depending on age, breed, stage of pregnancy or lactation, and outdoor temperature and humidity, but it can reach as high as 25-30 gallons per day during hot weather. Water-related health problems are seldom due to what is in the water but rather the decrease in water intake because of the poor quality, bad taste and offensive odor. Decreased consumption is just as harmful as not having enough water available. When cattle do not drink enough, feed intake and milk production drop, heat stress worsens, and overall immunity suffers. If cattle are allowed to stand in their water sources such as in ponds, fecal and urine contamination will decrease water quality and certain diseases (for example Continue reading The Top Ten New Years’ Resolutions for Cow/Calf Producers →

Considerations for perennial grass species selection when reseeding pasture

One result of the drought of 2024 may be the need to reseed pasture or perhaps perennial grass hay fields. During the second session of the Ohio Virtual Beef School on February 26, 2025, Noble County OSU Extension Educator Christine Gelley reviewed selection criteria when considering which grass forage species to include in new seedings. Here’s that portion of Gelley’s presentation.

Find the 2025 Virtual Beef School, session 2; Post Drought Pasture Management and Recovery in it’s entirety here: https://youtu.be/FhFaqRHsFJs?si=l4EP-xKhDtFwpy9S

Don’t Underestimate the Cost of Late Calving Cows

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

Reproductive efficiency has a major impact on the profitability of a cow-calf operation. Discussions around this topic often focus on getting cows bred, which is definitely a crucial first step. Most economic research suggests either culling open cows or only retaining them in specific / unique situations. However, getting cows bred in a timely manner also has a significant impact on revenues. With spring calving underway, I thought it might be a good time to discuss the costs associated with those cows that don’t calve as early as we would like them to.


The cost that immediately comes to mind for late calving cows is that they Continue reading Don’t Underestimate the Cost of Late Calving Cows →

Adding cull cows to drought contingency plans

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

This time of year offers the first opportunity to add cows to the cull list based on conformation or temperament.

At this time of year, calving season is likely top of mind for many cow-calf producers across the High Plains. This period also offers the first opportunity to add cows to the cull list based on conformation or temperament. Although cull cow marketing may be lower on the priority list right now, capturing seasonal highs in the market can potentially boost revenues.

Market seasonality is evident in most agriculture markets due to production calendars, biology, or increased consumer demand during certain times of the year. The cull cow market is arguably one of the most seasonal markets.

The five-year average price for breaking 75-80% cows in Wyoming shows a steady increase in prices starting in January, peaking in August, and declining through Continue reading Adding cull cows to drought contingency plans →