Ohio Forage & Grasslands Council Conference; High Quality Forages

The Ohio Forages and Grasslands Council Annual Conference will be held February 8, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Ohio Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg, OH. The program theme is “High Quality Forages.”

The keynote speaker will be Jerry Lindquist, Retired Grazing and Field Specialist at Michigan State University, who will discuss “Eight Years of Grassfed Beef Research at MSU-Lessons Learned” based on extensive research and experience in Michigan. Mr. Lindquist will also be giving a second topic entitled “Multi Species Cover Crop Mixes for Grazing and Soil benefit”. To compliment the cover crop topic, also speaking will be Kyle Smith of KC Fencing Unlimited, LLC to speak on “Fencing Geared Towards Grazing Cover Crops”. Several producer talks will also be Continue reading

OSU Extension Offers Beef Cattle Artificial Insemination School

Clif Little, OSU Extension Guernsey County

The Ohio State University and the OSU Eastern Agriculture Research Station (EARS) in Belle Valley will be offering a three day beef cattle artificial insemination (A.I.) school on April 30, May 1, and 2nd. Classes will run from 9 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. each day at EARS.

Producers will learn the basics of utilizing Expected Progeny Difference (EPD’s), techniques for artificial insemination, semen handling, reproductive anatomy & physiology and estrous synchronization. On the third day the class will Continue reading

Arctic Freeze and Government Thaw Impact Cattle Markets

– Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension

Extreme cold temperatures and heavy snow will grip much of the eastern half of the country this week (the week of January 29th). From eastern Montana, across the Great Lakes and the Midwest to the east coast and the southeast, wind, snow and winter mix will likely impact cattle, travel and a host of markets in the coming days.

Beef markets will mostly be impacted by reduced feedlot performance and carcass weights; possible disruptions in movement of cattle to packing plants; and potential transportation delays of products through wholesale and retail markets. Production losses due to winter weather can reduce beef supplies and may have residual impacts for several weeks. Individual cattle producers, in feedlots and in the country, will face numerous management challenges and increased production costs. Beef demand may also be impacted as Continue reading

Un-reflected Uncertainty

– Matthew A. Diersen, Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Economics, South Dakota State University

This issue was supposed to contain a synopsis of the Cattle report. Assuming the USDA remains open, the report has been rescheduled for release on February 28. Knowing inventory levels such as cattle grazing wheat pastures, calf crop levels and replacement heifer levels helps producers make better-informed decisions. It does not seem like the trade became overly concerned about the lack of or lag in getting fundamental information. The futures markets for live and feeder cattle have not been overly volatile and the forward-looking volatility remains low. Here is a breakdown of the volatility and its implications for protection strategies.

Volatility in this context is how much a price fluctuates over a period of time. One can look back and see how much a futures price has changed over the past 20 or 60 days. One can also look ahead and surmise how much a price may change over a period of time. That is where implied volatility is often examined. The implied volatility is the volatility level that is consistent with observed or known market parameters. One can observe futures prices and interest rate levels. One can also Continue reading