Bunk Management; Impacts Animal Performance and Health

Feedbunk management plays an important role in both animal performance and preventing acidosis in the feedyard.

During the first session of the 2020 Ohio Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management School that was hosted by the OSU Extension Beef Team,  Dr. Francis Fluharty, Ohio State University Professor Emeritus and current Professor and Head of the Department of Animal and Dairy Science at The University of Georgia, focused a portion of his presentation on the significant impact that proper feed bunk management has on feed conversion, prevention of acidosis, and overall profitability. Here, in less than 8 minutes, Dr. Fluharty explains why bunk management is so important, nearly doubling the rate of gain and improving feed conversion by greater than 40% in one study.

Recordings in their entirety of the Beef School proceedings may be found under the link 2020 Ohio Beef School

Beef Consumption vs. Demand

– Brenda Boetel, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Economic growth projections for the US and the world have been revised downward due to the impacts of COVID-19, with many global growth projections having contractions of nearly 3%. The US is expected to have one of the largest individual country contraction rates and is expected to contract nearly 5.7%. What does this mean for the beef market?

Beef is a perishable product, and consumption typically occurs shortly after production. A consistent relationship between consumption and production exists. Consumption does not reflect consumers’ perception of beef in the marketplace, but instead is a function of production. Consumption is calculated as beef production plus imports minus exports and disappearance. The remaining is assumed to have been consumed. For the second quarter of 2020, overall beef consumption is expected to be down 12.5% form 2019.

Even though we eat (i.e., consume) the beef produced, it doesn’t mean that beef demand remains in a consistent relationship with production. Beef consumption can increase without an increase in beef demand because beef demand and beef consumption are not the same thing. For example, beef consumption might increase because more beef is produced, but beef demand decreases because consumers are Continue reading

CFAP Program for Beef Producers

David Marrison, OSU Extension

Depending on size, type and marketing status, cattlemen are eligible for $33 to $214 payments/head from the CFAP administered through Farm Service Agency.

Since the beginning of January, market prices for major commodities have fallen sharply since COVID-19 reached the United States.  There have been many efforts through federal and state legislation to offset the impact of COVID-19.

Enrollment is currently being taken by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) for one such program targeted to help agricultural producers.  This program called the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is providing financial assistance for losses experienced as a result of lost demand, short-term oversupply and shipping pattern disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The general details about the CFAP program can be found in a previous article written by the OSU Farm Office team.  This article can be accessed at:  https://go.osu.edu/CFAP-2020

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to describe how CFAP can provide financial assistance to beef producers and to answer questions posed on the classification of animals.  Complete details about the livestock portion of CFAP can be . . .

Continue reading CFAP Program for Beef Producers

Poison Hemlock is Blooming

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

Control with a broadleaf killer like 2,4-D doesn’t eliminate ALL the competition for next generation hemlock plants.

Poison hemlock is up and actively growing right this minute. It is already prevalent on roadsides in Noble County. If you stand next to poison hemlock it will feel like you are in that scene from “Alice in Wonderland” where the flowers are giant, and she is tiny. It looks like Queen Anne’s Lace, but much larger. It blooms earlier and it is has distinct purple spots on the stem.

All parts of the poison hemlock plant are poisonous to people and livestock, wet or dry. This can be an extremely concerning weed in hay fields. You won’t have to look hard to find it. If you come across it in bloom, you can mow it down to prevent seed production, but it will come back to haunt you later. A similar look alike is wild parsnip, which is in the same family, causes additional concerns for skin rash, and has yellow flowers. We have yet to see giant hogweed in Noble County, but it is another look alike that can be found in other parts of Ohio with similar concerns.

Control on poison hemlock is most effective when the plants are Continue reading

The importance of diversity in Ohio Grazing Systems

– John Kellis, ODA Grazing Management Specialist

Diversity is normally a good attribute to have. Whether that means diversity of thought, diversity in a workforce, diversity in your investments, or diversity in a population. Having too many eggs in one basket has always been considered risky and lacking the flexibility to adjust and react to outside influences.

While grazing livestock in Ohio and the Midwest might not seem to fit that same analogy, it is critical for producers trying to maximize returns and diversify their grazing operations. Most grazing operations are more exposed to negative influences from the weather than they need to be. There are options available that can reduce that exposure significantly.

Many livestock operators simply turn their cows into our cool season grass pastures until grasses go dormant in these summer months, feeding hay and/or exercising the cows until the cool-season pastures begin to regrow in the fall. Such practices expose an operation to more risk than necessary and if you evaluate the efficiency and total costs of such an operation, producers might want to start rethinking their assumptions about their grazing systems.

Diversifying to some may mean building a Continue reading

Date Set for 2020 OCA Replacement Female Sale

The 8th annual sale will be November 27 at Muskingum Livestock!

The 2020 date for the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) eighth annual Replacement Female Sale will be Friday evening, November 27. The sale will be held at the Muskingum Livestock Auction Co. in Zanesville, Ohio and will begin at 6:00 p.m.

The 2020 OCA Replacement Female Sale will provide an opportunity for both buyers and sellers to meet the need for quality replacements in the state. Consignments may include cow-calf pairs, bred cows and bred heifers. Females must be under the age of five as of January 1, 2021 and may be of registered or commercial background. Bred females must be bred to a bull with known EPD’s and calves at side of cows must be sired by a bull with known EPD’s. Pregnancy status must be verified by an accredited veterinarian through traditional palpation, ultrasound or by blood testing through a professional laboratory. Analysis must be performed within 60 days of sale. Consignments will also be fulfilling specific health requirements.

Why discuss a sale that is several months away? The middle of the 2020 breeding season is an excellent time to Continue reading

Changing Grid Premiums and Discounts Due to Underlying Changes in the Fed Cattle Industry

– Elliott Dennis, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska – Lincoln

In recent weeks there has been increased attention given to the role of Alternative Marketing Arrangements, commonly referred to as AMA’s, in the fed cattle market. The use of these AMA’s varies greatly by region and some of the more common AMA’s used include grid and formula pricing. AMA’s pay producers premiums and discounts from a ‘base price’ based on a combination of the yield grade, quality grade, and weight of dressed cattle. It is common for the negotiated cash price to serve as the ‘base price’ for AMA’s using the either the geographical region or the 5-market average. The decline in negotiated cash trade has varied by geographical region causing some market participants to wonder if the ‘base price’ truly reflects the local demand for cattle. For example, cattle formula priced in Texas using the 5-market average could, in certain weeks, be heavily weighted towards Nebraska and Iowa prices.

However, the current concern surrounding AMA’s has more to do with lower cash prices received by producers due to market reactions to COVID-19 than the role of AMA’s role in thinly traded markets. In an effort to effectively raise producer received prices, market participants have introduced a series of price and supply control proposals. The U.S. Senate, led by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), have proposed a law that would mandate large-scale packers to procure a minimum of 50 percent of total cattle purchased in the cash market each week – commonly referred to as the ‘50-14’ rule. The hope is that by increasing cash trade transactions it will solve issues with price discovery effectively increasing negotiated cash prices. Supply of fed cattle and demand for wholesale beef determines the price of fed cattle. In order to increase fed cattle prices, the ’50-14’ rule would either need to Continue reading

Weekly Livestock Comments for June 5, 2020

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

FED CATTLE: Fed cattle traded $3 lower compared to last week on a live basis. Prices on a live basis ranged from $105 to $118 while dressed prices ranged from $170 to $187.

The 5-area weighted average prices thru Thursday were $112.68 live, down $2.97 compared to last week and $179.17 dressed, down $4.13 from a week ago. A year ago, prices were $113.51 live and $183.30 dressed.

The aspect of the cash cattle market that should jump out the most is the wide range in prices. This wide range in prices is largely due to regional supply and demand. Regions with a large supply of market ready cattle and limited demand are seeing the lowest prices while regions with strong demand and a relatively smaller supply are seeing higher prices. This may not be the only reason for the disparity in prices as other factors are at play, but supply and demand are generally what push prices one way or the other. It is difficult to predict what prices will be as the market moves through the glut of cattle, but there is sure to be Continue reading

Hay yields off? Don’t panic, there’s time to take action!

Chris Penrose, Extension Educator, Ag and Natural Resources, Morgan County

Some suggest hay yields are half of normal. Is that the result of late freezes, or more timely harvest this year?

I hope you are not having the hay season I am having. While the quality of my hay is good, my yields are extremely disappointing. With over half of my fields made, I am around 50% of a normal crop. The two late freezes killed back growing grass last month, and honestly, I am mowing hay earlier than most years. I am also doing it much faster with my youngest son not working this summer at the Wilmington College farm due to the virus and helping on the farm. Another thing I have noticed over the past few years is that some hay fields have less fescue and orchard grass, and more poor quality forages like cheat grass reducing quality and yields.

If it looks like hay is going to be short this year, here are a few thoughts for the short term and for the long term. First, is there hay you can make from some property not too far from where you live? Sometimes owners may let fields be made at a reasonable price if they are faced with having to pay someone to mow it for them just to maintain open space.

Will your fields benefit from fertilizer and lime? Applications made soon can provide a Continue reading

Determine Forage Moisture Content

– Source: wayne.osu.edu

Moisture content at harvest is significant factor in forage quality.

Forage maturity/stage of development is often cited as the number one factor that determines forage quality, but for any stored forage, moisture content at harvest is a close second. Moisture content drives what happens to that forage after it is removed from the field, whether quality is maintained or degraded. Improper moisture content can reduce storage life.

The most common method of determining forage moisture is some type of visual appraisal whereby a forage sample is either twisted together or squeezed into a ball and then released.  How quickly that twisted sample unravels, or the ball falls apart determines if the forage is too wet, too dry, or ready for harvest.  While a lot of good quality stored forage has been made using this method, errors sometimes get made and forage quality is compromised, or forage is lost.  For those producers looking for more certainty in determining forage moisture there are some tools available that can help.

Tools available to determine forage moisture include a microwave oven, commercial forage moisture testers, hand-constructed vortex dryers, air fryers, moisture probes, and moisture sensors built into harvest equipment.  Each has some advantages and disadvantages, but each used with the proper knowledge and protocol can help the forage producer more accurately determine forage moisture.  Most of these tools requires that a good representative sample be collected to produce a reliable result.  When sampling windrows be sure to . . .

Continue reading Determine Forage Moisture Content