Month: September 2021

Tips for Stockpiling Tall Fescue for Winter Grazing

– Dr. Chris Teutsch, Forage Specialist, UK Research and Education Center at Princeton

Grazing stockpiled cool-season grasses in late fall and winter can reduce feed costs by more than 50% per day per cow.

Feeding hay during the winter months is the single highest expense for cow-calf producers in transition zone states like Kentucky. In many cases it can make up more than 60% of the total cow-calf budget. While dry hay is the cornerstone of most winter-feeding programs, grazing stockpiled cool-season grasses in late fall and winter can reduce feed costs by more than 50% per day per cow. The following tips will help to optimize your stockpiling program.

Choose a strong tall fescue sod in a field that is well drained. To get the maximum yield response to nitrogen applications you will need a healthy stand of tall fescue. Choosing a field that is well-drained will help to ensure that the stockpile can be grazed with minimal pugging damage during the wet winter months.

Clip or graze pastures that will be stockpiled to 3-4 inches prior to applying nitrogen. Clipping pastures removes Continue reading Tips for Stockpiling Tall Fescue for Winter Grazing →

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National Auction Receipts

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

September is here and the “fall run” is just around the corner. The seasonal pattern of larger auction receipts typically begins in September and October through the end of the year. In this article, we’ll take a look at national auction receipts through August 2021 as we approach the larger volume months of the year.

The chart above shows the weekly number of feeder and stocker cattle sold at auction in 2021 compared to 2020 and the Continue reading National Auction Receipts →

Weekly Livestock Comments for September 3, 2021

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

FED CATTLE: Fed cattle traded mainly steady to $1 higher compared to last week on a live basis. Prices on a live basis primarily ranged from $123 to $126 while dressed price ranged from $197 to $205.

The 5-area weighted average prices thru Thursday were $125.73 live, down $0.25 compared to last week and $201.78 dressed, down $2.40 from a week ago. A year ago, prices were $103.18 live and $163.11 dressed.

Prices in the South and North continue to vary widely, but there was a little narrowing of that gap this week. Futures traders have now included some uncertainty in the magnitude of the live cattle price in-crease the next several months. There is no doubt futures traders believe finished cattle prices will increase as that has been the way of the trade since late April. How-ever, trade this week has resulted in softer prices though they are still calling for a price increase from today. The market is pricing a $6 increase by the end of the year, which is achievable. However, one of the main concerns for cattle feeders is that Continue reading Weekly Livestock Comments for September 3, 2021 →

Unusual Armyworm Outbreaks are Taking Many by Surprise

– Kelley Tilmon, Andy Michel, Mark Sulc, James Morris and Curtis Young, Ohio State University Extension

Figure 1. Fall armyworm feeding damage. Photo by James Morris, OSU Extension

We have received an unusual number of reports about fall armyworm outbreaks particularly in forage including alfalfa and sorghum sudangrass, and in turf. Certain hard-hit fields have been all but stripped bare (Figure 1).

True or common armyworm is a different species than the fall armyworm. The true armyworm is the species that causes problems in cereal crops in the spring of the year. Fall armyworm migrates into Ohio during the summer and could cause problems into late summer. It is not or maybe we should say has not typically been a problem in Ohio. Also, unlike the true armyworm that only feeds on grasses (i.e., corn, wheat, forage grasses), the fall armyworm has well over 100 different types of plants upon which it feeds including many grasses but also alfalfa, soybeans, beets, cabbage, peanuts, onion, cotton, pasture grasses, millet, tomato, and . . .

Continue reading Unusual Armyworm Outbreaks are Taking Many by Surprise

 

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Autumn Forage Harvest Management

– Mark Sulc, OSU Extension Forage Specialist

In light of the present armyworm concerns, if a hayfield is close to having enough growth for harvest, cut it as soon as possible!

Authors Note: Since preparing this article last week, a severe fall armyworm outbreak has developed across Ohio. Here are some comments about managing hayfields in view of this fall armyworm outbreak:

If the hayfield is close to having enough growth for harvest, cut it as soon as possible. If there are large numbers of fall armyworms present (more than 2 to 3 per square foot) and they are ¾-inch or larger, they will “cut” the entire field for you while you sleep another night or two. So be aware of what is in your hayfield! Be sure to read the accompanying article in this issue on the fall armyworm and how to scout for it and manage it.

If your hayfield is not quite ready for harvest, scout it now and continue to scout it every couple of days for fall armyworm presence until you do cut it. Be prepared to make a rescue treatment.

If an established hayfield has already been damaged by fall armyworm, cut it down and salvage what you can or . . .

Continue reading Autumn Forage Harvest Management

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Watch for Fall Armyworm, Carefully Consider the Alternatives

– Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Be on watch for fall armyworms! Photo by John Obermeyer, Purdue.

It has been another odd year with the weather.  Some areas that were extremely dry early in the year are now enjoying abundant forages and rapid regrowth.  Some areas that were wetter than normal during that same period are now on the dry side.  No matter where you are located, you should always be prepared for changes in weather conditions and have some type of contingency plan in place.  You buy insurance for those “just in case” circumstances, you need to do the same with forages.

I’m not saying you need to go and buy insurance for your forage base, but you should have some kind of contingency plan in place for any odd circumstances that might befall upon you.  For most people, that is stored forage, e.g., hay, balage.  It could also be stockpiled forage, annuals or crop residue as we go into the fall season.

It is not just weather you need to plan for either. You have probably already read that there have been problems with fall armyworms in some locations.  As adult worms these masticating menaces can cause an enormous loss of forage/pasture in a very short time frame if numbers are high enough.  What is that threshold?  Most note two to three adult worms per Continue reading Watch for Fall Armyworm, Carefully Consider the Alternatives →

Preconditioning – Why it pays

– Kirsten Nickles, Graduate Research Associate and Anthony J. Parker, Associate Chair and Associate Professor. Department of Animal Sciences, Ohio State University (also published in Ohio Farmer on-line)

Our most commonly used weaning method may not be in the best interests of the seller, the buyer, or ultimately the consumer!

There are many preconditioning programs available for producers to choose from to increase calf market value. It is important, however, to think about what program works best for your operation and the reasons why these programs can add value to your calves. If the reasons behind certain preconditioning program guidelines are not understood, it is possible that you will be missing out on adding value to your calves.

The most common weaning method in the U.S. beef industry is abruptly weaning calves from their dams (Enriquez et al., 2011). This abrupt separation is commonly combined with vaccination, castration, transportation, and co-mingling with other groups of calves at the sale barn and/or at the feed yard. This multitude of stressors placed on calves causes morbidity and mortality from the bovine respiratory disease complex, which continues to be the most significant health problem facing the U.S. beef industry (Duff and Galyean, 2005). Bovine respiratory disease not only increases expenses to the feeder through treatment and labor costs, but it decreases growth and efficiency and has been shown to negatively affect marbling score, quality grade, and hot carcass weight (Montgomery et al., 1984; Roeber et al., 2001; Fulton et al., 2002). Therefore, preconditioning programs have been developed to Continue reading Preconditioning – Why it pays →

August Hay Production Estimates and Planning for Winter Feeding

– Kenny Burdine, Livestock Marketing Specialist, University of Kentucky

This week, I wanted to discuss an aspect of USDA’s August Crop Production report that seldom  gets much attention. August is when we get our first estimates of the size of the hay crop across the country. Needless to say, this has implications for winter feed supply and cost for cattle operations. Like any estimate, a lot can still happen in the growing season, but it does provide some perspective on what can be expected from hay supplies this winter.

USDA breaks hay up into two broad categories – Alfalfa and Alfalfa Mixtures and All Other Hay. Both are important, but it tends to be the All Other Hay category that has the most winter feeding implications for cow-calf operations. At the national level, All Other Hay production is estimated to be down by about 3.8% due to fewer harvested acres and lower yields. However, national data seldom tell the full story because hay markets tend to be very localized. Because hay is extremely expensive to transport, wide value differences can be seen across regions. That is very likely to be the case this year as we have some parts of the country dealing with severe drought.

In the table below, I have Continue reading August Hay Production Estimates and Planning for Winter Feeding →

Direct Reports

– Matthew Diersen, Risk & Business Management Specialist, Ness School of Management & Economics, South Dakota State University

A few weeks have passed with the newest direct fed cattle reports from USDA-AMS. The reports cover base prices used in formal-priced transactions and the final net prices received across purchase types. The base prices show up thrice daily in morning, afternoon, and summary reports. Those prices are then aggregated into a weekly report. Here are some observations on the weekly reports available so far.

In looking at the new reports, I was reminded of several conversations held years ago with a local cattle feeder. He was not a fan of formula pricing. He sought premiums for the cattle he was finishing that he thought deserved a premium price, either for the way he finished them or for their inherent or underlying quality when placed. He thought that selling above-average cattle using formulas (or price adjustments of any kind) with an unknown base price or with a base price tied to a plant- or regional-average price, meant that he would be giving away much of the premium he sought. Seeing net prices, say for formula cattle, still only told part of the story. The more transparent base prices and more complete net prices seem to fill in more of the gap between the average value of average quality cattle and Continue reading Direct Reports →