Month: April 2022

Hay in May!

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension (originally published in the Ohio Farmer on-line)

Making hay in May is worthy of celebration!

With May quickly approaching, hay season will soon be officially underway!

In the years since I began working at OSU Extension in Noble County there have been two years where conditions were right for making dry hay in May- 2020 and 2021. The smell of mowed hay drying in the warm sun and the sight of fresh round bales soon to be peppering fields gives me a boost of much needed optimism. For people concerned with the quality of hay, this is exciting stuff.

Making hay in May is worthy of celebration because the most influential factor on forage quality is plant maturity. As grasses and legumes emerge from the soil in springtime, energy is allocated to leaf production. This is the vegetative stage of growth. The leaves are the most nutritious part of forage crops for livestock to consume either by grazing or as stored feed. It is ideal to harvest forages before they bloom. In legumes, the ideal stage for harvest is Continue reading Hay in May! →

Harvest Timing Affects Winter Annual Forage Yield and Quality

– Jason Hartschuh and Mark Sulc

The greatest challenge with winter annual cereal forages for many producers is managing harvest timing to maximize quality with spring rain fall events that not only delay custom harvesters but also cause your perfectly timed harvest to come to a halt. One goal should be to harvest at least some of your winter annuals at the highest quality possible unless your operation only needs low quality forage.

Figure 1. Feekes growth stages in cereals.

Diversifying to multiple species is one of the best risk management practices. Planted on the same day, four species we have been comparing flowered over a 3 week period. These trials were conducted at the Ohio State University agricultural research stations in Fremont and Jackson Ohio, allowing us to capture two very different . . .

Continue reading Harvest Timing Affects Winter Annual Forage Yield and Quality

Do we treat our forages with the same respect as our corn field?

– Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Fairfield County (originally published in the Ohio Cattleman Magazine)

If precision fertilizer application is appropriate for corn fields, why not hay fields?

Few can deny that year in and year out feed costs remain the single largest expense for a cow herd. In a typical year, feed costs can easily represent 50 to 70 percent of all costs in the operation with most of that expense being in the form of pasture or hay.

At the same time much has been said this winter about the extraordinary increases in the costs of production of corn, soybeans and most every crop we grow in Ohio. Accepting that, we realize likewise, the cost of maintaining, harvesting, and utilizing the basis of our beef cow ration – hay and pasture – are experiencing similar increases in cost. The question is, as we consider our alternatives are we treating those forages with the same respect as our row crops and carefully scrutinizing expenses and the management factors that can optimize the performance and productivity of our forages?

Let’s take a closer look at a few of those cost and Continue reading Do we treat our forages with the same respect as our corn field? →

What can I afford to pay to rent hay ground?

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

A few of weeks ago, a question concerning hay ground rent was asked. In essence, the question was what is the appropriate way to value such ground from either the owner’s or renter’s perspective?

A good place to start is with the USDA Cash Rents survey information. Depending on the specific piece of land, an owner can lease the ground for row crops, hay, or pasture or choose to do nothing with it. Ground that can be row cropped generally has a higher value than hay and pasture, but if an owner does not want the land to be cropped then they should expect a lower lease rate.

From the standpoint of a person renting the land, it is important to have a grasp on cost of production and compare that to what it would cost to purchase hay of similar quality. After accounting for input costs including fertilizer, herbicides, and actual hay harvest expenses, what is the difference in purchasing hay and producing it on the rented ground? That difference provides the maximum that could be paid.

The Core Vaccines every Ohio beef cow should be receiving

Many health challenges on the farm can be avoided with a proper herd health management program. During the third session of the 2022 Virtual Beef School held on Monday, March 21st Dr. Justin Kieffer, Clinical Veterinarian for the Department of Animal Sciences at OSU, offered a beef herd health management update.

More specifically, Dr. Kieffer spent a few minutes that evening sharing the core vaccines he believes every Ohio beef cow should receive. Embedded below Dr. Kieffer shares that list of five vaccines.

To view Dr. Kieffer’s herd health presentation from the 21st in its entirety, visit this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/rrxabT5ksiI

Posted by at Posted in Health

Cattle on Feed Record, Again

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

The latest Cattle on Feed report was released last Friday and reported a record high level of cattle in feedlots for any April going back to when data series began in 1996. The March 1st total of 12.1 million head was 1.7 percent above a year ago.

Placements were the big surprise in this report. Prior to the report, the average expectation from analysts was an 8 percent decrease in placements compared to a year ago. The actual number came in as a 0.4 percent decrease. Thus, the report showed many more cattle placed into feedlots than was generally expected. Cattle have continued to flow into feedlots despite the Continue reading Cattle on Feed Record, Again →

Pinkeye in Beef Cattle; a look at the frustration it causes, and prevention and treatment options

Many health challenges on the farm can be avoided with a proper herd health management program. During the third session of the 2022 Virtual Beef School held on Monday, March 21st Dr. Justin Kieffer, Clinical Veterinarian for the Department of Animal Sciences at OSU, offered a beef herd health management update.

More specifically, Dr. Kieffer spent a few minutes that evening discussing the challenges of managing pinkeye in a beef herd. Embedded below is what Dr. Kieffer had to say about the frustrations of dealing with pinkeye and the prevention and treatment protocols he suggests.

To view Dr. Kieffer’s herd health presentation from the 21st in its entirety, visit this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/rrxabT5ksiI

Plant Forage Stands as Soon as Feasible

– Mark Sulc and Jason Hartschuh

A firm seedbed is essential for good forage stand establishment.

Early spring provides one of the two preferred times to seed perennial cool-season forages, the other being late summer. Given our current weather patterns, planting opportunities will likely be few and short again this spring, continuing the pattern of the past several years. So we need to be ready to roll when the weather gives us a planting window. The following 10 steps will improve your chances for successful perennial forage establishment.

1. Check now to make sure soil . . .

Continue reading Plant Forage Stands as Soon as Feasible

Dealing With Winter Injured Forage Stands

– Mark Sulc, OSU Extension Forage Specialist

Alfalfa field damaged by excessive wetness during winter and spring. Source: J. Stachler

I’ve been hearing reports from around the state of forage stands that look poor, especially where flooded soil conditions developed over the past few months. Alfalfa fields that were cut mid- to late fall also are looking rough compared with stands where the last cutting was taken by early September and no fall cutting was taken.

In anticipation of questions about how to manage these forage stands that look rough coming out of the winter, I’ve outlined some ideas in this article to consider.

The first step is to . . .

Continue reading Dealing With Winter Injured Forage Stands

The Cheapest Mineral Isn’t Really Cheap

– Francis L. Fluharty, Ph.D., Professor and Head, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences – University of Georgia

The major nutritional requirements are: water, energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins. In many cases, beef producers do a good job of providing adequate water, energy, and protein. However, many beef producers buy ‘cheap’ minerals, ignoring the fact that the availability of the minerals in the oxide form in many of these mixes are only 10 to 20% as absorbable by the animal in the sulfate, chloride, organic, or chelated forms (when minerals are metals bound to an organic compound such as an amino acid in zinc methionine or organic selenium in selenomethionine; Spears, 2003) in more expensive mineral mixes. The advantage of more available forms of minerals are seen when stress increases. Consider the fact that weather can be a stress, whether it’s extreme heat or cold, and that working cattle at breeding, vaccination, and weaning can be stressors. So, why do so many producers buy minerals that don’t provide the best nutrition to the animal when they need it most, and buy the cheapest mineral instead? In many cases, it’s because we think in terms of tons rather than days, and a ton of mineral seems expensive relative to a ton of hay, but not when you consider that a ton of mineral with an anticipated intake of 4 oz per day will provide feed for 8,000 animal days. I can’t imagine a beef producer going to their truck dealership and asking for the truck with the least power when it’s under a load, or asking for the truck with the weakest transmission, but we do this same thing when we buy minerals with the poorest absorption during times of stress, then we buy additional hay, or grain, or treat sick newborn calves, or blame the . . .

Continue reading The Cheapest Mineral Isn’t Really Cheap