Month: May 2022

Will China meet their growing beef demand by raising it themselves?

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

As China has completely changed their pork production and commercialized it, will they also attempt to revolutionize beef production in their country to meet growing beef demand?

As many readers are already aware, China pork production has shifted from back-yard production to a “hog hotel” style of production where hogs are produced in multistory buildings that rely heavily on feed grains. It has become evident that Chinese consumers have a strong taste for beef. Thus, this question was asked with the thought that China may attempt to ramp up domestic beef production.

There is certainly the possibility of the Chinese attempting this endeavor, but cattle production as we know it requires significantly more land resources. However, the Chinese have been known to be “innovative,” which means they could house animals and bring in more feed. The likelihood of this is relatively small at this point, but such a move would result in the need for more feed resources, which would drive corn prices higher.

Slow Planting Progress Contributing to Increased Corn Price Expectations

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

Higher feed prices are a concern for cattle producers in 2022-2023 and recent increases in corn prices continue to add fuel to that concern. U.S. corn planting is underway and estimates of corn production are impacting market price expectations.

The combination of acres planted and expected yield are the major drivers of corn production expectations. In early April, Kenny discussed the Prospective Plantings Report which estimated U.S. corn acreage in 2022 would be Continue reading Slow Planting Progress Contributing to Increased Corn Price Expectations →

Scout Like Joe

– Christine Gelley– OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County, Ohio (originally published in Farm & Dairy)

If knapweed is ignored in year two, you can experience a population explosion in year three!

Recently one of my regular Extension clients passed away. His name was Joe. Joe farmed on the border of Noble and Monroe Counties and regularly attended programs that may benefit his farm and family. He was an admirable man and leaves behind a respectable legacy. Though his life’s impact goes far beyond scouting for spotted knapweed, it is one of the things I will coin with his name in my programs for years to come.

Joe attended our first public spotted knapweed information program in Summerfield, Ohio and went home and started to watch for this damaging and aggressive weed. It didn’t take long for him to find some nearby and Continue reading Scout Like Joe →

Forage Quality Targets Based on Animal Class

– Mark Sulc and Bill Weiss, OSU Extension

Timing is everything!

The optimal time for making a first cutting of forages is fast approaching. But what is the optimal timing to take the first cutting (or any cutting for that matter)? Many will answer by saying it is when you have time and there is a good weather window to get the forage cut and put up! Yes indeed, that is a valid answer. Both of those factors are important and can’t be ignored. However, we know that forage quality declines as the crop moves into flowering stages. The first cutting is usually the highest yielding cutting, so we should try to aim for good quality for as much of it as possible!

But what is “good quality” forage? The correct answer is that it depends on what you feed it to. The concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) is a measure of most of the fiber in forages. The concentration of forage fiber increases with maturity and is negatively correlated with feed intake by animals and the energy concentration of the diet. With hay crop forages, digestibility of the fiber and NDF concentrations have a strong negative correlation so one can assume forages with greater NDF concentrations have fiber that is less digestible.

Below are good forage NDF targets to aim for when feeding different classes of livestock (Table 1). These are general guidelines, but . . .

Continue reading Forage Quality Targets Based on Animal Class

Grass Tetany – A Complicated Disorder with An Easy Prevention

– Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, Extension Professor University of Kentucky and Dr. Michelle Arnold, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

Classic “grass tetany” is a rapidly progressing and potentially fatal disorder caused by low magnesium level in the blood, also known as “hypomagnesemia”. It is usually seen in older, lactating beef cows when grazing young, succulent grass in early spring, particularly during cool and rainy weather. Other common names for this disorder, including spring tetany, grass staggers, wheat pasture poisoning, and lactation tetany, reflect the season of the year, symptoms seen, types of forage, or physiology of the animals most often involved.

Magnesium is an essential mineral as its presence is vital for many enzymes of major metabolic pathways, in normal nerve conduction and muscle contraction, and in bone mineral formation. Approximately 60-70% of total magnesium in the body is bound up in the bones. Grass tetany occurs when the magnesium (Mg) level in blood decreases rapidly, resulting in less than adequate Mg reaching the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Without Mg present in spinal fluid, there is uncontrolled activation of the nerves supplying muscles throughout the body. This causes constant overstimulation and Continue reading Grass Tetany – A Complicated Disorder with An Easy Prevention →

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Measuring Forage Moisture Content Using an Air Fryer

– John Jennings, Professor – Forages, Animal Sciences, University of Arkansas
(Previously published online with the Division of Agriculture Research and Extension, University of Arkansas)

Measuring moisture content of forage cut for hay or silage is an essential step to ensure storage stability and product quality. Hay baled with too much moisture can mold or be subject to spontaneous heating. Silage baled or chopped at moisture contents outside a recommended range may not ferment properly, reducing storage life and animal acceptance. A relatively new method of measuring forage moisture content is through use of an air fryer. this household appliance is basically a small convection oven. it can be used at the farm shop or can be . . .

Continue reading Measuring Forage Moisture Content Using an Air Fryer

This May Be a Year to Think Early About Winter Hay Needs

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

Several of our articles have focused on implications of dry conditions in much of cattle country over the last 12 months. I thought it might be worthwhile to briefly discuss the potential implications for forage production should current conditions persist. As an Extension economist in a very cow-calf oriented state, I would argue that it is never too early to think about winter hay needs. And, I think that might be especially true this year.

The fact that some producers in drought stricken areas are having to feed hay during a time of year when forage availability is typically not an issue, is significant. The point being that some portion of hay stocks are being drawn down in order to feed cattle this spring. The longer pasture conditions remain an issue, the more those hay stocks could be drawn down.

Second, there is the potential for dry conditions to impact hay production during the growing season. Again, it may seem early to be thinking about this, but we are looking at Continue reading This May Be a Year to Think Early About Winter Hay Needs →

Weekly Livestock Comments for May 6, 2022

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

FED CATTLE: Fed cattle traded mostly steady compared to last week on a live basis. Prices on a live basis primarily ranged from $141 to $144 while dressed prices were mainly $230 to $234.

The 5-area weighted average prices thru Thursday were $143.43 live, up $0.12 compared to last week and $231.60 dressed, down $0.72 from a week ago. A year ago, prices were $118.35 live and $188.47 dressed.

There remains a clear difference in Northern cattle prices and Southern cattle prices. Despite this fact, the finished cattle market remains fairly strong regardless of the market. Packers are looking for cattle that will grade to meet grilling season demand, and a larger percentage of those cattle will come from cattle being fed in the North. Cattle feeders will be doing everything they can to keep prices at current levels, but seasonal tendencies will be working against the market as Continue reading Weekly Livestock Comments for May 6, 2022 →

Optimize vs. Maximize in 2022

– Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist, OSU Extension (originally published in the Ohio Cattleman)

In Extension work, I learned early on as a county educator that the seasons of the year are not your typical spring, summer, fall, and winter. Instead, we tend to observe, as do many farmers around the state, a yearly calendar that looks more like planting/calving, hay season, harvest and meeting season.

Being hired during COVID, my first official meeting season in this role is on the downhill slide. From Wauseon to McConnelsville and Wooster to West Union, with several stops in between I have taught several programs and had many conversations with cattle producers across the state. At the forefront of many of those conversations have been economics, supply chain issues, and the markets.

At Ohio Beef Expo, I had one such conversation with a cattlemen who made an excellent point considering all that is going on in the world – this maybe a year to optimize production as opposed to maximize production.

As mentioned before from our market outlook webinar in January, cattle prices, although a bit more volatile lately (what hasn’t been), still look positive for 2022.  Input costs for both crops and livestock are at record or near record highs. By in large, cattle prices and input costs are Continue reading Optimize vs. Maximize in 2022 →

It’s spring . . . keep the animals moving!

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Cereal rye can be some great early spring forage!

It has been a few years since I mentioned one of my uncle’s usual spring declarations. He used to talk about grass being in head by May 5, and he usually was correct. It probably will be pushing it to get there this year. Forages have been nipped a bit by cold spells, but certainly moisture is not lacking in this part of the country. Some areas could possibly have some reduced yield in spots because of freezing of new growth, but I don’t see that as too much of an issue and in fact, for quite a bit of the state forage growth is in full swing.

The northern part of the state appears to be still waiting for spring to fully appear. Wet and cold conditions have kept them from doing much grazing on new growth.

I am pleased so far by the forage stands and their early growth. Most producers have already started grazing. I know of several producers who are still grazing or just started grazing fall planted annuals. Their main hesitation was Continue reading It’s spring . . . keep the animals moving! →