Month: August 2022

What’s your baled forage worth?

– Lee Beers, OSU Extension Educator, Trumbull County (originally published in Farm and Dairy)

Depending on your perspective, the dry weather in northeast Ohio has either been a blessing or a curse.

This hay season has been relatively stress-free so far without a fear of rain, but if it doesn’t rain soon, we will be looking at reduced tonnage for second and third cuttings. Not to mention that we are fast approaching corn pollination and we will need some significant rain during pollination for a good yield.

Yields have been good for baled forage in northeast Ohio, and with lots of time to make dry forage, some farmers are prepared to sell extra hay. If you find yourself in a similar situation, be sure to consider all costs before you put a price on your forage. Unlike some other items you sell off your farm, you get to choose the price for your forage. It’s easy to say, “I just want to get rid of it” and price it low to move it off your farm quickly, but that may be a costly strategy.

Adding up the costs

Before you “just get rid of it”, let’s consider the cost of that bale. We all know fertilizer prices are extremely high right now, and there is nutrient value in that baled forage. For every ton of dry hay you harvest, you are removing approximately 40 pounds of Continue reading What’s your baled forage worth? →

When should I clip . . . or, should I?

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Pasturing sheep along with cattle, or rotating the two species can help with pasture weed control.

My wife calls me a procrastinator sometimes, but I’d rather think of it as “waiting for the right moment” to start something.  The weather threw a few monkey wrenches into my plans this year and I’ve tried to not feel overwhelmed as things that I needed to do began to pile up a bit.  Part of my problem is I say yes to too many things and then the cobbler’s kids go barefoot – or rather I do.  Life has a lot to do with choices and that is true with pasture management too.

I’m asked every year about mowing or clipping pastures.  For most, that is an annual ritual and quite often a very justifiable management decision.  The most asked question is always, “When should I clip?”  My most common question in reply is, “What are you trying to accomplish?”  For most, the reason is to remove seed heads and or reduce weeds, and for a certain percentage it’s purely aesthetics.

You normally would hear me preach about making sure to keep everything Continue reading When should I clip . . . or, should I? →

Beef calf weaning management to prepare your calves for future success

– Jerad Jaborek, Michigan State University Extension Beef Feedlot Systems Educator

Fenceline weaning is a great choice that allows calves to be maintained on high quality pasture directly across the fence from the dams.

Ask two or more beef cattle veterinarians about weaning beef calf management, also referred to as preconditioning, and you are bound to get different recommendations for protocols to follow. This does not mean one is right or wrong, it just means there are several options to accomplish the same goals. Recommendations may vary due to calf age, labor, nutrition, facilities, environment, pathogen risk, marketing plans, etc.

Regardless of the approach, the main goal should always be a low-stress weaning and preconditioning protocol that prepares calves for targeted growth and health through the next phases of production.

As you plan for weaning, the first step is to . . .

Continue reading Beef calf weaning management to prepare your calves for future success

Impact of a cattle brush on feedlot steer behavior, productivity and stress physiology

– R. Parka, K. Schubacha, R. Cookea, A. Herring, J. Jennings, C. Daiglea, Department of Animal Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service, Amarillo, TX, USA (find the entire published document at Applied Animal Behavior Science) Excerpted by Dr. Stephen Boyles, OSU Extension Beef Specialist

The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of environmental enrichment (EE), in the form of a cattle brush, on feedlot cattle behavior, productivity and stress physiology. Steers were blocked by weight and assigned to one of two treatments 1) Cattle brush secured to fence line (BRUSH; n = 3 pens; 25 animals) or 2) No enrichment (CON; n = 3 pens; 26 animals). Video recordings were decoded from 0800 to 1730 on d -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 relative to brush implementation. Headbutting, kicking, mounting, bar licking, tongue rolling, allogrooming (licking each other) and brush usage were scored through continuous observation. Scan samples at 10-minute intervals were utilized to score lying, drinking and eating.

Cattle housed in BRUSH pens performed fewer Continue reading Impact of a cattle brush on feedlot steer behavior, productivity and stress physiology →

Mid-year Cattle Report Continues to Show Decreasing Cattle Inventory

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

Figure 1. Beef Heifer Retention as a Percent of Beef. Source: USDA-NASS and Author Calculations

In late July, USDA-NASS released their mid-year estimates of US cattle inventory. As expected, the report showed lower inventory across most all cattle types. All cattle and calves were estimated to be down by just under 2%, while beef cow inventory was estimated down by 2.4%. This is very consistent with beef cow slaughter volumes, which have been running 14% higher than 2021. In nominal terms, 252 thousand more beef cows have been harvested through the first week of July this year than last year. Much of this has been due to dry conditions in significant parts of cattle country, but high production costs and strong cull cow prices have also been factors.

Heifer retention estimates also paint a picture of a cowherd that is shrinking in size. I always like to review the heifer development number, which was Continue reading Mid-year Cattle Report Continues to Show Decreasing Cattle Inventory →

Feeder Cattle Futures Market Prices

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

Last week, James discussed the July Cattle Inventory report and the tightening supplies of cattle. Tighter supplies are expected to be a main driver of stronger cattle prices over the next few years. The December Corn futures contract is down more than $1 per bushel since mid-June which also has a positive impact on cattle market expectations. In this week’s newsletter, we’ll look at Feeder Cattle futures markets.

The CME Feeder Cattle futures contracts reflect expected prices per hundred weight (CWT) for 700-899 pound feeder cattle within a 12 state region that includes the bulk of feeder cattle sales. There are separate contracts for different months in the future. For example, the “nearby,” or closest to expiring, contract is the August 2022 contract. However, there are also other feeder cattle contracts currently trading, with the only difference being the expiration month.

The chart above shows the actively trading contracts by Continue reading Feeder Cattle Futures Market Prices →