Month: October 2022

Ohio’s Beginning Farmer Income Tax Credits

– Peggy Kirk Hall, Associate Professor, OSU Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program

Expected to begin in 2023

The idea to use income tax incentives to help Ohio’s beginning farmers gain access to agricultural assets has floated around the Ohio General Assembly for several years. That idea became a reality when Ohio’s Beginning Farmer Bill, House Bill 95, became effective on July 18, 2022. A bi-partisan effort by Rep. Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield) and Rep. Mary Lightbody (D-Columbus), the law is now in the hands of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), who is charged with implementing its provisions. ODA expects the new program to be available in 2023.

The Beginning Farmer law has four parts: a process for certifying “beginning farmers,” establishment of financial management programs for beginning farmers, income tax credits for certified beginning farmers, and income tax credits and those who sell or lease assets to certified beginning farmers. Note that the law has a “sunset date” of January 1, 2028, and limits total income tax credits granted to $10 million. Here’s a summary of Continue reading Ohio’s Beginning Farmer Income Tax Credits →

The feedlot and manure management

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

The proper field application of manure can enhance soil productivity and contribute to overall farm profitability while maintaining proper environmental stewardship.

As a byproduct of raising livestock, “shit happens” literally, and that is no different in a beef feedlot setting. Therefore, as the producer, we must carefully decide how to remove and utilize the manure produced from the cattle in the feedlot. By using the best manure management practices, the field application of manure produced in the feedlot can enhance soil productivity and contribute to overall farm profitability while maintaining proper environmental stewardship to prevent water contamination.

The first step to successful manure management is to determine the Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) levels of the manure being produced and of the soil in the fields. The level of these nutrients excreted in the manure can be impacted by the diets being consumed by feedlot cattle. For instance, some by-product feeds have a slightly greater P content and a greater inclusion of them in the diet could cause manure to have a greater P concentration. Likewise, higher protein diets or diets that supply excess protein can lead to greater N excretion, and therefore, a greater N concentration of manure. At the 2009 Cattle Feeder’s Conference: A New Era of Management, Russ Eken, an extension livestock specialist, reported that backgrounding and finishing cattle have been reported to excrete 6.3 lb. of manure per 100 lb. body weight, 0.22 to 0.48 lb. of N, and 0.035 to 0.085 lb. of P per head per day.

Other factors such as feedlot design, stocking density, time of year, and method of manure storage can influence the . . .

Continue reading The feedlot and manure management

BEEF 509 returns in 2023, registration now open

Beef 509 is the result of a partnership with the Ohio Beef Council, Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation, Ohio State University Extension and The Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences

The long-running BEEF 509 program, hosted by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation (OCF), will be back in 2023. This educational opportunity will be held on Feb. 25 and March 4 and will be co-hosted by the Ohio State University (OSU) Meat Science Extension and sponsored by the Ohio Beef Council (OBC).

BEEF 509 is an educational program designed to teach cattle producers about the food side of their business and how to utilize best management practices to improve beef quality and enhance profitability while learning about value within the beef chain.

It is designed for beef cattle producers, allied industry personnel including chefs and beef salespersons, veterinarians, teachers, Extension personnel and college students to learn more about the value of beef. Program participants learn about the importance of producing a more consistent and high-quality beef product through a series of hands-on lessons presented by Continue reading BEEF 509 returns in 2023, registration now open →

Cattle on Feed Dips Below Year-Ago

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

The latest Cattle on Feed report was the first month in 2022 that feedlot inventories were below year-ago levels. The report was largely in line with pre-report expectations. Total cattle on feed as of October 1 was estimated at 11.45 million head which is about one percent lower than the same date in 2021. As shown in the chart below, inventory increased from September to October, but this was driven by the usual seasonal pattern of building inventories in the fall.  The decline from a year-ago is a more telling comparison and has implications for inventories this fall and beef production in 2023.

Feedlot inventories were destined to dip below year-ago levels at some point. Declining calf crops the past few years should eventually lead to lower feedlot inventories. However, herd liquidation impacts and large placements of lighter cattle kept feedlot inventories elevated through the summer. More light cattle were placed in the spring and summer than usual. While that pushed up Continue reading Cattle on Feed Dips Below Year-Ago →

Potential in the Fall?

– Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist, OSU Extension

Fall is my favorite time of the year, hay making is done, the feeder cattle are being marketed, college football is in full swing, and for some calving season is well underway.

This summer at our field day in Muskingum County we heard from a family who discussed incorporating a fall calving cow herd into their beef operation. While there are disadvantages to fall calving (will discuss), there are several advantages that can be capitalized on if we can evaluate and adapt current production systems. In other publications, I have previously mentioned the virtues of a fall calving system here in the Eastern Corn Belt. Let’s look at how fall calving can be a viable and profitable system.

Cattle prices are seasonal. As with most things in agriculture, supply and demand has a great impact on prices. Dr. Andrew Griffith from the University of Tennessee in 2017 analyzed several studies comparing spring and fall calving systems. After comparing the systems on a 205-day weaning age and two separate feed resource scenarios they concluded that even though spring-calving cows had heavier calves at weaning and lower feed costs than the fall-calving cows, the higher prices of steer and heifer calves captured by fall-born calves were able to Continue reading Potential in the Fall? →

Five Things to Do to Improve the Efficiency of Winter Feeding This Year

– Dr. Katie VanValin, Assistant Professor Beef Nutrition, University of Kentucky

Undoubtedly, 2022 has had its fair share of challenges thus far. High input prices likely led to fewer hay acres being fertilized, which with the added pressure of drought, can lead to lower quality and quantity of stored forages moving into this winter. You might be in for sticker shock if you haven’t purchased feed recently. It can be easy to get caught up in things we have little to no control over, so here are five things we can do to improve this year’s winter-feeding Continue reading Five Things to Do to Improve the Efficiency of Winter Feeding This Year →

Anaplasmosis in Beef Cattle-Frequently Asked Questions

– Dr. Michelle Arnold, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

Figure 1: Anaplama marginale organisms (small purple dots) in the red blood cells (larger pink circles)

What is Anaplasmosis? Anaplasmosis is a disease caused by Anaplasma marginale, a bacterial organism that invades cattle red blood cells (Figure 1) and causes severe anemia, often resulting in death. In Kentucky, the disease affects adult cattle, typically in the fall of the year with most cases occurring from late September through the first 1-2 weeks of November.

What are the symptoms of anaplasmosis? This organism causes anemia in adult cattle which means there is an abnormally low number of red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream. Lack of red blood cells results in oxygen deprivation to the vital organs, but symptoms are not noticed until 40-50% of red blood cells are destroyed. Infected cattle will show signs of weakness, lagging behind the herd, staggering, rapid breathing and sometimes foaming from the mouth. Affected cattle quit eating, have a fever and may appear to rapidly lose weight. Most become very aggressive due to lack of oxygen to the brain. Mucous membranes will appear pale early in the course of disease and progressively turn yellow in color due to jaundice. Death can be sudden, especially with exercise, or cattle may be found dead with no prior symptoms. Typically, several adult animals in a herd will die within Continue reading Anaplasmosis in Beef Cattle-Frequently Asked Questions →

Posted by at Posted in Health

Fall is a Key Culling Decision Time for Cow-calf Operations

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

Being an extension economist in a feeder cattle state, I don’t know how many times I have said, “This calf market needs some green grass!” Nothing fuels calf prices like spring pasture and the opposite typically occurs in the fall. As pasture growth comes to a close, the full impact of feed prices are felt and calf prices almost always pull back. With spring feeder cattle futures in the $190’s back in late summer, I was optimistic that calf prices might hold serve as we moved into fall. But, those spring futures prices have declined by about $15 per cwt and the calf market has dropped by a bit more than that. This can be easily seen in the price chart below. Seasonal lows in calf markets typically occur in October or November, so we are likely approaching that point as I write this.

In additional to approaching the time when most spring born calves are sold, we are also approaching the time when most Continue reading Fall is a Key Culling Decision Time for Cow-calf Operations →

Feed Concerns

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

New-crop corn futures have steadily increased over the past two months. Thus, there is not any relief in sight for higher feed costs. With higher interest rates, the cost of storage becomes a larger concern. There is currently very little carry in the corn futures prices, suggesting that going hand-to-mouth for feed needs could be considered if the feeder can ensure they can secure supplies later. Corn yields in the northern plains are not great, but production levels and old-crop stocks levels suggest that securing feed will later in the marketing year would not be an issue, but the price may not be attractive. For those looking for price protection, the implied volatility in the corn market remains in normal ranges despite the higher price levels. Thus, end users may consider buying a call option to protect from further price increases.

Continued high corn prices would be expected to impact livestock feed use. For example, higher prices should result in lower slaughter weights or fewer animals slaughtered at very heavy finish weights. Costs of gain should have downward pressure on returns to feeding at heavy weights. However, the prices have been high on the cash side for a long time, so the impact is not being reflected in recently observed weights. The recent price shock has been observed in feeder cattle futures, which have fallen as Continue reading Feed Concerns →

Is this cattle market shaping up like 2014-15?

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

A question received this week was if I thought the cattle market was taking the shape of 2014 and 2015.

First, the skyrocketing of prices in 2014 and 2015 seem like yesterday, but that was eight years ago. Second, there are several similarities in today’s environment and what led up to the record cattle prices of 2014 and 2015. Third, I hope it is not a repeat of that time period.

Drought in cattle country from 2011 through 2013 is what precipitated a smaller cattle herd in 2014 and thus led to higher prices. Severe drought in 2012 in corn producing states that resulted in higher feed prices also contributed. Prices increased throughout 2014 and 2015 and part of 2016 before the bottom fell out of Continue reading Is this cattle market shaping up like 2014-15? →