Month: February 2023

Mud Management in the Feedlot

– Stephen Boyles, OSU Extension Beef Specialist

Mud could be the biggest environmental problem facing some Corn-Belt cattle feeders right now. Not only does it affect animal performance, but it can also affect feedlot owner behavior. Some cattle feeders may be less inclined to purchase/add cattle to an already muddy feedlot.

Mud reduces accessibility to feedbunks for cattle. The general effect of muddy lots is to decrease feed intake, decrease average daily gain, and to require more feed for each pound of gain. As animals are stressed by mud, they eat less and their maintenance requirement increases. When combined these two factors can cause a loss in animal performance and a corresponding increase in the cost to produce that animal. Feed intake may become more variable, contributing to digestive upsets. This will further Continue reading Mud Management in the Feedlot →

A look into the costs of mud in terms of cow and calf performance

Mud, like we’re experiencing this winter and also as has been experienced in most recent winters, can have significant impact on performance in a cow/calf operation. During last winter’s Ohio Beef School webinar series, then OSU Animal Sciences’ PhD candidate Kirsten Nickles’ shared her research into the impact of mud on the cow herd. In this 8 minute excerpt from that session, Nickles summarizes the long term costs of mud in terms of cow and calf performance if adequate supplemental nutrition is not provided to compensate for the added cow energy requirements created by a muddy environment.

Is Frost Seeding a Pasture Renovation Option?

– Jordan Penrose, OSU Extension Educator, Gallia County

At the start of 2023 in southeastern Ohio, we have faced muddy conditions. One of the areas that have taken the biggest hit is the pastures the livestock are staying on. I guess that some of you are trying to find the best ways to limit the damage to your pastures. We are facing the same thing on my family’s farm. If you do not have a heavy-use pad to keep livestock on during times when the mud is bad, the pastures are going to take a hit from the conditions that we have had this year. While we are taking what mother nature is giving us day by day, now is the time to start thinking of ways to renovate pastures. A few questions to ask are, how well will your pastures come back if they have been through a rough winter? Is the cost and time that you are going to put into renovating worth the return that you will get back out of it?

The overall cheapest option that you could do is to do nothing to your pasture. This is something we did for many years with one of our pastures where we kept our fall-calving cows and fed them hay daily during the winter months. Once we put the fall-calving and spring-calving cows back together at the end of March, we would skip that field for the first rotation or two for grazing. This field is also one of the Continue reading Is Frost Seeding a Pasture Renovation Option? →

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Choosing that First Field to Graze

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Clover seedlings hopefully appearing later this spring like some cover, but not too much competition.

The best thing about winter is it, eventually, passes and gives way to spring.  I think I’m already ready for it. Each day is a bit longer than the previous and the light at the end of the tunnel is green!  I walked over some pastures earlier this week and there certainly was now more brown than green.  Snow, ice and some bitter cold spells have taken most of the color from forage unless you carefully peel back the cover and look closer. There it is, bits of green, waiting for a warmer day.

Most years I really like the month of February.  The sod is usually firm enough to get around on and do some needed maintenance.  The weather doesn’t always cooperate, but quite often yields several nice sunny days that are perfect for cleaning fence rows, trimming back limbs over fences and repairing or building fences.  It is quiet and peaceful with the only noise being whatever tool I’m using and the dog rooting and digging after a mole or mouse.  After the forage starts to grow, everything speeds up and it’s harder to find the time to do maintenance tasks.

I find this type of work relaxing and just a good time to think.  It is always a good idea to be thinking about where you will start your grazing system come spring.  It is usually a good thing to Continue reading Choosing that First Field to Graze →

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January 1 Beef Cow Numbers Decline 3.6%

– Kenny Burdine, Extension Professor, Livestock Marketing, University of Kentucky and James Mitchell, Livestock Marketing Specialist, University of Arkansas

USDA-NASS released their January 1, 2023, cattle inventory estimates last week. To no one’s surprise, the report confirmed another year of contraction in the beef cattle industry. According to the report, cattle inventories totaled 89.27 million head, a 3% decline year over year. The table at the end of this article provides estimates for each cattle class in the report.

There was no question that the beef cow herd had gotten smaller; it was just a question of how much smaller (see graph above). A combination of dry weather, higher input costs, and high cull cow prices resulted in an 11% increase in beef cow slaughter during 2022. This was combined with Continue reading January 1 Beef Cow Numbers Decline 3.6% →

What’s the Cattle Inventory Report mean for cattle markets in coming years?

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

With the release of the January 1 cattle inventory report, there have been several questions concerning what it means for cattle markets the next several years. If the inventory report is paired with record low hay stocks and high feed prices then some longer-term implications are apparent.

The first observation is that cattle prices are likely to increase and be strong for at least three years. However, prices may not escalate as quickly as some may think, because many heifers and cows will continue to enter the slaughter mix due to limited feed resources and the uncertainty of being able to feed those animals through the remainder of the winter and early spring. With many heifers still destined for the feedlot, it will likely be the second half of the year before any type of herd expansion can begin.

Feeder cattle prices will escalate quickly once heifer retention begins, but the market is still several months away from this. Delayed heifer retention this year should result in strong feeder cattle prices in both 2024 and 2025.

Feeder Cattle Basis

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

Early in the year is a good time to reflect on price trends and consider price expectations. At the local level, one way to do that is to look back at basis levels[i]. Basis is the difference between a cash price and a nearby futures price. For feeder cattle, the basis tends to be positive in the northern plains, meaning the cash price is higher than the futures price. For example, South Dakota feeder cattle are included in the CME Feeder Cattle IndexTM, thus the basis reflects quality differences and location rather than weight differences. Is basis stable? Does it matter? Monthly feeder cattle basis in South Dakota averaged $4.13 per cwt. in 2022, which masks a low of -$0.42 in June and $9.12 in October. To put those levels in perspective, the basis is usually compared against a rolling 5-year average basis by month. Thus, the June basis was expected to be $2.18 per cwt. For the year, basis was a little below average from January through June, then above average from July through October, then below average again to finish out the year.

Turning to price expectations, an expected basis can be used to go from a futures price to an expected cash price. For planning purposes, a rolling 5-year average is again used or suggested as a starting point. The default 5-year average could certainly be scrutinized. Using too short of a look-back period may overweight an extreme year. Using too long of a look-back period may bring in unrealistic price levels. Perhaps an Olympic average could be used to smooth out the Continue reading Feeder Cattle Basis →

Is your pasture prepared for extreme weather?

– Erika Lyon, OSU Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Jefferson and Harrison Counties (originally published in Farm and Dairy)

Several years ago, I wrote about some of the issues associated with extreme winter conditions — extreme temperatures, extreme precipitation and extreme wind — and what producers can do to protect their herds.

Some of the questions I ended the article with were “what happens when we have winter seasons where temperatures occasionally reach above 70 F followed by late spring frosts? How does this affect our animals in the pasture?”

With the subzero temperatures and snowfall we received this holiday season followed by warmer, wetter conditions soon after, it might be a good time to revisit this subject.

Many of our livestock can tolerate temperatures down to 20-32 F and up to 78 F. Outside of this range, animals become Continue reading Is your pasture prepared for extreme weather? →

OFGC Conference set for Cambridge on February 17

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Reserve your seat today!

The Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council will be hosting their 2023 Annual Meeting on Friday, February 17, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Deerassic Park Education Center (14250 Cadiz Road, Cambridge, Ohio 43725). This meeting serves as an opportunity to interact with forage growers of all backgrounds and interests and share with each other. Along with socialization you can listen to intriguing presentations, interact with vendors of forage growing supplies, and enjoy a delicious lunch.

The Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council is Ohio’s commodity organization for pasture and hay crops. The Ohio State University partners closely with the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council to support forage education, research, and outreach throughout the state. It is the only organization of its kind, bringing together farmers, conservationists, academics, industry representatives, and service personnel into a shared environment to converse and build relationships that lead to more productive forage and grassland ecosystems and more profitable farm operations. The Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council is the state affiliate organization of the American Forage and Grassland Council. Ohio members are automatically extended membership to the national level for even more networking opportunities and learning experiences.

The 2023 meeting theme is “Feeding Forages ↔ Forages Feeding Us” and will feature information on how to provide adequate fertility to forages while on a budget, how to create pasture ecosystems that are simultaneously beneficial to livestock and wildlife, cutting edge research from The Ohio State University, and Continue reading OFGC Conference set for Cambridge on February 17 →

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Sampling Corn Grain for Vomitoxin

– Pierce A. Paul, Department of Plant Pathology, Ohio State University Extension

Accurate testing depends on thorough and appropriate sampling and sample processing.

Moldy grain and vomitoxin levels vary considerably within the grain lot. This is largely because the number of ears infected with Gibberella zeae, the fungus that causes Gibberella ear rot and produces vomitoxin in the grain, and number of infected kernels on a given ear within a field are highly variable. In addition, ears, and kernels with a similar appearance in terms of surface moldiness may have vastly different levels of internal fungal colonization, and consequently, different levels of vomitoxin contamination. In addition, pockets of warm, humid area in the grain lot coupled with moldy grain may lead to vomitoxin “hot spots” that can affect vomitoxin test results if sampling is inadequate. This may lead to price discounts or rejection of grain lots that are less contaminated than test results suggest, or conversely, acceptance of lots that are more contaminated than indicated by the results. For instance, if a single sample is drawn and the location from which it is drawn happens to be a hot-spot, then the overall level of contamination of the lot will be overestimated. Conversely, if the sample misses the hot spots completely, vomitoxin contamination may be . . .

Continue reading Sampling Corn Grain for Vomitoxin