Month: May 2023

Are you charging enough for your hay?

– Andrew Holden, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Ashtabula County

Have you considered what a fair price for hay might be?

With hay inventories at all-time lows, are you charging a competitive rate? What is a fair price to charge for hay? Are you still making a profit on your hay sales with rising input cost? Those making hay should consider the recent market changes, long-term trends, and personal enterprise cost to make sure their hay is priced fairly and competitively.

Let’s take a look at some of the hay numbers, both nationally and at the state level, as well as some tools to help hay producers fully reconcile their input cost.

National Hay Inventory
Last December the USDA reported that hay inventories in the United States were at approximately 71.9 million tons. This was a decrease of 7 million tons from the year before, roughly a 9% difference. This follows the trend over the last 20 years of decreasing hay stocks and has put us at the lowest Continue reading Are you charging enough for your hay? →

Forage Maturity Across Ohio

– Jason Hartschuh, CCA, Amanda Douridas, CCA, Kendall Lovejoy, Carri Jagger, Beth Scheckelhoff, Ed Lentz, CCA, Les Ober, CCA

Have you scouted alfalfa for weevil?

Warm weather this spring especially over the last couple of weeks has rapidly progressed forage maturity. Harvesting forages at the proper time for the livestock you are feeding is critical to farm profitability. Poor quality forages must be supplemented to maintain livestock. In the southern part of the state, many forage grasses are in head while in the northern part of the state, some species are in head but most are still in the vegetative stage but will be in head within a week.

Alfalfa weevil issues are also very prevalent in fields that have not . . .

Continue reading Forage Maturity Across Ohio

“You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know”

– Dr. Les Anderson, Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

Centuries ago, the Greek philosopher Socrates coined the phrase “You don’t know what you don’t know”. I randomly heard this last week, and it struck me how apropos this is to cow-calf producers and the beef industry. So, what “don’t you know”?

According to the USDA NAHMS survey in 2017, less than 20% of cow-calf producers in the US obtain a breeding soundness exam (BSE) on their bulls. A breeding soundness exam is performed by your herd veterinarian and is designed to identify INFERTILE bulls; those bulls that do not have the ability to breed cows. A BSE is inexpensive insurance that your bull can breed cows. It eliminates bulls that have physical issues that would prevent them from breeding cows, and it eliminates bulls that no longer can produce viable sperm. A producer occasionally, but not always, can tell if a bull pulls up lame and if they have an injury to the reproductive tract. But it is impossible to determine if the bull no longer produces viable sperm without performing a BSE. So “you don’t know what you don’t know” unless you have a BSE done annually in your herd sires.

This same USDA survey, less than 20% of cow-calf producers have pregnancy diagnosed in their herd. Pregnancy diagnosis is another simple, inexpensive tool that can be used to help increase Continue reading “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know” →

Regardless of the Market, Don’t Stop Doing the Little Things

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

It’s mid-May and a lot of fall born calves have moved through markets at price levels that have not been seen for quite some time. Others have been placed into growing programs with the anticipation of strong feeder cattle price levels this fall. Even a quick look at the drought monitor suggests that rainfall conditions have improved in a lot of areas from where they stood last fall. Given tight supplies, there is reason to expect relatively strong calf prices to persist over the next of couple years.

I wanted to discuss something that comes up occasionally as I talk with producers at Extension programs. In strong markets like the current one, I will sometimes hear producers say something implying that prices are high enough that they are less inclined to Continue reading Regardless of the Market, Don’t Stop Doing the Little Things →

Effects of extended days on feed on rate of change in performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers and heifers and Holstein steers

– L. Galyean, W. T. Nichols, M. N. Streeter, and J. P. Hutcheson, Applied Animal Science 2023. 39:69–78  https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2022-02366

Additional days on feed increased marbling scores, but hurt yield grade.

Performance and carcass measurements from 7 experiments with beef steers, 6 experiments with beef heifers, and 2 experiments with Holstein steers, representing a total of 687 pen observations, were analyzed. Cattle were fed high-grain diets and managed under industry-standard conditions. All experiments included extended days on feed.

Slope values in the overall analyses for all 3 classes of cattle were generally significant, reflecting increased final shrunk body weight and hot carcass weight, greater carcass fatness, and shifts toward higher quality grade and yield grade with extended days on feed.

Example application of the extended days on feed slope estimates for a feedlot beef steers fed for an additional Continue reading Effects of extended days on feed on rate of change in performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers and heifers and Holstein steers →

Higher Beef Prices Begin to Bite, for Some

– David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Higher cattle prices are welcome (and overdue) news to ranchers as they are necessary to return to profitability following higher production costs.  Higher wholesale beef prices are more difficult news to restaurants as they work to put together options that are competitively priced for their customers.

In this part of the world briskets are an important (or maybe I should say THE important) cut for BBQ restaurants.  Higher prices are being reflected in price quotes from suppliers.  In the broader wholesale market as reflected by the comprehensive cutout value only the short plate, flank, and loin have increased more than briskets this year.  The primal brisket in the comprehensive cutout has increased 16 percent since the first of the year, from $2.12 per pound to $2.46 per pound.  Smaller restaurants are likely Continue reading Higher Beef Prices Begin to Bite, for Some →

Pasture repairs after a muddy winter

– Dean Kreager, OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Licking County

At this late date, annual forages may be the best option to get something green.

By now hay feeding is complete and animals are enjoying the green grass instead of trying to find a way to get to the other side of the fence.  How much damage was done in the areas hay was being fed this winter?

Pugging is the damage to sod created by animals’ hooves.  Studies have shown that pugging damage can reduce forage productivity by up to 80% or more in severely damaged areas.  For those who like to be scientific, there is a published system of scoring the damage based on Australian research and described by the University of Kentucky.  A chart is available online.  With that system, you can look at the percent of damage within one square foot along with the depth of the damage from zero to over 4 inches.  These measurements should be repeated in several locations to find an average.  Together these numbers are used to characterize the damage as very light, light, moderate, severe, or very severe.

The repair plan would range from Continue reading Pasture repairs after a muddy winter →

A Breeding Soundness Exam: Insurance for Your Breeding Season

– Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

I received the call last week. I seem to receive this call 6-8 times each year. This cow-calf producer had just finished getting his cows diagnosed for pregnancy. He had 43 cows falling calving cows. Last fall, these cows were synchronized for artificial insemination and were exposed to one bull for about 5 weeks and a second bull for 7 weeks. Only 22 cows conceived and all of them conceived to the AI. The first question I asked this rancher was the obvious one; did you get a breeding soundness exam (BSE) performed on your bulls? His response: the bulls had one when he bought them, but he had not had one done since (2-3 years). The bulls were checked and, sure enough, both were infertile.

What is a BSE? A BSE is a fertility exam performed on bulls by a veterinarian. A BSE has three components: scrotal circumference, a physical exam, and a semen evaluation. Scrotal circumference is highly correlated with semen output and serving capacity. It is recommended that a 12–13-month-old bull have a scrotal circumference of at least 30 cm. The physical exam is performed to simply ensure that a bull is physically up to the challenge of the breeding season. Are his feet and legs structurally correct? Is he free from Continue reading A Breeding Soundness Exam: Insurance for Your Breeding Season →

Rise of craft breweries in the southeastern USA increases supplement availability for beef cattle

– Deidre D. Harmon and Kendra P. Phipps, Applied Animal Science 38:540–550 https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2022-02315

The craft brewing industry in the United States has seen major growth in the last 2 decades and in 2021 was a $26.8 billion industry with sales of 24,489,945 beer barrels (BBLS). According to data by the Brewers Association (2021) online database, the $100.2 billion US beer market is dominated by domestic beer, owning 65.9% of the total market share. However, the market share held by the craft brewing industry has grown from 5.68% in 2011 to 13.1% as of 2021.

The increase in market share and the rise of craft breweries across the nation can be attributed to the consumer demand for more bold and flavorful beers that have been brewed locally. Most of this growth has come in the form of microbreweries, taprooms, and brewpubs with the aid of a few regional craft breweries opening as well.

LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES

Despite positive nutritional characteristics, the high moisture content of wet brewers grain continues to be one of the most limiting factors for its use on beef cattle farms. In most scenarios, the economics of hauling wet feed long distances from production source to end user is not Continue reading Rise of craft breweries in the southeastern USA increases supplement availability for beef cattle →

Considerations for Selecting & Installing an Electric Fence Charger

– Kable Thurlow, Thomas Guthrie, Michigan State University Extension and Timothy Harrigan, MSU Dept. of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

An energizer must be adequately grounded to energize to its potential.

If properly constructed, a good fence should keep livestock contained and last 25 to 30 years without major repairs or total replacement. The old saying, “a good fence makes for good neighbors,” is true. Choosing high-quality materials when building your fence will ensure that it will be effective and last for many years. In some cases, electric fencing may be a significant part of a livestock operation’s fencing plan.

Electric fence technology has made notable advances in recent years. These technological advances have allowed livestock producers to increase their grazing operations’ management potential by attributing flexibility to the rotation of grazing resources. The major component of an electric fence is the charger or energizer; these two terms are used interchangeably throughout this . . .

Continue reading Considerations for Selecting & Installing an Electric Fence Charger