Month: October 2023

Making the Most of Your Fall Grazing

– Ted Wiseman, OSU Extension, Perry County

Depending on what part of the state or country you live in, this year has been another challenge with pastures and forages. Hay yields are all over the board as far as quantity and to date I am surprised of the few results that I have seen the quality. Many in my area were able to get first cutting of in great time this spring, but the quality has been surprisingly lower than expected. So as many finish up hay making, now is a good time to take inventory of what you have and take forage samples to determine what nutrient values are in the crop.

If you find yourself with low forages going into fall, some options may include utilizing land coming out of CRP contracts, corn stalks, cover crops or a hay field being converted into row crops. Fall is a great time to construct a new, repair existing or implement temporary fencing. First evaluate what forage and water resources you have available. Other factors to consider are Continue reading Making the Most of Your Fall Grazing →

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Grazing Corn Residue, a Feed Alternative!

– Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Fairfield County

Grazing corn crop residue can allow time for pastures to recover and be grazed again later.

Recently (Fastballs, Curveballs and Lessons Learned) I suggested that with 3.5 million acres of corn to harvest in Ohio this fall, for a spring calving cow herd the opportunity is great for extending the grazing season into fall and perhaps even early winter with corn crop residue. Now, as corn harvest approaches, let’s take a closer look at utilizing corn residue.

The opportunities afforded by grazing corn residue are primarily two-fold. Obviously, it offers a feed source at a time when the nutritional needs of spring calving, mature cows that have already weaned calves may be near the lowest of the year. Second is the ability to rest pastures and allow fall regrowth at a time when pastures may be the most stressed.

While corn residue offers a considerable amount of digestible energy and fiber, it’s always good to review the palatability and practicality of utilizing corn residue as a significant feed source. This is especially true as one considers the Continue reading Grazing Corn Residue, a Feed Alternative! →

Dry Weather? Don’t graze down to the nubbins!

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Cows grazing corn stalks after harvest. Best the first 30 days

As I write this the last week of September, it is certainly drier than normal. This provides good conditions for grain harvesting, but slows growth on forages. I, personally, have not had any rain, only teasings for over a month. Stockpiled forage growth has really slowed down and regrowth on rotated pastures has come to a sudden halt.

I’m still banking on some rain in the near future and hopefully in time to provide sufficient moisture for fall growth. At this time, I would not recommend grazing everything down to the nubbins – nor would I ever. Maintaining enough leaf material and cover to slow further evaporation and collect dew while maintaining the solar panel, usually at least four inches of growth for most cool season forages, will help spur more regrowth once moisture is replenished. Without that reserve, plants will have to rely on root reserves for new growth and that will take Continue reading Dry Weather? Don’t graze down to the nubbins! →

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Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)

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

Drought conditions have expanded significantly across the Southeast over the past few months and have forced tough decisions by producers. Many producers in severe drought areas were forced to start feeding hay much in August or September. This affects producer decisions (and costs) now, but also affects decisions for the winter when hay supplies will be needed by many producers.

I wanted to use this week’s article to discuss some of the forage programs that are available for producers to consider. In particular, I want to focus on the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (commonly called LFP) that is Continue reading Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) →

Demand for CHOICE Beef Strengthens

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

Could PRIME become the standard grade of beef in the future?

The Choice Select spread has received little attention in this column, but it deserves a few comments as production of Choice grade beef dominates the production side and demand for Choice beef has strengthened over the past decade. From a historical perspective, the Choice Select spread the first decade of this century rarely exceeded $15 per hundredweight with occasions of reaching $20. This was fairly typical until 2017 and since then the Choice Select spread has regularly exceeded $25.

What is unique about this price relationship is that as Choice beef supply has increased so has the demand for Choice beef. One would typically think the spread between Choice and Select grade beef would narrow Continue reading Demand for CHOICE Beef Strengthens →