Month: January 2024

Precision Livestock Farming for Beef producers

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This winter OSU Extension Digital Ag team is offering a 6 part Zoom series on precision livestock farming. Programs will begin on Wednesday, January 31st from noon to 1 and continue for 6 weeks. Each program will feature a different speaker on various precision livestock topics.

Three of the topics will be of particular interest to beef producers. The first on January 31st will focus on utilizing drones and remote imagery to determine forage quality and quantity in pasture and hay fields. Dr. Josh Jackson, Assistant Extension Professor with the University of Kentucky will be our featured speaker for this presentation.

The next program of interest will be on February 28th, while its focus is on using activity and temperature monitoring for dairy calves, heifers, and cows this technology could also be used in beef cattle for early disease detection or estrus detection just like in dairy cattle. The featured Continue reading Precision Livestock Farming for Beef producers →

Don’t overlook nutritional needs of 2-year-old cows

– Bill Halfman, Agriculture Agent, Monroe County, Wisconsin

If the young cows are left in with the rest of the herd they can be pushed away and not have sufficient access to feed.

A frequently heard recommendation for beef farms is to separate the 2-year-olds and thin cows from the main herd during the winter-feeding period. Three-year-olds may also benefit from being in this group because they are still growing. This is important every year, and likely even more important during years of limited forage resources.

For the first time in their lives, 2-year-old heifers have a lot going on over the spring and summer when they calve for the first time. They are feeding a calf and recovering from calving. They also need to rebreed within 80 to 85 days of calving to get on a 12-month calving interval and remain valuable members of the herd.

Amid all these events, they are still growing themselves. Their rumen capacity is lower than . . .

Continue reading Don’t overlook nutritional needs of 2-year-old cows

How much vomitoxin is too much for feedlot cattle?

– Jerad Jaborek, Michigan State University Extension

Fusarium graminearum is one of the most common species responsible for producing vomitoxin.

The weather Michigan experienced in 2023 was quite different from the norm and created an ideal environment for fungi that can produce mycotoxins. In the Thumb region, a lack of rain and drought was experienced during the early summer followed by plenty of rain during late summer months. Weather summary data collected from weather stations in Richville/Frankenmuth and Lapeer areas, reported an average temperature of 66 degrees Fahrenheit, average humidity of 75 to 78%, monthly rainfall of 4.5 to 5.9 inches, and 11 to 13 days of rain in the month of August. The weather conditions experienced were prime for fungal and mold growth during the silking stage of corn development.

Fusarium species of mold prefer temperatures of 69 F or less with a relative humidity over 70%. Fusarium graminearum being one of the most common species responsible for producing vomitoxin and responsible for gibberella ear and stalk rot of corn. Vomitoxin, also known as deoxynivalenol (DON) is a type B trichothecene (i.e., mycotoxin) that can occur in grains such as corn, wheat, barley, oats and rye, as well as others.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set advisory levels for DON concentration allowable in grains allowed for human food consumption or animal feed consumption. The FDA has set advisory levels at . . .

Continue reading How much vomitoxin is too much for feedlot cattle?

Southeast Winter Hay Stocks

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

December 1st hay stocks and 2023 production were included in the annual Crop Production Summary released this past Friday. This report gives the best estimates of the amount of hay available for the winter at the state level.


For this article I’ve focused on states in the Southeastern region excluding Oklahoma and Texas. The 11 states included are AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, and VA. These states represented 18 percent of total Continue reading Southeast Winter Hay Stocks →

Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council to Meet in Cambridge, Ohio

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

Make plans now to attend on February 9th.

The Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council will be hosting their 2024 Annual Meeting on Friday, February 9, 2024 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 2024 meeting theme is “Feeding Forages ↔ Forages Feeding Us” and Continue reading Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council to Meet in Cambridge, Ohio →

Insurance Options for Livestock Producers focus of Agronomy and Farm Management Podcast Episode 132

Livestock Risk Protection is featured!

The Agronomy and Farm Management podcast is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by the Ohio State University Extension. It alternates every episode from agronomy topics to farm management topics; essentially one agronomy episode a month and one farm management episode a month.

On this episode #132 of the Agronomy and Farm Management podcast, hosts Bruce Clevenger and Josh Winters talk with two gentlemen from the USDA Risk Management Agency. Cody McCann and Cody Lovercamp both work for the USDA Risk Management Agency where they oversee the policy language for the livestock policies and the underwriting standards branch. McCann and Lovercamp discuss topics such as, what is Livestock Risk Protection? How does it work?  When can you, as a producer, receive these options?

To learn more Livestock Risk Protection, listen in to the podcast found Continue reading Insurance Options for Livestock Producers focus of Agronomy and Farm Management Podcast Episode 132 →

Professional Marketer Program launches February 1st

Plan now to attend one or all these sessions!

Ohio grain, beef cattle, and dairy producers will have an opportunity to sharpen their commodity marketing skills at the 2024 Professional Marketer Program.  This advanced marketing school will consist of 5 sessions held one day each week during the month of February.  It will be held at the Buckeye Ag Museum in Wooster, OH.

The session topics and speakers are as follows:

February 1, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Introduction to Hedging with Futures and Options Markets, John Yost, OSU Extension Wayne Co.

Developing a Marketing Plan, John Yost, OSU Extension Wayne Co.

February 7th, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Enterprise Budgets, Breakevens, and Farm Taxes, Barry Ward, Leader of Continue reading Professional Marketer Program launches February 1st →

Cattle Herd Health Seminar, register today!

Attend either location

Join OSU Extension and the College of Veterinary Medicine for the 2024 Cattle Herd Health Seminars. The seminars will be held on January 19 in Jackson and January 26 in Caldwell.

Both locations will have the same agenda covering emerging herd health challenges as well as addressing large animal veterinary shortages across greater Southeastern Ohio. Speakers and topics for the program are as follows.

Dr. Risa Pesapane – Tick Borne Diseases. Dr. Pesepane will focus on the Asian Longhorned Tick and the emerging disease Theileria orientalis that can be devasting to cow-calf and dairy production. Theileria cases are increasing in occurrence in Ohio, are you Continue reading Cattle Herd Health Seminar, register today! →

Cull Cow and Beef Prices Bounce Higher

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

Cull cow and bull prices moved a little higher to end the year on a positive note.  After hitting $100 per cwt in early August, 90 percent lean cutter grade cows declined through most of the Fall getting to $78 per cwt in early December.  Those grade cows closed out the year $85.86 per cwt.  Other grades, including premium white, breaker, and boner grades also increased to end the year at their highest levels in more than a month.

The cow-beef cutout finished the year at $202 per cwt, a slight uptick from the prior week.  It looks like the cutout will begin 2024 at almost $10 per cwt ahead of January 2023, where it began last year at $194 per cwt.

The overall decline in fed cattle prices certainly impacted cull cow prices.  But, cull prices normally decline in the Fall as large numbers of cull cattle are sent to market.  Weekly beef cow slaughter hit Continue reading Cull Cow and Beef Prices Bounce Higher →

Was 2023 a Reminder to be More Aggressive Pricing Cattle in 2024?

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

As I traveled across the state of Kentucky in November and December, a lot of discussion centered around what happened to the cattle market from mid-September to mid-December. Feeder cattle markets steadily climbed higher for about 9 months before dropping sharply in the fourth quarter. My Extension travel slowed for a couple weeks around Christmas and feeder cattle sale volumes were generally pretty light during this time. The transition into 2024 provided some opportunity to look back on last year without being distracted by the immediate market volatility being seen in the latter part of 2023.


The chart above shows nearby CME© feeder cattle futures prices, by month, from January 2014 to December 2023. On the far right, one can see the increase through most of 2023 and the sharp drop beginning in October. What is harder to see, is that the nearby feeder cattle futures contract was in the low-mid $180’s in January of last year. By December, nearby futures were Continue reading Was 2023 a Reminder to be More Aggressive Pricing Cattle in 2024? →