– Garth Ruff, Field Specialist Beef Cattle and Livestock Marketing, OSU Extension
Despite recent showers, drought management remains a priority.
For the second time in since I joined OSU Extension we are dealing with shortages of forage and livestock feed. The first time was in 2019 when planting was drastically delayed or didn’t happen at all due to one of the wettest springs across much of northern Ohio. Here in 2024, most of southern Ohio is dealing the most severe drought since the inception of the U.S Drought Monitor and likely the driest conditions in a couple of generations.
Recently we have been fielding several questions on how to best navigate dry conditions and while there are a handful of management strategies that can be used, the number one recommendation is to 1) be flexible and 2) consider the cost/returns of supplementing feed and hauling water.
With the severe D3 drought across portions of 22 counties as of writing this, pasture conditions across the area are mostly poor with nearly 40% of pasture in the state in the lowest pasture quality rating.
Second cutting hay crop was also short, at home it was roughly 20% of a normal hay year.
Considering that hay will be in high demand, and we are past corn silage harvest, one option to supplement cows going in fall and winter is to limit feed corn. Dr. Steve Loerch, 30 years ago at the Coshocton research farm was able to demonstrate that corn limit fed to cows was a viable option to maintain body condition scores, body weight, and reduce supplemental hay costs. With corn futures being bearish, corn as an energy source looks to be favorable compared to current hay prices. Read more on that project from Dr. Loerch here.
We have articles and resources on addressing feed and forage shortages online at beef.osu.edu.
As mentioned earlier, flexibility is going to be a key part to managing through this current drought situation. Without pasture to graze, having long weaned calves might not be an option as we get later into fall.
Many cattlemen have a planned selling date of their cattle. Those date should be adjusted based on feed availability and cost to make up the difference. This is especially true for those stockering calves and working off of smaller margins, as feeder cattle prices have softened a little in the past few weeks.
Continue to work through a plan. If you are in a drought affected area, this is a prime time to evaluate cow performance. If culling is part of a plan, start with older animals and those cows that weaned the lightest calves. Light calves may be the result of the cows milking ability or a later calving date, either way those cows should be towards the top of a potential cull list.
One final thing to consider in the long term is how do we make farms more drought resilient. Working with local Soil and Water Districts and NRCS to evaluate water management practices are worth future consideration.
Drought can be stressful. Haying cattle and hauling water in September are not chores anyone ever wants to tackle. If there are questions about feeding cattle, livestock management, or anything at all don’t hesitate to pickup the phone and give myself or your local OSU Extension educator a call.