Month: February 2025

Caring for Livestock in Late Winter and Early Spring

– Ted Wiseman, OSU Extension, Perry County (originally published in Ohio Farmer on-line)

New grass can’t get here soon enough!

As spring approaches, we eagerly anticipate the arrival of green grass, especially after the challenges of a drought-stricken summer. While the promise of warmer days is on the horizon, it’s important to navigate the transitional period of late winter and early spring with care. Proper management during this time is crucial to ensure the health and productivity of livestock.

Fluctuating temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns necessitate providing adequate shelter for livestock. Protecting animals from cold winds, rain, and muddy conditions is essential to prevent stress and illness. Constructing windbreaks, barns, or other well-built shelters can shield animals from the harsh elements. Additionally, maintaining a Continue reading Caring for Livestock in Late Winter and Early Spring →

Dairy Beef Feeder 101, a look at calf health, nutrition and economics

In recent years the dairy beef feeder calf project throughout Ohio has gained interest and shown tremendous growth. During the same time the cost of participating in the dairy beef feeder calf project has grown significantly.

On February 19, 2025, Ohio State University Extension hosted a webinar via ZOOM and took a detailed look into the economics of dairy beef feeders in 2025, strategies for keeping calves healthy, and providing proper nutrition for the dairy beef feeder from birth until the conclusion of the project.

Listen in below as OSU Extension Beef Field Specialist Garth Ruff introduces the evening’s program, Dairy Beef Feeder 101. Regardless if you are raising dairy beef feeders as youth projects or commercially, you will find the presentation embedded below to be valuable.

Keep Them Fit!

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

Treat your herd bull like an athlete.

While reading some industry information, I was reminded about an article Dr. Burris wrote for Cow Country News a few years ago. The focus of his article was to treat your herd bulls like an athlete; keep them fit and in great working shape. As always, it was a super article and is still relevant. Recently, more research has been done on bull fitness and fertility that is quite interesting.

We have known for years that over-conditioning bulls is detrimental to their fertility. When bulls are over fed and their body condition score get excessive (> 7), fat begins to build up in the scrotum and in the spermatic cord. Fat is an excellent insulator and this buildup of fat in the neck of the scrotum leads to an increase in scrotal temperature. For optimum sperm production, the testis needs to be about two degrees cooler than body temperature and this buildup of fat especially in the neck of the testis (around the spermatic cord) can lead to abnormal sperm development. When these fatter bulls are subjected to a Continue reading Keep Them Fit! →

Forage Resiliency Webinar Series

Register for one, two or all three.

The Ohio State Integrated Forage Management Team will be offering a three-part Zoom webinar series on forage resiliency to cover information on how to remain resilient to a variety of environmental challenges in forage production systems. This webinar series will consist of three 60-minute webinars on Zoom, held from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month in March, April, and May.

Each webinar has its own registration link. Please register for each webinar. Once registered, attendees will receive reminders to join the webinar and be able to view webinar recordings after the event.

Webinar 1: Weather Damage Evaluation– Tuesday, March 4th 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Register at: https://go.osu.edu/1forageweb2025

Webinar 2: Options for Spring Planting– Tuesday, April 1st 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Register at: https://go.osu.edu/2forageweb2025

Webinar 3: Emergency Forages– Tuesday, May 6th 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Register at: https://go.osu.edu/3forageweb2025

February Cattle on Feed and Feedlot Sizes

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

The February Cattle on Feed report was released this past Friday afternoon and reported 11.7 million head of cattle in feedlots on February 1st. This was a 0.7 percent decrease from February 1, 2024. Marketings were up 1.4 percent year-over-year. There were no big surprises in the report relative to pre-report expectations, but there were some interesting points in the report.

Placements of cattle into feedlots during January were up 1.7 percent above January 2024. Weather and winter storms delayed Continue reading February Cattle on Feed and Feedlot Sizes →

Frost Seeding Season is Here

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

Soil heaving cycles help work seed into the soil.

Many forage managers are considering frost seeding this season in response to damage from the drought and hoof traffic over the winter. Now to St. Patrick’s Day tends to be the ideal time for frost seeding. Reason being, water that is held in the upper horizon of the soil freezes, then the water expands, which leads to pressure that forces soil up and out during a freeze. When the water in the soil thaws, it takes up less space, and the soil settles back again

If frost seeding occurs in a timely manner, soil heaving cycles help work seed that is spread on the surface into the soil. Good seed to soil contact will help seedlings get a jump start on the growing season without the risk of disturbing soils in the early spring when conditions may be too wet to tread on.

Livestock can be helpers with frost-seeding. Hoof traffic after frost seeding can assist with seed to soil contact in combination with soil heaving. You can Continue reading Frost Seeding Season is Here →

Managing Frost Heave in Alfalfa

– Emma Matcham, Kyle Verhoff, and Dave Barker, Ohio State University Extension

Alfalfa showing spring growth. Image credit: Mark Sulc

Winter’s freeze-thaw cycles can cause frost heaving in alfalfa and other winter crop fields. The colder than usual winter in Ohio this year could increase frost heave risk. This article covers the basics of identifying frost heave and planning for spring management if needed.

What is frost heave? Frost heave, also called heaving, is a lifting of the upper layers of soil and plants due to the expansion of water as it freezes, similar to how ice formation during freeze-thaw cycles expands potholes on roads. Frost heave can happen on soils regardless of whether they have crop or bare dirt, but it is generally . . .

Continue reading Managing Frost Heave in Alfalfa

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Virtual Beef School focuses on Drought Recovery

Register today!

The intensity of Ohio’s 2024 drought may have subsided, but its lingering affects will likely be with us for months to come. Themed “High Cattle Prices and Drought Recovery,” the second session of the 2025 Ohio Virtual Beef School will address those concerns.

Beginning at 6:30 p.m. on February 26, Noble County OSU Extension Educator Christine Gelley will focus her presentation on “Post Drought Pasture Management.” Following Gelley,  OSU Extension Field Specialist Jason Hartschuh will discuss the management of “Annual Forages as Supplemental Feed.”

Registration is free for any of the 2025 Virtual Beef School webinars by visiting: go.osu.edu/beefschool25.

Small Farm Conference & Trade Show: Sowing Seeds for Success

Get registered today!

Ohio State Extension has announced plans to host a Small Farm Conference in Wooster, OH on March 8th. The theme for this year’s Small Farm Conference is “Sowing Seeds for Success.”

Conference session topics are geared to beginning and small farm owners as well as to farms looking to diversify their operation. There will be five different conference tracks including: Horticulture and Crop Production, Business Management, Livestock, Natural Resources and Diversifying Your Enterprise.

Some conference topic highlights include: Growing in a Continue reading Small Farm Conference & Trade Show: Sowing Seeds for Success →

Price Risk Always Exists, even in a Bull Market

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

I doubt many would take issue with me calling the last couple of years a “bull market” for cattle. The combination of tight supplies and strong demand has resulted in cattle markets tracing an upward trajectory over the last couple of years. As an illustration, the chart below tracks the daily nearby CME© feeder cattle futures price over the last 26 months. In January of 2023, the nearby feeder cattle futures price was in the $180’s. As I write this article in February of 2025, the nearby futures price is in the $260’s.


While it is hard to dispute the overall strength of the recent cattle market, it is also important to note that during the last 26 months there have been multiple times when markets saw significant downward swings. The most Continue reading Price Risk Always Exists, even in a Bull Market →