Has your hay been analyzed?
The lack of longer stretches of rain free weather delayed hay production and has led to some of the lowest forage nutrient quality that I have seen in the 25 years I have been an Extension specialist.
Those are the words of Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist at the University of Kentucky, and his words are not unique to only Kentucky. Unfortunately, we’ve seen very much the same here in Ohio.
Learn more about Lehmkuhler’s concerns for managing forage quality and the health of spring calving cows and their calves in his article Right the Train Before it Derails. Then make plans to join us tomorrow evening, February 5th at 6:30, for the next session of the 2026 OSU Winter Beef Webinars when we detail concerns for the hay quality we’re seeing throughout Ohio.
OSU Extension Educator Ted Wiseman will lead off the discussion of managing Ohio’s hay nutrient concerns during the Webinar with a recap of the hay quality presently being found throughout Ohio. He’ll also share the supplementation required to make it acceptable nutritionally for spring calving cows.
Accepting the fact that making quality hay in Ohio is an ages old concern are there ways we can prepare to go into hay feeding season better prepared? To conclude the evening Stan Smith, Extension PA, broaches the idea that perhaps it’s time to simply plan to manage marginal quality forages annually.
Regardless if you agree forage quality and cow nutrition has become an annual concern for Ohio’s cattlemen, this week’s webinar on Hay Quality Concerns in Ohio should prove to be thought provoking.