Forages

You can’t manage what you don’t measure!

– Stan Smith, PA, Fairfield County OSU Extension

Maybe never more than now, during what has become known as perhaps the worst drought in Ohio history, has the adage “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” been more valid or meaningful to those trying to feed a beef cow. With cattlemen looking for alternative feedstuffs in the absence of adequate pasture and hay supply, it’s important for those who are balancing the needs of cows in various stages of production to know the nutritional value of the various feedstuffs they may be utilizing. In this excerpt from one of the OSU Extension Beef Team’s 2021 Beef School sessions, Perry County Educator Ted Wiseman goes over the interpretation of a forage analysis and how various quality of forages may need to be supplemented.

Find Wiseman’s presentation Analyzing Forage Quality to Meet the Nutritional Needs of the Beef Cow in it’s entirety linked here.

Caring for drought-stricken pastures

– Erika Lyon, OSU Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Jefferson and Harrison Counties (originally published in Farm and Dairy)

Drought conditions will likely cause damage well into the fall season.

Ohio’s southeastern region has been hit hard by drought this summer, with pastures and hayfields showing significant damage. At this point, many fields are in poor or very poor condition, with slow to no plant growth due to dry conditions and higher-than-normal temperatures.

Even with excellent management practices, drought conditions will cause visible damage to fields well into the fall season.

One of the emerging concerns from this summer’s drought is potential toxicity developing in forages. For example, the risk of Continue reading Caring for drought-stricken pastures →

Lessons from Drought Tolerant Weeds

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

Because it’s deep rooted, wild carrot thrives in dry weather.

The Ohio State University’s State Climatologist, Aaron Wilson, has told me before- “The best way to end a drought is to talk about drought.”

I am hoping he is right. Maybe by the time you read this article we will have had some substantial rainfall. But as I write this in late August, my area of Ohio continues to suffer from the impacts of the summer drought. It is difficult to find inspiration for hope when the factors that cause this struggle feel beyond our control. However, the optimist in me is always looking for the bright side of any situation.

Beef Cattle Field Specialist, Garth Ruff, recently offered some inspirational points of view in an article looking back on a road trip through Texas that can remind us how blessed we are in Ohio to have ample rainfall in our normal growing seasons. Many cattle operations there create their annual management plans relying on half the rainfall we receive in a normal Ohio year. While they may be more conditioned to droughty conditions, how to stock cattle on dry ground, and how to offer supplemental feed to make up the difference, it is not out of reach for Ohioans to borrow tips from cattle producers in more arid climates to help cope with our abnormal year.

You can read more about tips for managing the herd during drought on Continue reading Lessons from Drought Tolerant Weeds →

Emergency Haying and Grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Acreage Available for 70 Ohio Counties

– David Marrison, OSU Extension Field Specialist, Farm Management

CRP is now available for haying and grazing in 70 Ohio counties.

Drought conditions continued to degrade across Ohio. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor report on September 17, 59.56% of Ohio is experiencing severe or greater drought conditions with 9.5% classified as D4 or exceptional drought conditions (Figure 1). It is important to remember that D4 conditions only occur once every 50 to 100 years. Approximately 98% of the state is experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions. One silver lining is the current seven-day forecast shows the potential for rain in many areas of Ohio next week which should help slow the progress of drought should it occur.

The drought conditions have impacted both pastures and hayfields across Ohio. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) administered under the USDA Farm Service Agency permits emergency haying and grazing on certain CRP practices in a county designated as D2 or higher on the U.S. Drought Monitor, or . . .

Continue reading Emergency Haying and Grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Acreage Available for 70 Ohio Counties

Assistance for Ohio Farms Impacted by Drought

– Stan Smith, PA, Fairfield County OSU Extension

Drought conditions are not expected to ease soon.

The most recent release from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows more than 77% of Ohio is experiencing drought conditions with “extreme drought” in about a 25% of the state and 18 Ohio counties seeing D4, or “exceptional drought” conditions. Forecasts suggest these conditions are likely to worsen before getting better. In response, Ohio State University Extension, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Ohio Department of Agriculture are extending assistance to agricultural producers through a variety of programs and opportunities. Following is a partial listing of opportunities Cattlemen may explore.

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): This program provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have Continue reading Assistance for Ohio Farms Impacted by Drought →

Managing Weeds

– Jordan Penrose, Ohio State University Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Morgan County

Knapweed is becoming obvious in many pastures.

With fall approaching, though it doesn’t seem like it, but it seems like weeds are more noticeable here. In southeastern Ohio, we are extremely dry with very little to no grass left in the pastures, and the weeds more noticeable. In Morgan County, the weeds that I have been getting the most questions about are spotted knapweed, hemp dogbane, cocklebur, and johnsongrass. Some other noticeable weeds that I am seeing as well are ironweed, Canada thistle, horsenettle, bedstraw, and others. On the family farm, we are seeing a newer weed, small carpetgrass, that I haven’t seen before until last fall. We just started to see it come up around mid-August in the field where we feed most of our hay during the winter.

Why are we seeing more and more weeds show up? I remember when ironweed used to be the biggest problem weed on the farm, now it seems like a weed that we are willing to live with as compared to some of the other newer weeds, like cocklebur or spotted knapweed. Some of the reasons as to why we are these weeds pop up and notice more and more of them can be caused by Continue reading Managing Weeds →

Alternative forage option when the rain finally comes

– Jason Hartschuh, Extension Field Specialist, Dairy Management and Precision Livestock, Ohio State University Extension

Oats remain an option for late planted feed.

They always say if you don’t like the weather in Ohio just wait a few hours and it will change. Unfortunately, we may have to wait more than a few hours for the weather to change and bring rain, but it will. Unfortunately, when this rain does come it maybe to late to grow more pasture forage for your livestock without causing even more long-term damage to your pastures. If you have crop land especially corn silage, early soybeans, or even pasture that could use renovations now is the time to find seed and be optimistic for rain sometime this fall. Your decisions on the possible forage crop to plant will depend on when the rains finally come, and the timing of your forages needs. These forages can be planted as single species or as a mix. However, a mix may reduce yield especially since moisture will be lacking for a while even when it does finally rain.

Oats
The first option for fall forage is spring oats or winter oats. These are both oats, but they are not the same. Spring oats is our most common type of oats that we have successfully used as a forage crop planted in the late summer, but we have planted oats through mid-September in Fremont Ohio with yields of almost Continue reading Alternative forage option when the rain finally comes →

Drought Stressed Corn for Corn Silage

Originally written in 2012 by Dr. Bill Weiss, Professor and Dairy Extension Specialist, The Ohio State University and Dianne Shoemaker, Field Specialist, Dairy Production Economics, Ohio State University Extension.

Drought conditions have adversely affected corn.

Revised August 2024 by Dr. Maurice Eastridge, Professor and Dairy Extension Specialist, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University

With the limited rain in Ohio recently, corn development has been adversely impacted and physiological maturity accelerated. The extent of the drought varies by area of the State, but much of the southeastern area has been classified as severe to extreme drought (Drought Information | State Climate Office of Ohio (osu.edu)). Also within a farm, considerable variation in the corn growth may occur based on planting date and the drainage in the fields (corn on knolls and hills will dry quicker than corn in low areas). The key issues to address at this time are:

    1. Dry matter (DM) content of the silage. The plant should not be harvested prior to reaching 30% DM and should be harvested before reaching 40% DM (30-32% for horizontal silos and 35 to 40% for upright silos). Water can be added to the silage during unloading, but intercellular plant water is more effective in the silage preservation than surface applied water.
    2. Nitrate concentrations. During drought conditions, the corn will take up nitrate from the soil and accumulate it in the lower portion of the plant until it is metabolized by the plant for protein. The nitrate concentration will vary based on N application, timing of the N application based on before or after a cover crop, severity of the dry conditions, variation in drainage within fields, and chop height of the plants (higher chop height reduces nitrate concentration). Being safe is better than being sorry – collect a representative sample of the corn and send it to a lab for analysis.

Other questions include . . .

Continue reading Drought Stressed Corn for Corn Silage

Effective pasture management: Crucial for sustaining long-term productivity and environmental health!

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

With each sunrise, new grazing opportunities arise!

This is the 200th issue of Grazing Bites—time flies, but the need for good pasture management remains as crucial as ever.

In the book “Observations on the Means of Improving the Cultivation of the Soil and the Management of Livestock,” Scottish gentleman farmer, botanist, essayist and scholar, James Anderson, provided a detailed approach to managing livestock on pasture.  He strongly advocated for rotational grazing, a method that involves moving livestock between different pastures.  This technique helps prevent overgrazing and allows pastures to recover, thus maintaining soil fertility and forage quality.

Anderson also emphasized the importance of avoiding overgrazing to prevent soil degradation and ensure adequate forage availability. He urged farmers to closely Continue reading Effective pasture management: Crucial for sustaining long-term productivity and environmental health! →

Forage Quality Analysis Service available thru The Ohio State University

For more detail visit their website.

Forage testing and quality analysis is now available at the Sustainable Agroecosystems Lab, a part of The Ohio State University. The lab is committed to advancing sustainable agricultural practices, and their latest service offering is designed to support farmers, researchers, and educators in optimizing forage quality and productivity. Utilizing state-of-the-art Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) technology, their goal is to provide precise and rapid analysis of standing forage, hay, and silage.

Find more detail including pricing information at their Forage Analysis website.