Management

Who Can Work on Your Farm

– Emily G. Adams, Ohio State University Extension Educator, Coshocton County, Ohio (previously published in the Ag Safety S.T.A.T. electronic newsletter)

The law treats the children you hire differently depending on their relationship to you.

It won’t be long until hay season will be upon us. For some farms that means more labor than usual is required to get all the jobs done. That labor may include your own children or grandchildren. Today we’ll take a look at what the law allows and also consider what types of jobs kids are capable of handling from a developmental standpoint.

One great reference to guide these considerations are “Youth on the Farm: What Type of Farm Work Can They Perform” by Peggy Hall and Catherine Daniels in the OSU Agricultural and Resource Law Program. Another very helpful publication is Continue reading →

Hauling Pen-Pack Manure

– Glen Arnold, CCA, OSU Extension Field Specialist, Manure Nutrient Management

While the nutrients and organic matter in pen-pack manure are an excellent addition to farm fields, we always want to keep water quality in mind when handing manure.

Since spring has arrived, both large and small livestock owners with pen-pack manure are looking to apply the manure as soon as field conditions allow. Across the state I have seen stockpiles of pen-pack manure outside of sheep, horse, cattle, and dairy buildings. The nutrients and organic matter in pen-pack manure are an excellent addition to farm fields.

We always want to keep water quality in mind when handing manure. The goal is to make Continue reading →

“This is a Family Business!?”

– Dr. Roy Burris, Beef Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

After more than forty years of visiting farms, I still cringe when folks describe their farming operation as a “family” business. That’s the way it should be and there’s no better place to raise a family, but I still find that statement “cringe worthy”. It’s because family is family and Business is Business! A family business may have to ultimately decide whether it is a family or a business. And sadly, business principles usually win out. I’ve seen that too many times.

Dave Pratt, a ranch management consultant, says that we have only three choices in any business: (1) We can be profitable, (2) We can subsidize the business, or (3) We can go out of business (bankruptcy). Many family farms choose the second option until they are sometimes forced into the third one. Any business needs to be profitable and all family members or employees need to work toward that goal.

I was on a recent farm visit when I suddenly realized that I had been there before – many years before. This farm had been Continue reading →

Dewormers – Are They An Extremely Valuable Non-Renewable Resources?

– Michelle Arnold, DVM (Ruminant Extension Veterinarian, UKVDL), University of Kentucky

A “non-renewable” resource is a resource with economic value that cannot be readily replaced on a level equal to its consumption. Petroleum and coal are two familiar examples of valuable non-renewable products used daily but known to exist in limited supply, and formation of new product takes billions of years. Dewormers, on the other hand, are products that can be purchased from almost any farm or veterinary supply store and online. There are many different kinds, fairly inexpensive, and seemingly effective at killing parasites in the digestive tract of cattle and certain types also control flies, ticks and lice. They come in many forms and can be delivered to cattle by mouth as a liquid, paste or in block form, by injection, or simply by pouring it down the topline. Given this situation, how could dewormers ever be classified as “extremely valuable non-renewable resources”? In a recent veterinary continuing education meeting at the UKVDL, Dr. Ray Kaplan, an internationally-known veterinary parasitologist from the University of Georgia, used that Continue reading →

Beef AGRI NEWS Today, the April Podcast

In this month’s podcast of Beef AGRI NEWS Today, show host Duane Rigsby visits with OSU Extension Beef Coordinator John Grimes and about trade wars that include agriculture, transitioning from winter to spring, and preparations for spring planting.

Early Path to Quality Beef

– Justin Sexten, Ph.D., Director, CAB Supply Development

You know the role health and nutrition play in feedlot performance, carcass quality grade and profitability. Yet many readers challenge the idea that these benefits can be realized at the ranch, unless they retain ownership beyond the farm or ranch gate.

The increasingly transparent market with buyers tracking results by source underscores that producing high-quality beef takes a systematic approach no one segment can afford to ignore. Ever. The time required to influence your herd’s genetic potential is measured in years, so managing for quality is always important.

It takes four years, really: Select a superior sire, gestate for nine months and nurse the cow for another seven months. Develop heifers prior to breeding for seven months, breed those superior replacements, repeat the nine months of gestation and add Continue reading →

Carefully Approach Spring Manure Applications

– Robert Meinen, Senior Extension Associate, Penn State University

Appropriate timing is an important part of efficient manure application

At this time of year you may be looking at a full manure storage and desire to get an early jump on application for the coming growing season. Patience can pay off in the form of manure nutrient conservation. After all, the goal of manure application is to place valuable nutrients on the soil where they are needed and to keep them there. A large part of this equation is timing. The closer the nutrient is applied to actual crop need the better.

The goal of manure application is to place valuable nutrients on the soil where they are needed and to keep them there.

Application of nutrients during times of Continue reading →

Beef AGRI NEWS Today, the March Podcast

In this month’s podcast of Beef AGRI NEWS Today, show host Duane Rigsby visits with OSU Extension Beef Coordinator John Grimes and about trade tariff’s, ELDs, alternatives for managing mud, and restoring the cattle feeding areas that have been destroyed this winter!

Can Small Ohio Cow Herds Compete in the Marketplace?

– Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Fairfield County

Frequently over the years we’ve talked about Ohio’s average cow herd size – between 16 and 17 cows at any given time – and how it impacts management and marketing decisions on that ‘average’ size beef farm. Related to that, recently I was asked, “What are the key beef herd management concerns Ohio’s small herd owners can address to compete with those who have the cow numbers that allows them to capture the advantages of economics of scale?”

Working facilities are a vital component for allowing small cow herds to compete with the economics of scale of larger herds.

As we think about what numbers it might take to capture the benefits of size and scale, keep in mind that most cattle travel to and from the feedlot in pot loads carrying 48,000 pounds of cattle. Also, the question of how smaller herds can compete on a scale with larger herds is not unique to just Ohio’s cattlemen. As we look to our neighbors we find the average cow herd size in Indiana is 16, Michigan’s average herd is 13.5 cows, West Virginia averages almost 19, Pennsylvania has an average of 12.5 cows per farm, and Kentucky has the most of any neighbors averaging 29 cows. Even when we look to Texas, we find their average cow herd size is 32. It’s obvious the challenges of Continue reading →

Beef AGRI NEWS Today

Below, the February podcast of Beef AGRI NEWS Today with OSU Extension Beef Coordinator John Grimes and host Duane Rigsby focuses on a variety of timely management concerns including US beef herd expansion, exports, trade agreements, calving season challenges, breeding season decisions and upcoming programs.