Pasture

Beefing Up Pastures After Drought

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

Two years of drought have stressed pastures.

After two years of droughty conditions, pastures in the region have taken a hard toll and are showing distress in the form of uneven growth with patches of bare ground in-between. If these patches are left alone, they will either be filled in with opportunistic weeds or become muddy holes this winter. Bare ground is bad news for topsoil preservation as it will have a propensity to erode.

So, what is to be done before winter about uneven pasture coverage? What can be done this spring?

We want to try to cover the soil with something before the weather turns. We want to reduce animal hoof traffic in these damaged spaces if we expect them to recover.

Even though it is the middle of October, there are still opportunities to Continue reading Beefing Up Pastures After Drought →

Don’t graze too short!

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Don’t rob the reserves: grazing too short before dormancy weakens plants for winter and next spring.

Quite often, pastures are grazed down tighter than they should be and earlier than they should have been in the fall.  This weakens forage plants, slows growth in spring, and opens the stand for opportunistic weeds.  It’s usually done with good intentions: “I don’t want to feed any hay until I have to.” Or “I want to use every bit of grass before feeding hay.” Or even, “I’m just trying to maximize my grazing days.” Those are understandable goals, but they can cost much more in the long run than a few extra days of hay feeding.

Grazing forages too short in fall forces plants to use stored energy to regrow leaves, weakening them for winter and slowing spring recovery (paraphrased from François Guénon, “A Treatise on Milch Cows”: “The cow, like the pasture, is nature’s instrument: overuse it early, and it will deplete what sustains it”).

It’s best to Continue reading Don’t graze too short! →

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When it comes to weeds, what is the best course of action?

– Jordan Penrose, Ohio State University Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Morgan County (originally published in Farm and Dairy)

Cocklebur, a growing problem in Ohio pastures!

This year has seemed to be another year for weeds. Last year, I wrote an article for Farm and Dairy, “How to manage weeds in a drought,” because the weeds were more noticeable due to the short supply of grass.

This year, the weather has been a little different for us in southeastern Ohio, where I am located, but we still have had drought conditions in the latter part of summer, reaching D1 Moderate Drought on the U.S. Drought Monitor. This year, weeds seemed to be more noticeable all year, and just not in the later part of the summer.

I believe that we can all agree that a weed is a plant that is out of place and growing where it is not wanted. This year, some of the more problematic weeds I am seeing include johnsongrass, spotted knapweed, hemp dogbane, cocklebur, horsenettle, smooth Continue reading When it comes to weeds, what is the best course of action? →

On the Prowl for Foxtail Solutions

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

Foxtail can easily invade thin areas in pasture and hay fields. Photo: Ohio State

One of the most common weed complaints we have been hearing this year in pasture and hay systems has been, “What do I do about all this foxtail?” Before I dive into proposed ways to deal with foxtail today, we’ll review what foxtail is and why it is a concern.

There are three types of foxtail that we commonly encounter- green foxtail (most common in lawns), yellow foxtail (more common in crops and waste spaces), and giant foxtail (common in crops and disturbed sites). All three of these species are warm-season annual grasses that produce seed heads that resemble a fox’s bushy tail. All three have the potential to reduce desired crop yield and pose health challenges for livestock. While foxtail is not poisonous, it has unfavorable forage nutritional value and the structure of the bushy seed heads often catches in the gums and nasal cavities of animals as they eat. Because the seed heads have a bristle like appendage called an “awn” attached to them, once caught in the mouth or an airway, they can be difficult to expel. The damage that can result from the bristly seed can cause Continue reading On the Prowl for Foxtail Solutions →

Forage Management After Drought and a Tough Growing Season

– Emma Matcham, Christine Gelley, Ted Wiseman, OSU Extension

Two years of drought have stressed pastures.

After two years of drought stress followed by erratic rainfall patterns in 2025, Ohio forage producers are facing a challenging landscape. Pastures across the region show signs of wear—uneven growth, bare patches, and thin stands—while newly seeded alfalfa fields have struggled to establish due to poor planting conditions and unpredictable moisture. As winter approaches, now is the time to take action to protect soil, improve forage stands, and plan for a more successful spring.

Bare ground in pastures is more than an eyesore—it can lead to erosion, weed invasion, and mud. To prevent further degradation, producers should . . .

Continue reading Forage Management After Drought and a Tough Growing Season

Managing Sorghum Species During Fall Frosts

– Emma Matcham, OSU Extension Forage Specialist

After frost, sudangrass is a health risk to ruminants.

While most of the state continues to have moderate fall temperatures, there are a few regions with a risk of frost. This means it’s time for our annual sorghum species prussic acid reminders.

What is prussic acid?

Prussic acid is a cyanide-containing compound that forms from a compound called dhurrin, which is part of the defense mechanisms found in sorghum species. When cells are damaged from frost (or occasionally other stressors like sudden high insect feeding), chemical reactions in the plant cells cause dhurrin to convert into prussic acid. When mammals consume prussic acid, it can disrupt oxygen transfer and may be toxic even at . . .

Continue reading Managing Sorghum Species During Fall Frosts

Feeds and Feeding 2025: All over the place!

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Test hay for quality!

There’s an old saying that goes, “Droughty weather makes you worry, wet spells will make you starve.” This year, it sure feels that way. Some areas were too wet, making it tough to make hay or even get into the fields.  Other areas stayed dry and struggled to grow much at all. Now, with some much-needed rain, pastures have bounced back and cool-season forages have turned greener almost overnight. It’s a welcome sight, but one thing is still clear: forage growth is slowing down with shorter days, hay quality is all over the board and the choices we make this fall are going to carry right into next spring.

When grass greens back up, the temptation is to try and get as much grazing in as possible by grazing pastures tighter. I get it—we all want to stretch what’s out there. But grazing down to the nubbins usually does more harm than good. Plants need four inches of stubble to keep a solar panel working, to catch dew and to Continue reading Feeds and Feeding 2025: All over the place! →

Add Value by Adding Pounds

– Dr.Jeff Lehmkuhler, Extension Professor and Beef Cattle Specialist, University of Kentucky

Kentucky appears similar to Ohio on the Drought Monitor.

This year has been a year of extremes for precipitation. I pulled up the KYMesonet data from the Franklin County location. The total recorded precipitation was 10.9” for April, 8.8” in May, 7.3” in June, only 3.6” in July and a meager 0.5” in August. If we go a few miles east to the Lexington Mesonet recording station April was similar at 10.1”, 7.6” in May, June was 3.3” while July and August recorded only 2.0” of monthly precipitation. The high levels of precipitation in the spring made hay harvesting a challenge. This concerns me as most of the first cutting hay was cut late at a mature stage. Late-cut hay will have lower than normal nutritional value. I encourage you to work with your county extension agent or nutritionist to get your hay tested for nutrient content. The low levels of precipitation in July and August has led to much of the state experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions which can be shown by the US Drought Monitor map below. A bit of relief has come to some areas this week, but hopefully more rain will come to get some grass growth yet this fall.

The current forage conditions combined with the high feeder cattle prices and low grain/commodity feed prices have aligned in a manner that signals Continue reading Add Value by Adding Pounds →

Someone Call 911: Resuscitating Drought Stressed Pastures!!!

– Dr. Chris Teutsch, UK Research and Education Center, Princeton, KY

Figure 1. Recent research at the USDA Food Animal Production Unit located in Lexington, KY, found that compounds in red clover can reverse vasoconstriction caused by the toxins in endophyte tall fescue.

Every spring since I have been in Kentucky, I have written an article about getting ready for the next drought and every year we have had good rain. So, this spring I decided NOT to write an article on drought because I was beginning to feel like the boy that cried wolf. I think I jinxed us! In many parts of Kentucky two distinct dry periods, one in early summer and one in late summer combined with overgrazing significantly reduced summer and fall pasture growth and decreased pasture vigor. The good news is that pastures that were well managed prior to the drought seem to be recovering well. The bad news is that not all pastures were managed well prior to the drought. The objective of this article is to provide some practical suggestions for resuscitating pastures that may have been abused last summer.

Rest pastures this fall and next spring. The saying is that “time heals all wounds” and this includes pastures. However, the deeper the wound, the longer it is going to take and some of our pastures have pretty deep wounds that may need a little salve. At this point it important to Continue reading Someone Call 911: Resuscitating Drought Stressed Pastures!!! →

Weeds, especially challenging this year in both pastures and hay fields!

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Perilla Mint: Deadly to livestock, and it’s no longer hiding in the shade – watch for it in open pastures.

Weather has been the biggest variable again this year, and it’s made clear just how different conditions can be from one farm to the next. From my own place in southwest Indiana, we’ve had more rain than we’d like, while others nearby have been dealing with the opposite. No one set of observations covers every situation, so what I share each month comes from what I see at home, along with farm visits, conversations with producers and the questions and challenges you pass along. My goal is to offer ideas and principles you can adapt to your own conditions—rain or shine.

Weeds have been especially challenging this year across both pastures and hay fields. Prolonged periods of either excessive rainfall or drought have stressed desirable forage species, opening the door for Continue reading Weeds, especially challenging this year in both pastures and hay fields! →