Act Now to Control Poison Hemlock

– Dr. J. D. Green, Extension Weed Scientist, Dr. Megan Romano, UKVDL Toxicologist, Dr. Michelle Arnold, Ruminant Extension Veterinarian

With temps reaching the 60’s its a good time to apply 2,4-D ester to poison hemlock.

During the early summer, the presence of poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is more evident. Although this plant is often seen along roadways, abandoned lots, fencerows, and other non-cropland sites, in recent years it has expanded out into grazed pasture lands and hay fields. Poison hemlock is toxic to a wide variety of animals including man, birds, wildlife, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses. It contains several neurotoxic piperidine alkaloids; the two major ones are coniine (major alkaloid in the mature plant and seed) and the more toxic gamma-coniceine (predominate in green, vegetative growth). These alkaloids cause muscle paralysis by acting as a neuromuscular blocking agent, resulting in two major effects: 1) rapid, sometimes fatal effects on the nervous system and 2) they are teratogenic agents, meaning they are known to cause birth defects when consumed during certain times of gestation. Cattle seldom choose to eat poison hemlock unless no other forage is available or it is incorporated in hay, silage, or the seeds in grain. A commonly asked question is Continue reading

Managing Pastures for Calving

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

Anything that reduces stocking density will reduce field pugging and mud.

As the winter season continues for us and spring is fast approaching, it is time for spring calving. For some calving season has started and for the rest who calve in the spring, calving season is starting soon. Since the start of the year here in Ohio, we have seen a wide variation of weather conditions. We have cold and warm temperatures, rain and snow, and we have also been muddy. Most people here in Ohio, calve outside on pastures, and that can be tough on the pastures. You must consider a lot when it comes to calving pastures, like the field conditions, where is the water, how far is away is the field from your facilities if you need to get a cow in a better place to assist her, and whether you are feeding hay or are the cows on a stockpiled field.

Trying to manage your pastures can be difficult no matter the time of the year, but when it is winter and early spring it can be more difficult. During this time Continue reading

Spring’s coming . . . is your pasture ready?

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Stand evaluations are usually worth the time. Do you have enough clover?

It is approaching the time of year in which you start seeing signs of spring. I start watching for any new green growth emerging slowly from the leftovers of last year. In my neck of the woods, it seems a bit earlier than normal but that can turn on a dime.

I like to walk over the pastures in the late winter or early spring for a number of reasons. First of all, to check plant density, diversity and soil cover. If there was extra soil disturbance in the past few months, it might mean that we have small gaps in the perennial plants that could give way for optimistic weeds to surface. Now is a good time to try Continue reading

Posted in Pasture

Revisiting grass tetany and magnesium deficiency

Clifton Martin, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Muskingum County

When the spring flush arrives lactating animals will be the most susceptible to grass tetany.

Managing agricultural field fertility through lime applications is a well-known practice with the goal of maximizing plant growth and productivity. One choice in the process is the decision to use calcitic lime or dolomitic lime as a source. Competing variables in the decision might be economics of short-term cost versus managing for a magnesium deficiency in the pasture. Generally, calcitic lime is cheaper to acquire and dolomitic lime is more expensive, but as we seek to manage a magnesium deficiency it may be advantageous to use dolomitic lime to deliver the needed nutrient to plants. This may be a consideration in a hedge to prevent grass tetany in a pasture. With spring just around the corner, it is a wonderful time to revisit the grass tetany challenge in forages.

What does the problem look like?

To get straight to the point, animal death is the outcome of a grass tetany problem if not properly treated. Grass tetany, also called hypomagnesemia, refers to blood magnesium concentration that is Continue reading

Managing Mud: Strategies for Reclaiming Disturbed Areas

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

Fig. 1. Excessive rainfall and high livestock concentration in and around hay feeding areas can result in almost complete disturbance.

Hoof damage from livestock during the winter months can result in almost complete disturbance of desired vegetation and soil structure in and around heavy use areas. Even well-designed hay feeding pads will have significant damage at the edges where animals enter and leave. Highly disturbed areas create perfect growing conditions for summer annual weeds like spiny pigweed and cocklebur. Weed growth is stimulated by lack of competition from a healthy and vigorous sod and the high fertility from the concentrated area of dung, urine, and rotting hay. The objective of this article is to describe two approaches to revegetating these areas.

Regardless of the reclamation strategy that is employed, it is important to create Continue reading

Precision Technology for your Beef Operation

Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Field Specialist, Dairy Management and Precision Livestock

Use of technology can improve how we manage the cattle.

Precision farming technologies have greatly improved row crop production and many different technologies are available to change the way you manage your beef operation. For beef producers, there are two major classes of technology the first improves how we manage the cattle while the second improves forage and pasture management. Today we will discuss two cattle management technologies.

The first technology that is being transferred from the dairy industry is activity monitoring systems that include rumination and eating time. The systems are showing benefits for both cow-calf producers and feedlots. These systems utilize accelerometers mounted to either the cow ear, a collar around the neck, or to the leg. The ear and neck-mounted systems are seeing the greatest adoption in cow-calf operations that are using artificial insemination for heat detection. All of these systems can be Continue reading

Eliminating Unwanted Woody Weeds from Pastures in the Winter

Dean Kreager, Licking County Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator

When you look at your pastures this winter do you see nice clean pastures, or do you see multiflora rose and unwanted scrub trees reminding you that they are not going away.  Controlling undesirable woody plants such as multiflora rose, honey locust, autumn olive, and ailanthus can improve your pastures by reducing competition for nutrients, saving on flat tire repair, and reducing the number of lame animals from thorns.  A 2005 report by D. Pimentel et al. from Cornell estimated invasive weeds in pastures in the United States cost 1 billion dollars a year in losses and damages.  I can only imagine how high that number would be now, almost 20 years later. Weed control is a never-ending war but even in the winter you can win some battles.  Acting now, while plants are dormant, can be very effective at eliminating woody perennial plants while minimizing damage to non-target plants.

Mechanical

Control by cutting or pulling when the ground is not frozen can be accomplished during winter.  This can provide instant gratification since the results are immediate.  Persistence in the future will be important with mechanical methods since roots that may remain in the ground are often able to generate new plants.

Herbicide

Winter often provides a little Continue reading

Posted in Pasture

February is for Frost Seeding

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

February is here and it comes with a flood of hearts, flowers, chocolates, and romance. It also brings weather that triggers maple syrup season and the ideal conditions for frost seeding pastures. If your valentine is a pasture manager, I have the perfect gift idea ahead!

Say “I love you” with the gift of clover seed! Instead of a bouquet of roses, consider a bag of red clover. Instead of fancy wine, consider an improved variety of white clover. Maybe just go ahead and get all of the above though, just to be safe.

Not convinced yet? Let me explain why February is a fantastic time to share the love of legumes.

The ideal time for frost seeding tends to be mid-February. When the water in the upper horizon of the soil freezes, the water expands, which leads to pressure that forces soil up and out during a freeze. Then when the Continue reading

Pasture Rent

Clif Little, OSU Extension Educator, Guernsey County (originally published in Farm & Dairy)

A pasture is worth what someone is willing to pay.

What is a pasture worth? A pasture is like a house, crop field, or anything else being rented, and is worth what someone is willing to pay. The price we can charge for land rental is directly related to demand.

If we do not have competition for land, then we will be unable to get top dollar. Some parcels do not have a great deal of livestock producers living nearby. If a farmer must travel great distances to care for livestock, the property is obviously worth less to them.

On the other hand, if we have many neighbors who would benefit from the extra ground, the land becomes more valuable. To coin a real estate phrase, “location, location, location.”

Another factor influencing pasture rental rate is Continue reading

Small Carpetgrass: Another invasive grass to watch for

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

Small carpetgrass is a new annual invasive grass weed.

Earlier this fall as dad and I were going along checking and fixing fence along a field that we have been stockpiling for cattle, we found a grass that we had never noticed in the field or on the farm before. The first thought that came to mind was that it was Japanese stiltgrass, but after looking up some pictures of Japanese stiltgrass on our phones, we determined it was not. Then we went and used a plant ID app on a phone to see what it would come with, and it identified it as small carpetgrass. To verify, we searched for small carpetgrass on the internet looking at an Extension website to confirm.

Small carpetgrass also known as joint-head grass, was introduced into the U.S. from Japan and eastern Asia. The earliest reports of the plant are from the early 1970s. Small carpetgrass is an annual invasive grass weed that thrives in sunny, moist areas and prefers wet habitats like stream banks, pond and lake margins, wetlands, and disturbed areas. We found it an area where the soil gets disturbed from where we feed round bales on pasture in the winter. This fall we did notice the grass died off with the first frost and that our cattle avoided eating it. What stuck out the most about this grass was the Continue reading