Pasture

Plan now to make your summer forage seeding!

– Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Fairfield County

With Ohio’s wheat harvest being completed early this year it allows ample time to plan and prepare to do an August forage seeding. Over the next month soil fertility testing should be accomplished, perennial and biennial weeds can be controlled, and ample time remains for selecting and securing the desired forage species for seeding.

During the winter of 2021 the first session of the Ohio Beef Cattle Management School focused on making quality hay for beef cattle with an emphasis on soil fertility and seed species selection when doing a new seeding. The first video embedded below is the 38 minute presentation from that first Beef School session when Noble County Extension Educator Christine Gelley discussed considerations for selecting species for a new seeding and other critical considerations when establishing a new stand of forage. Beginning at about the 14 minute mark of the presentation Gelley spends a few minutes discussing the specifics of seed species selection for new seedings.

Also, posted in the second video below, Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Field Specialist for Dairy Management and Precision Livestock, discusses soil fertility practices that will prolong the life, quality and productivity of hay and forage stands for beef cattle.

Is your summer grazing plan drought proof?

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Keep an eye on the forages as we enter our warmer and drier months. Always have a game plan if forages start running short.

Getting the first cutting of hay done this year was challenging in many areas. Forages were already slightly ahead of normal maturity due to an early spring, and subsequent weather conditions—either timely rains pushing harvest dates further or dry spells—varied depending on location. Despite these challenges, most hay fields with good fertility were dense and yielded well, except for areas experiencing dry conditions.

Living in Indiana, the old adage is, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.” While weather patterns can vary widely depending on location and time of year, most areas do experience consistent patterns over time that help define their climate and weather characteristics. Understanding these patterns is crucial for Continue reading Is your summer grazing plan drought proof? →

Wheat’s early, are oats a doublecrop ‘forage’ option?

– Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Fairfield County

In order to optimize utilization, oats have been strip grazed throughout the winter.

With Ohio’s wheat crop coming off early this year, those who may need additional forage have an excellent opportunity for acres to be available where annual forages can be planted and grazed or harvested yet this year. For those wanting acres available for multiple grazings or cuttings later this summer, a summer annual such as sorghum-sudangrass may be the logical choice. However, if the forage need is not immediate, but rather a single grazing or cutting in late summer or fall is preferred, based on our experience in Fairfield County with oats planted after wheat harvest over the past 20+ years, oats are a low cost yet high quality feed alternative. In fact, if planted most any time in July or August, there’s an opportunity to grow anywhere from two to five tons of forage on a dry matter basis while investing little more than the cost of 80-100 pounds of oats, 45+/- pounds of nitrogen, and some time and labor.

With wheat harvest so early this year there may be the urge to get a second crop forage planted immediately. If planting a summer annual such as sorghum-sudangrass an earliest possible planting date is important. However, over the years we’ve found it’s NOT important to rush to get oats planted as Continue reading Wheat’s early, are oats a doublecrop ‘forage’ option? →

Key Traits of Grazing Type Sorghum-Sudangrass

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension (also published in Ohio Farmer on-line)

At A Glance

There’s still time to create lots of feed with sorghum-sudangrass.

Sorghum-sudangrass is a summer annual forage and grain crop that can be planted to fill the gap in cool-season forage availability during summer slump. It can be planted anytime between May 1 to July 20 in Ohio and yield enough growth to be worth the effort to plant for beef or sheep production.

Sorghum-Sudangrass, an excellent option for summer grazing

Sorghum-sudangrass is a hybrid summer annual grass that can be harvested repeatedly throughout the summer months, up until first frost. It is a cross of two sorghum species- sudangrass (which is a fine-stemmed, leafy, annual forage) and grain sorghum (a stalky, upright, annual forage that is commonly used for silage or for grain). When hybridized, you get Continue reading Key Traits of Grazing Type Sorghum-Sudangrass →

Honeysuckle; Friend or Foe?

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

Tartarian honeysuckle. Photo by Kathy Smith, OSU Extension, School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Honeysuckle is a commonly found plant that often draws attention of passersby with its pleasantly fragrant blossoms from April to July. The sweet nectar inside its tubular flowers is edible by many animals and even people. There are over 180 known honeysuckle species in the northern hemisphere. It’s beauty and fragrance lead to the introduction of many non-native honeysuckle species to North America in the 1800s primarily for ornamental use. Despite the sweetness it adds to the air, the impacts that non-native types have had on our environment are certainly not sweet.

Unfortunately, four of these introduced species are extremely aggressive in our landscapes and have created an imbalance in natural systems due to their ability to outcompete native plants for resources. The types of honeysuckles which are damaging to these spaces are Japanese honeysuckle, which is a vining type, and three bush type honeysuckles- amur, morrow’s, and tartarian. Some species form dense thickets of shrubs and some spread with vast creeping vines that can strangle neighboring plants. These honeysuckle species are commonly found in pastures, woodlands, reclaimed sites, and Continue reading Honeysuckle; Friend or Foe? →

Successful Grazing Management: Anticipate changes and adapt to evolving conditions

– Victor Shelton, Retired NRCS Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

In pastures green, the cows reside, ruminating thoughts in quiet abide. Underneath the gentle sun’s embrace, they chew their cud with tranquil grace.

I was recently asked to briefly explain “ruminating.”  Ruminating is when the ruminant animal regurgitates partially digested food from its stomach back into its mouth, where it chews it again to further break it down. This process helps these animals extract as many nutrients as possible from their food, which is typically plant material that is difficult to digest.  Ruminants are key to sustainable agriculture systems because they have a unique ability to convert low-quality forages into high-quality meat and milk products.

Ruminants possess a distinctive digestive system optimized for the microbial breakdown of complex plant materials. The ruminant “stomach” consists of four chambers which are home to a microbial population that degrades feedstuffs consumed by ruminant animals. Optimizing the rumen microbiome not only enhances animal welfare and productivity but can also Continue reading Successful Grazing Management: Anticipate changes and adapt to evolving conditions →

Sweet Scents on the Breeze

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

If not already, these bloom will soon be common site throughout Ohio!

Mutiflora rose is reaching full-bloom this week. The sweet aroma of roses and honeysuckle drifting through the June evening air is almost heavenly when paired with the scent of freshly mowed hay. As sweet as they smell, both multiflora roses and Japanese honeysuckle are invasive weeds commonly found in Ohio pastures and woodlands.

I tend to be less critical of these two weeds than many others simply because they are not poisonous to livestock, they can provide some benefit to wildlife (primarily birds and insects), and they can be target grazed with small ruminant animals. Goats are quite effective grazers of both roses and honeysuckle because they have a specialized prehensile lip that allows them to select individual leaves from plants and avoid thorns and woody tissue.

However, NO ONE should be propagating these plants on purpose or ignoring them in the landscape. Because they have invasive status in Ohio, it is every landowners’ Continue reading Sweet Scents on the Breeze →

Prioritize a water source in a rotational grazing system

– Dean Kreager, Licking County Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator

Water, the most important nutrient!

Water is the most important nutrient for grazing animals.  Without it they won’t live a week and with limited or poor-quality sources they won’t perform up to their potential. Often availability and placement of good quality water sources is the biggest limiting factor to designing pasture lots.  Figuring out ways to split pasture lots and still have a nearby water source is a challenge.

We are often reminded of the benefits of rotational grazing and frequent movement of animals. Improved pasture productivity, increased stocking density, better distribution of nutrients back onto pastures, and reduction of weed issues all sound great, but what about a water source. Research has shown that beef cattle need 5-20 gallons per day, sheep and goats 2-3 gallons, horses 10-15 gallons, and dairy cattle 15-30 gallons. Finding ways to meet the needed water demands can improve the efficiency of pasture use.

The amount of water that needs to be available at Continue reading Prioritize a water source in a rotational grazing system →

Kill Poison Hemlock Now!

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

While hemlock may still be vegetative today, it will soon look like this.

Poison hemlock has already emerged in a vegetative state around Noble County and beyond. Soon it will be bolting and blooming on stalks 6-10 feet tall. All parts of the plant are toxic to all classes of livestock if consumed and is prevalent along roadsides, ditches, and crop field borders.

It is a biennial weed that does not flower in the first year of growth but flowers in the second year. The earlier you can address poison hemlock with mowing and/or herbicide application, the Continue reading Kill Poison Hemlock Now! →

Yellow Flowers of Concern

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

This plant can cause livestock poisonings in harvested or grazed forages.

Fields along the floodplain have been turning yellow over the past couple weeks as cressleaf groundsel is bolting and flowering. From a distance, a haze of yellow floats above the field. Upon closer inspection, you will find collections of daisy-like flowers on slender stems waving their sunny faces in the breeze. While it sounds sort of dreamy and whimsical, this plant (also known as butterweed) can cause livestock poisonings in harvested or grazed forages. All parts of the plant are considered toxic in both fresh and dried states.

Cressleaf groundsel is a member of the aster family and displays yellow daisy-like blooms in the springtime on upright hollow stems that have a purple hue. These plants are winter annuals, meaning the seed germinates in the fall producing vegetative growth and then flowers in the springtime. If allowed to set seed, the plants will appear again in greater numbers the year following. The plants typically go unnoticed in the fall, which is the best Continue reading Yellow Flowers of Concern →