Bunk Management; Impacts Animal Performance and Health

Feed bunk management plays an important role in both animal performance and preventing acidosis in the feedyard.

During the first session of the 2020 Ohio Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management School that was hosted by the OSU Extension Beef Team,  Dr. Francis Fluharty, Ohio State University Professor Emeritus and current Professor and Head of the Department of Animal and Dairy Science at The University of Georgia, focused a portion of his presentation on the significant impact that proper feed bunk management has on feed conversion, prevention of acidosis, and overall profitability. Here, in less than 8 minutes, Dr. Fluharty explains why bunk management is so important, nearly doubling the rate of gain and improving feed conversion by greater than 40% in one study.

From Across the Field – 6/25/2020

Dealing with Landscape Pests

Had a chance to go back to southern Ohio for Father’s Day and I can report that it is just as hot and humid down there as it is here other than the have had about an inch more rain in the past month. I spent Saturday with my brother at a large farm machinery consignment sale. The used equipment market has appeared to gain some strength as things sold very well, and higher than I would have anticipated.

Here locally everyone is dealing with dry conditions. I was in a barley field where the cracks in the ground were large enough to swallow a cell phone. After a week with many calls regarding Army Worm, it appears that they are on the tail end of the caterpillar cycle. I have set Western Bean Cut Worm traps across the county and will begin monitoring the flight of adult moths this week. Continue reading

Water Quality Extension Associate Services in NW Ohio

By: Rachel Cochran, Brigitte Moneymaker, Jordan Beck, Nick Eckel, Matthew Romanko, Boden Fisher, OSU Extension

Our Goal

Our goal is to engage farmers and their trusted advisors in new production strategies, technologies, and best management practices to improve fertilizer use efficiency and farm profitability while promoting soil health and reducing nutrient and sediment losses within the western Lake Erie basin.

Through education, outreach, and demonstrations highlighting the benefits of practices we hope to encourage widespread practice adoption and sustained practice implementation.

What We Need Help With

  • Learning about the unique challenges that face area farmers.
  • Finding partners interested in adopting new technologies and conservation practices and understanding their potential water quality, soil health and agronomic benefits.
  • Identifying potential sites for on-farm applied research trials and case studies.

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Double Crop Soybean Recommendations

By: Laura Lindsey, OSU Extension

As small grains are harvested across the state, here are some management considerations for double-crop soybean production:

Relative Maturity. Relative maturity (RM) has little effect on yield when soybeans are planted during the first three weeks of May. However, the effect of RM can be larger for late planting. When planting soybean late, the latest maturing variety that will reach physiological maturity before the first killing frost is recommended (Table 1). This is to allow the soybean plants to grow vegetatively as long as possible to produce nodes where pods can form before vegetative growth is slowed due to flowering and pod formation.

Table 1. Recommended relative maturity (RM) ranges for soybean varieties planted in June and July in northern, central, and southern Ohio. Continue reading

Corn and Soybeans Emerged, Wheat Makes Progress

Source: Ohio Ag Net

Rainfall increased throughout the state at an opportune time, causing soil moisture to improve, according to Cheryl Turner, State Statistician, USDA NASS, Ohio Field Office. While precipitation increased overall, dry weather continued in a few areas of the state. Topsoil moisture, however, increased from 53 percent adequate or surplus last week to 69 percent adequate or surplus this week. Average temperatures for the week were approximately 1 degree above historical normals, and the entire state averaged just over 1 inch of precipitation. There were 5.2 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending June 28. During the week, farmers side dressed nitrogen on corn and applied herbicides to corn and soybeans. Winter wheat continued to mature while reporters continued to anticipate the start of harvest. Soybean planting progress reached 100 percent, ahead of the five-year average by 5 percentage points, while soybeans blooming was 11 percent. Corn emerged progress was 100 percent, 4 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. Sixty-three percent of corn was considered good or excellent and 74 percent of pasture and range was considered good or excellent compared to 38 percent the previous year.

ODA Partners with Extension to Provide Online Pesticide Recertification

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), is partnering with the Ohio State University Extension Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) to temporarily provide online recertification for pesticide applicators and fertilizer certificate holders whose licenses expired in spring of 2020. The online recertification will be available Monday, July 6. For commercial applicators, it will be available Aug. 10. For more information or to register for the online recertification, visit pested.osu.edu/onlinerecert. Continue reading

Tips to Plan for Silage Harvest

Source: Farm Journal Content Services. Previously published by Drovers online.

It’s hard to believe that silage harvest is just a few months away. Starting the planning process now can make the entire process go much smoother when it arrives. Following are planning tips from Luiz Ferraretto, assistant professor and ruminant nutrition extension specialist at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Start with supplies that will be needed throughout the process. Consider how much you’ll need, which brands to purchase and where to purchase them.

  • Plastic covering. Your silage can be enclosed with a plastic covering for up to nine months, depending on inventory, so buy a good product even though it may not the cheapest. If you’ve found a certain brand is prone to punctures, it’s time to go shopping. Producers may also want to include an oxygen-limiting barrier that is laid down before the plastic layer. The barrier can reduce respiration loss and ultimately fermentation loss.
  • Inoculant. Now is a good time to buy your microbial inoculant. Don’t forget that the microbes in an inoculant are living and temperature sensitive. To maintain the microbes’ viability, avoid leaving the inoculant in your truck. Take it right back to the farm and store it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to use your inoculant, don’t leave it out in the sun and mix it with cold water. If you have downtime in the field, try to find a shady area to limit the opportunity for the mixture to heat up.

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