By: Joe Boggs, Originally Posted on Buckeye Yard and Garden OnLine, September 11,2019
Participants in last week’s Ohio Plant Diagnostic Workshop looked at but didn’t touch, the Smaller Parasa (Parasa chloris). They kept their distance because the deceptively named caterpillar packs a venomous punch that’s far from small. As with many creatures in Nature (e.g. crocodilians, mamba snakes, grizzly bears, etc.); these caterpillars should not be handled.
– Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford Country, AgNR Educator
Winter wheat, barley, triticale, and cereal rye planted in the fall can produce high quality forage in the spring when harvest is in the boot stage. These forages are not equal though in there speed of maturity or quality in the soft dough growth stage. Rye grows and matures faster than the other cereals making it the ideal choice for double cropping with corn silage but is also the hardest to manage harvest timing on so that it is not over mature. After this past spring is it time to diversify our spring forage options to spread out harvest timing and risk?
– Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist
The Old Farmer’s Almanac has released their forecast for this winter. “Mild, with soakers” is how Indiana is labeled. I don’t put a lot of weight on these forecasts, but they often line up with other forecasts and occasionally are completely correct. If this forecast holds true, I think we all need to prepare for a winter similar to last year.
Whether winter predictions are correct or not, it’s time to start preparing!
Continue reading Should we plan for another long, wet, muddy winter?
Jodie Pennington, Small Ruminant Educator, Lincoln University, Newton County Extension Center
(Previously published on Extension – Goats, August 14, 2019)
Multi-species grazing is the 
practice of using two or more livestock species together or separately on the same pasture-land in a specific growing season. With an understanding of the different grazing behaviors of each species, various combinations of animals can be used to more efficiently utilize the forages in a pasture. Different species of livestock prefer different forages and graze them to different heights. Cattle tend to be intermediate grazers. They graze grasses and legumes and bite with their mouth and tongue. Sheep and horses graze closer to the ground than cattle.
Continue reading Multi-species Grazing can Improve Utilization of Pastures