With what became known as perhaps the worst drought in Ohio history in 2024 followed by an extremely wet spring of 2025, perhaps never more than now has the adage “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” been more valid or meaningful to those trying to feed a beef cow. While cattlemen are concerned about the quality of Ohio’s late made forages this spring and early summer, it’s important for those who are balancing the needs of cows in various stages of production to know the nutritional value of the various feedstuffs they may be utilizing.
In this excerpt from one of the OSU Extension Beef Team’s 2021 Beef School sessions, Perry County Educator Ted Wiseman goes over the interpretation of a forage analysis and how the wide range in forage quality we’re seeing may need to be supplemented.