Beef News

Six new articles have been posted in this week’s issue number 1300 of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/

With respect to concerns for the quality of this year’s first cutting hay, and now what might appear to be a reversal in rainfall pattern, this week we focus much of our attention on forages.

Articles this week include:

• • Alfalfa Fertility Needs
  • What Was That Early Maturing Grass In My Hay Fields?
  • Horse Tales About Horsetails
  • Supplemental Forages to Plant in July After Wheat
  • Assessing Calf Death Losses in a Beef-Dairy Crossbreeding Program
  • Feedlot Inventories at Another Monthly Record High

Small Ruminant News

• Iodine Deficiency in Small Ruminants
  • Lucienne Downs, New South Wales Government District Veterinarian, Central Tablelands Local Land Services (Previously published online with New South Wales Government Local Land Services)…
• Wrangling More Days out of the Grazing Season for Sheep and Goats
  • As the weather in Ohio continues to not only challenge our agricultural operations but also the activities of our daily life, it reminds us that…
• Nutrient Value of Wheat Straw
  • Dr. Laura Lindsey, Associate Professor, Soybean and Small Grains Specialist Lee Beers, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Trumbull County Ed Lentz, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Handcock…

Few animals elicit such strong and opposing, emotions as the coyote. But love ‘em or hate ‘em, after decades of range expansion across the United States, coyotes are an established predator throughout Ohio. So, the question we can all agree on is: How do we minimize potential conflicts with coyotes in this state? And to answer that question, we need data.

Livestock production is a cultural and economic staple in Ohio but it differs in many ways from production in the western US, where most of the coyote research has been done. Although Ohio produces more sheep and lambs than any other state east of the Mississippi River, the average flock size is 36 head, which means the loss of even a single animal exacts a disproportionate financial toll on local operators. Additionally, ecosystems in the Midwest are vastly different than those in the west. For any management strategy to effectively protect against coyote predation in Ohio, we need to know more about Ohio coyotes.

Some basic questions include: What do Ohio coyotes eat, and how does their diet change throughout the year? Do males and females eat the same things? Which coyotes are a bigger threat to livestock? How many coyotes are living in a given area? We can make educated guesses based on expert opinion and the research from other regions, but without local data it is speculation.

With support from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, our team at The Ohio State University has begun a multi-year study 1) to provide unbiased data on the extent to which coyotes consume livestock in Ohio, and 2) to identify strategies for managing the conflict. For this project to be successful, we aim to form partnerships among Ohio livestock producers. We want to provide a clear picture of the coyote-livestock situation and evaluate some management strategies that have shown promise in other regions of the US. We are collaborating with the US Department of Agriculture/Wildlife Services and OSU Extension to reach out about this project and help us identify some potential partners.

The overall purpose of this project is to provide practical information to minimize the livestock-coyote conflict in Ohio. If you are interested in contributing to the project, as a producer partner or with assistance collecting samples, please contact us for more information.

Principal investigator: Dr. Stan Gehrt, Professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist

Interested? Contact the OSU Coyote Project at:

• OHcoyote@osu.edu   (614) 300-0754

or

• Dr. Brady Campbell at campbell.1279@osu.edu

Beef Cattle News

Six new articles have been posted in this week’s Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/

As recent as the past two days I’m still seeing lots of planters in fields in Fairfield and neighboring counties. If rain materializes across Ohio today as forecast, unplanted acres will likely remain in parts of the state tomorrow. This week we talk about one of the prevalent weeds were seeing in some of those fields, and also a forage production alternative for any insured acres that might not yet be planted.

Articles this week include:

• • Less Than Sweet Honeysuckles
  • Be Mindful of Heat Stress to Maintain Stocker Calf Gains
  • Beef Business Foundations; Understanding Calf Price Differentials
  • Feeder Cattle Lot Size
  • Kentucky’s PVAP Program; Lesson learned about adding calf value
  • Cover Crop ‘Forage’ an Option for Prevented Planting Corn or Soybean Acres
  • Relentless Canada Thistle
  • Impact of early calving replacement heifers on cow-herd production and longevity
  • Ohio Beef Day to be held in Muskingum County
  • Data That Delivers
  • The Impact of Dairy Cow Slaughter on Cull Cow Markets

Small Ruminant News

• Using Ram Lambs for Breeding
  • Ted H. Doane, Extension Sheep Specialist, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Previously published online the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: August 1986) Although this publication is a bit …
• Solar Grazing 101
  • Currently, Ohio is slated to have approximately 85,000 acres of land put into photovoltaic (solar) energy production over the next decade. As our society continues …
• Broomsedge is Talking: Are you Listening?
  • Mike Rankin, Hay and Forage Grower managing editor (Previously published in Hay & Forage Grower: June 14, 2022) Among humans, most communication is accomplished by speaking…
• Ohio Coyote Ecology and Management Project
  • OSU Coyote Project, Few animals elicit such strong and opposing, emotions as the coyote. But love ‘em or hate ‘em, after decades of range expansion…
• Lamb and Goat Production Seminar: Facility Design
  • Although a bit lengthy, this video highlights concepts for improved feeding systems and converting existing structures to house small ruminants, Mike Caskey, from Southern…
• Keeping your Vaccines Viable
  • Tracey Erickson, former South Dakota State University Extension Dairy Field Specialist (Previously published online with South Dakota State University Extension: November 18, 2021) Vaccines are…