Livestock

Direct Marketing of Meat

By: Rob Leeds, Garth Ruff, Peggy Hall, Jacci Smith, and Tony Nye, OSU Extension

Producers who are seeking to increase income are looking for different ways to market their livestock. Direct to consumer marketing of livestock products is one-way producers are seeking to increase profits in their livestock sales. When exploring direct market possibilities there are several factors farmers must consider: regulations, consumer preference, marketing strategies, and pricing. Continue reading Direct Marketing of Meat →

COVID-19 Impact on Ohio Sheep Producers

By Tim Barnes OSU Extension, Marion County

Lambs are just one of the many agricultural commodities that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is never a good time for a pandemic to strike, but COVID-19 hit the sheep industry at the traditional best market price.  Spring lambs are a family favorite for traditional Easter meals (April 12), Orthodox Easter (April 23), the Muslin feasts of Ramadan (April 23 to May 23), some Jewish sects for Passover (April 8-16), and the secular May 10 Mother’s Day celebration.

America’s biggest market for fresh lamb is in the area from Baltimore to Boston.  Major East Coast packers relay on the close location of Ohio producers (Ohio has the 5th most producers in the US) to provide a steady source of fresh lamb.  The “white tablecloth restaurants” and the other segments of the foodservice industry account for over 50% of the United State lamb consumption.  As demand builds back to pre-pandemic levels, Ohio lambs will continue to be a large part of the East coast supply chain. Continue reading COVID-19 Impact on Ohio Sheep Producers →

COVID-19 Impact on Ohio’s Beef Industry

by: Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County.

COVID-19 has had profound impacts on our food and livestock production systems here in the U.S. With regards to the beef industry the impact has been felt locally and throughout the country. Locally here in Ohio, with the JBS plant in Souderton closed, and reduced packing capacity in other regional packing plants, the local cash market for fed cattle has been greatly diminished. For the past two weeks, auction markets in the state have asked cattle feeders to hold off on bringing fed cattle to market due to packing plant closures and overall lack of packer demand.

Like most of agriculture, timing is critical for the livestock production supply chain to flow as it is designed. What is the impact of holding market-ready cattle in local feedlots? Economically, cash flow concerns for small to medium size cattle feeders may arise as packing capacity remains limited. Immediate impacts for cattle feeders include increasing days on feed, selling heavier and potentially higher yield grade cattle once the market returns. Most packing plants have discount schedules of Yield Grade 4 and 5 cattle in addition to carcass weight specifications. Continue reading COVID-19 Impact on Ohio’s Beef Industry →

Meat vs COVID-19; The good, the bad and the ugly of supply and demand

by: Stan Smith, OSU Extension, Fairfield County

To suggest that supply in local meat cases has been disrupted since schools closed and ‘stay-at-home’ orders were issued last month might be an understatement.

The good is simply this. We have more than adequate supplies of market-ready livestock on the farm to accommodate the consumer’s demand for meat.

The bad is that COVID-19 caused disruption to the meat supply chain that created short term shortages in the meat case, and fluctuations of price in both the meat case and especially livestock at the farm. Continue reading Meat vs COVID-19; The good, the bad and the ugly of supply and demand →

COVID-19 – Impacts on Ohio’s Swine Industry

by: Steve Moeller, Department of Animal Sciences, State Swine Extension Specialist

Like many livestock sectors, the impact of COVID-19 on Ohio’s and the Nation’s swine industry have been multi-factorial and ever-changing.  In response, the National Pork Board has maintained an on-line COVID-19 information center at https://www.pork.org/ which is updated multiple times per day based on new findings.  The impact is now being felt as the number of ‘short-term’ packing plant closures seem to increase daily. Plant closures will impact the industry as a whole in a number of ways, namely: 1) U.S. production is matching packing plant capacity and both are at record levels, thus a regional lack of shackle space will likely occur, 2) Swine production is now nearly constant, centered around weekly flow and optimization of space utilization, thus pig spaces are full and need to be continually emptied to make room for incoming production, 3) Distribution channels from packing plants to consumers are not as efficient, leading to challenges in managing product movement from the packer to the consumer. Additional plant closures, particularly if they occur from Indiana eastward will place a significant burden directly on the producer; 4) The bright spot:  Export markets have helped offset some of the supply, particularly trade with traditional partners in Japan and Mexico, but with added sales to China.

Continue reading COVID-19 – Impacts on Ohio’s Swine Industry →

OSU Ag and Natural Resources Madness – Week #4

“Agriculture and Natural Resources Madness: A Tournament of Education” features online educational opportunities Monday – Friday at 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. The education tournament is free of charge, and webinar links are available at go.osu.edu/agmadness. Topics covered during week #4 include the following:  Sheep Production & Management, Horticulture, Small Farms, Vegetable Production, and Farm Taxes.

Week #4 April 13-17
Monday Bracket: Sheep Production & Management
9:00 a.m. Marketing Sheep; Breeds of Sheep
Christine Gelley, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Noble County
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team		 Join
Noon Basic Sheep Nutrition: Nutritional Needs During Each Stage of Production
Christine Gelley, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Noble County
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team		 Join
3:00 p.m. Basic Health Management: Disease, Vaccines, Parasites
Christine Gelley, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Noble County
Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team		 Join
Tuesday Bracket: Horticulture
9:00 a.m. Tree ID
Kathy Smith, Program Director, Forestry, OSU SENR		 Join
Noon Asian Longhorned Beetle Update
Joe Boggs, Horticulture Educator, OSU Extension Hamilton County		 Join
3:00 p.m. Ornament Horticulture Update
Jim Chatfield, Horticulture Specialist, OSU Extension
Tom DeHaas, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Lake County		 Join
Wednesday Bracket: Small Farms
9:00 a.m. Meat Goat Production
Tony Nye, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Clinton County		 Join
Noon Pasture Pork
Tony Nye, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Clinton County		 Join
3:00 p.m. Thinking About Adding a Livestock Enterprise?
Tony Nye, Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator, OSU Extension Clinton County		 Join
Thursday Bracket: Vegetable Production
9:00 a.m. Growing Pumpkins
Jim Jasinski, Integrated Pest Management Program Coordinator, OSU Extension
Sally Miller, Plant Pathology Specialist, OSU Extension		 Join
Noon Small Fruit Weed, Disease & Insect Management
Doug Doohan, Professor, OSU CFAES Department of Hort & Crop Science
Melanie Ivey, Assistant Professor, OSU CFAES Department of Plant Pathology
Celeste Welty, Associate Professor, OSU CFAES Department of Entomology		 Join
3:00 p.m. Managing Sweet Corn Worms
Doug Doohan, Professor, OSU CFAES Department of Hort & Crop Science
Jim Jasinski, Integrated Pest Management Program Coordinator, OSU Extension
Celeste Welty, Associate Professor, OSU CFAES Department of Entomology		 Join
Friday Bracket: Farm Taxes
9:00 a.m. Farmer and Farmland Owner Income Tax Issues Webinar Replay Part I with Live Q&A
Barry Ward, Director, OSU Extension Tax School Program		 Join
Noon Farmer and Farmland Owner Income Tax Issues Webinar Replay Part II with Live Q&A
Barry Ward, Director, OSU Extension Tax School Program		 Join
3:00 p.m. New Income Tax Legislation Update
Barry Ward, Director, OSU Extension Tax School Program		 Join

Great Backyard Poultry Resource

CLICK HERE for Backyard Poultry Production Webinar  (apologies as it was zoom-bombed by a Cloverbud named Becky who added to the graphics in her own personal way)

From Extension Educator, Dr. Timothy McDermott

There has been a resurgence of people who wish to raise their own food for personal and family food security, both with produce and with poultry.  I am increasingly getting asked about backyard poultry keeping so I wanted to put a resource together to assist you in getting the knowledge you need for safe, healthy and productive backyard poultry keeping.

FIRST THING:  Find out the regulations in your city or municipality that governs the keeping of backyard poultry and follow those rules carefully. 

We also have a number of Fact Sheets hosted on Ohioline to support poultry keeping:

There is also a fact sheet on Selling Eggs in Ohio: Marketing and Regulations that details safe handling, washing, and storage of eggs.

If you need help finding a Veterinarian that sees poultry,  we have a list plus a map to assist you with that.

I will be hosting another webinar on Backyard Poultry Production for Ag Madness for OSU Extension on Wednesday, April 29th at NOON.  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.

If you have questions regarding the keeping of poultry after watching the webinar then feel free to contact me at mcdermott.15@osu.edu

Late Planted Corn Silage Yields Value

By: Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County; Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford County; Allen Gahler, OSU Extension Sandusky County (originally published in Ohio Farmer on-line)

Teff, Italian ryegrass, oats, and corn were included with 5 other ‘covers’ in this study

The combination of poor quality hay made in 2018, historic alfalfa winter kill, and excessive rainfall across most of Ohio in the spring of 2019 created a large need for high-quality alternative forage sources this past year. Record amounts of prevented plant acreage across the state created an opportunity to grow forages on traditional row cropped acres. As crop and livestock producers planted a variety of forage and cover crop species to supplement feedstocks, it was recognized that there was also a need to gather forage analysis results from these fields in order for growers to properly value and feed the forage grown. The following data are from cover crop forage samples that were submitted by farmers and from OARDC research stations where annual forages were grown as part of the 2019 Ohio State eFields program available at your local extension office or digitalag.osu.edu/efields. Continue reading Late Planted Corn Silage Yields Value →

Ohio State Experts Available for Comment on New Corona-virus

By: Tracy Turner, OSU Communications

Scientists with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) can offer insight into the new coronavirus that is being blamed for at least 26 deaths and more than 830 confirmed illnesses internationally since December 2019, with at least two cases of coronavirus reported this week in the United States—in Washington state and Chicago. And at least an additional 50 people in the United States are under observation in 22 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Continue reading Ohio State Experts Available for Comment on New Corona-virus →

Cows Under the Covers Field Day

Please click on the flyer if interested in attending a grazing and cover crop workshop on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 in Camden, Michigan.

Join us at Person Farms on Wednesday, August 21 for an advanced Cover Crop and Grazing workshop with guest speakers Steve Groff, “The Cover Crop Coach” and Jerry Lindquist, retired MSU grazing educator. Continue reading Cows Under the Covers Field Day →

Seeds for Success Program

Seeds For Success Small Farm Conference will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at Northwest State Community College, located at 22600 State Route 34, Archbold Ohio.  The conference provides education and topics of interest for small farm and rural landowners. Participants will walk away from the conference with knowledge and ideas of how to improve existing enterprises or marketing opportunities. For those who have some acreage but don’t yet know what to do with it, the conference is an opportunity to consider possibilities, gather information, and make contacts. Continue reading Seeds for Success Program →