Month: May 2018

Is it Time to Start Grazing?

Chris Penrose, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Morgan County

For the spring we are having, and each producer’s situation, this is a difficult question. However, for most of us, the answer is yes! The recent warm weather has allowed the pasture and hay fields to really start growing at a fast clip.

There are several different thoughts on when to start grazing and I admittedly take a very aggressive approach to start grazing in the spring. I will even confess that it probably started thirty years ago when I was running out of hay. I start grazing as soon as I can. I use two approaches to early grazing. The first one is to use a “stockpiled” hay field (I made two cuttings of hay last summer, then let the field grow from August to March) and put my animals in the field on March 3rd. March 2nd was the last day I planned on Continue reading →

Connecting with Ewe

Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team

Since its re-launch in August of 2017, the OSU Sheep Team has generated interested from shepherds all over the state of Ohio as well as around the world. Our team strives to provide both timely and timeless small ruminant production information to producers that can be easily be applied on-farm.

On a weekly basis, our team works on generating and providing quality information that we feel is important for shepherds to know. However, we would like to try something different and turn a part of this process over to you as a viewer. For those that follow our updates on a weekly basis, we are interested in hearing from you! Continue reading →

Hauling Pen-pack Manure

Glen Arnold, OSU Extension Field Specialist, Manure Nutrient Management

(Image Source: North Dakota State University Extension)

When spring arrives, both large and small livestock owners with pen-pack manure are looking to apply the manure as soon as field conditions allow. Across the state I have seen stockpiles of pen-pack manure outside of sheep, horse, cattle, and dairy buildings. The nutrients and organic matter in pen-pack manure are an excellent addition to farm fields.

We always want to keep water quality in mind when handing manure. The goal is to make good use of the manure nutrients and keep those manure nutrients out of streams and ditches.

Pen-pack manure contains Continue reading →