Month: July 2022

Cammy Wilson and The Sheep Game

Dr. Brady Campbell, Assistant Professor, OSU State Small Ruminant Extension Specialist

Hello folks, it’s great to be back! Sorry for my absence here on the page as of late. I finally decided to step out of the office for a few weeks and unplugged from everything. While away, I had the opportunity to take a trip to England with a group of Lincoln sheep producers from the United States. The premise of the trip was to attend the Great Yorkshire Show to take in the sights of British agriculture, watch the Lincoln show, as well as tour the country side meeting with fellow Lincoln sheep producers on their home operations. There were many highlights to this trip, but one that I wanted to share with all of you was my opportunity to meet with Cammy Wilson. For those that don’t recognize his name, I encourage you to jump onto Youtube and search for ‘The Sheep Game’. Cammy, along with his wife Lizzy, are professional sheep shearers from Scotland. In his previous life, Cammy served his local community as a police officer but quickly found his passion in working with sheep. In addition to shearing, Cammy and his family also raise several breeds of sheep as well as dabbles in pregnancy ultrasounding on the side.

Although a bit unconventional for our regular postings, I wanted to bring light to the work Cammy is currently doing through social media to support the global sheep industry. During our quick 10 minute chat, Cammy and I discussed the woes of global wool prices, the similarities and differences between sheep breeds found in our respective countries, and of course the hardships and victories or raising sheep. Just like you and I, Cammy is a shepherd and shearer himself that appreciates science and learning something new each day. On his channel, Cammy brings viewers along with him in his daily life, sharing questions and answers as he learns along the way. Cammy has videos on ultrasounding, shearing, dystocia, lambing, selling sheep, and much more. For those interested in learning about sheep production in a different country, I encourage you to take a look at his page: The Sheep Game.

For your viewing pleasure, I’ve selected a few videos from his playlist and plugged them below that highlights his character and support of the industry. Enjoy! Continue reading Cammy Wilson and The Sheep Game →

What’s Your Baled Forage Worth?

Lee Beers, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Trumbull County

Depending on your perspective, the dry weather in northeast Ohio has either been a blessing or a curse. 

This hay season has been relatively stress-free so far without a fear of rain, but if it doesn’t rain soon, we will be looking at reduced tonnage for second and third cuttings. Not to mention that we are fast approaching corn pollination and we will need some significant rain during pollination for a good yield.

 Yields have been good for baled forage in northeast Ohio, and with lots of time to make dry forage, some farmers are prepared to sell extra hay. If you find yourself in a similar situation, be sure to consider all costs before you put a price on your forage. Unlike some other items you sell off your farm, you get to choose the price for your forage. It’s easy to say, “I just want to get rid of it” and price it low to move it off your farm quickly, but that may be a costly strategy. 

Adding up the costs
Before you “just get rid of it”, let’s consider the cost of that bale. We all know fertilizer prices are Continue reading What’s Your Baled Forage Worth? →

The Heat is On and the Algae Loves It!

Richard Purdin, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Adams County

(Image Source: Ohio’s Country Journal)

July got off to a hot and dry start for much of Ohio and for livestock managers this brings on added chores on the to do list to keep livestock healthy and productive. Water is the source of life and I often preach on the importance and the critical role it plays in animal health. When livestock have clean fresh water to always drink, they will better consume feed and forage and absorb it nutrients more efficiently. More adequate water consumptions can equate to better rate of gain, increased fertility and reproductive performance, increased milk production and weaning weights, and much more benefits. When water is not available or the tainted in anyway livestock will avoid drinking or try to find water in other areas, this can have a detrimental effect on animal health and should be priority for managers to prevent. There can be multiple factors that lead to water be tainted or unpleasant for livestock consumption but one of the most common factors during the summer is the build up of algae growth in water tanks, troughs, or reservoirs.

Keeping algae out of the livestock drinking facilities can be Continue reading The Heat is On and the Algae Loves It! →

Small Ruminant Production: Are CIDRs Reusable?

Dr. Brady Campbell, Assistant Professor, OSU State Small Ruminant Extension Specialist
Tim Barnes, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Marion County
Dr. Alvaro Garcia-Guerra, Assistant Professor, OSU Reproductive Physiology

Whether it’s at the state fair or local livestock auction, a conversation that commonly occurs among producers revolves around the success rate of their breeding programs. In New Zealand during the late 1980s, a controlled internal drug release (CIDR) was developed and released for intravaginal release of progesterone (P4). Since then, estrous synchronization has improved on-farm production efficiencies that can assist in grouping lambing dates, breeding ewes out-of-season, or can serve as a crucial step in the implementation of artificial insemination.

Let’s Review the Basics Continue reading Small Ruminant Production: Are CIDRs Reusable? →

Using Annual Forages in your Pasture, Pasture Walk

Carri Jagger, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Morrow County

Using Annual Forages in your Pasture, Pasture Walk flyer

The OSU Extension-Morrow County and Morrow Soil & Water invite you to attend their upcoming pasture walk! Kevin Swope Resource Conservationist with the Carroll County NRCS will walk through using annuals forages to help renovate your pasture. He will also cover how to use annual forages in your grazing systems. Lunch will be provided for all those that attend.

Those planning to attend will be required to RSVP by Friday, July 15th. You can RSVP by calling the Morrow County Extension Office at (419) 947-1070

For additional questions contact Carri Jagger by email at jagger.6@osu.edu or by phone at (419) 947-1070

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, July 23, 2022
Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Location: Scott Loeffler’s Farm: 4 County Road 212, Marengo, OH 43334
Topics: Using annual forages to help renovate your pasture and to extend your grazing season

Events Sponsors:

  • Ohio State University Extension, Morrow County
  • Morrow County Soil and Water Conservational District
  • Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council