Forages and Pasture

May Weed Report

Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Noble County

(Cressleaf Groundsel)

(Poison Hemlock)

Warm temperatures and steady rainfall have accelerated the maturity of grass, legume, and weedy species in the landscape and on-farm so far this spring. Two main species of concern that have been actively growing quickly around the county include poison hemlock and cressleaf groundsel.

Poison hemlock is a biennial weed that does not flower in the first year of growth but flowers in the second year. It blooms on stalks 6-10 feet tall. All parts of the plant are toxic to all classes of livestock if consumed and it is prevalent along roadsides, ditches, and crop field borders. The earlier you can address poison hemlock with mowing and/or herbicide application, the better your control methods will be.

Poison hemlock is related to Continue reading May Weed Report →

Spring Pasture Management; Plan Now to Optimize the Entire Grazing Season

Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

I’m glad that May has finally arrived.  For me, it’s been a wet and somewhat stormy spring so far. If you haven’t done it already, it’s a really good idea to walk your pastures before grazing them for the first time. You can use your ATV if you prefer, but I’d rather see you walking and observing closely rather than taking quick glances and a joyride. It wouldn’t hurt to take some pictures to compare current conditions to other time periods.

First, assess how much new growth is actually present in each paddock or field. The amount can be deceiving unless you actually step into it. Ideally, take a yardstick with you and measure the average height of the new forage. For most cool-season forages, I like to see at least 8-10 inches of growth prior to grazing. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it’s important to rebuild green vegetative “solar panel” and ensure energy is returning to the roots, as much of the initial spring growth has already used it.

You’ll typically notice Continue reading Spring Pasture Management; Plan Now to Optimize the Entire Grazing Season →

Understanding Forages and Feedstuffs

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

Understanding the quality and value of forages within your operation will greatly improve your bottom line. With the recent green up in fields that I’ve seen across the countryside, today we’ll focus a bit more heavily on forages as it is the primary feed source used in sheep production globally, as well as the one that is most commonly overlooked and underappreciated. Ruminant species in grazing situations need to maximize forage digestion in order to meet their daily energy and protein requirements. Forages with unknown nutritive values can be dangerous as a producer may unintentionally limit or reduce and animals’ ability to meet their daily energy and protein requirements. Additional factors to consider are forage species, maturity at harvest, and lignin concentration. Remember, forage quality, nutritive values, and species grown/available will differ based upon geographic location. This section will highlight factors that should be considered to improve your forage feeding system.

Because of their versatility, Continue reading Understanding Forages and Feedstuffs →

Don’t Jump the Grazing Gun

Amber Friedrichsen, Managing Editor, Hay and Forage Grower
(Previously published in Hay & Forage Grower: April 8, 2025)

Managing the spring flush of forage growth often involves flirting with the fine line between grazing too early and being swallowed by the surplus. As cool-season grasses start to green up, it may be tempting to turn cattle out on pasture as soon as possible, but green doesn’t always mean “go.”

Victor Shelton, a retired Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) agronomist and grazing specialist, warns farmers about cool-season grass growth that appears to be extra green. He says a brighter shade of grass isn’t necessarily a good sign. Moreover, it doesn’t indicate that forage is ready to graze.

Shelton explains these “greener” plants may actually have Continue reading Don’t Jump the Grazing Gun →

Check for Contaminants in Hay

Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Noble County

Use senses of sight, smell and touch to help evaluate hay quality.

Making and feeding hay can be tricky business. After a long season feeding hay, livestock producers are getting a lot of experience judging hay by its appearance. The way hay looks and feels can be helpful for making assumptions about hay, but appearance, smell, and texture are just a few indicators of quality. It takes these factors plus a laboratory analysis to truly understand the nutritional value of hay.

Even with a hay test in hand, we should still use our senses of sight, smell, and touch to help evaluate quality because sometimes we can spot an unwanted contaminant in hay that a lab test would miss.

The following are Continue reading Check for Contaminants in Hay →

Up Your Pasture Quality Game

Amber Friedrichsen, Managing Editor, Hay and Forage Grower
(Previously published in Hay & Forage Grower: August 20, 2024)

Nutritive value and forage quality are often used interchangeably, but they are not synonymous. If the terms were Russian nesting dolls, the former would fit inside the latter, representing one piece of a larger puzzle.

In an article from the Midwest Forage Association’s Forage Focus newsletter, Yoana Newman with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls clarifies that nutritive value refers to the chemical composition of forage based on components like energy, fiber, protein, fat, and minerals. Forage quality, on the other hand, is a broader term that encompasses nutritive value in addition to forage intake and antiquality components. Continue reading Up Your Pasture Quality Game →

Lucky Clovers

Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Noble County
(Previously published online with: Ag Proud: Progressive Cattle, February 20, 2025)

(Image Source: Agricom: Pastures for Profit – New Zealand)

At A Glance:
For centuries the clover has been symbolic in cultures and religions in areas where clovers thrive. Whether found with leaves of three, four, or more- a field of clover is beneficial in many ways beyond folklore.

Clover Symbolism
March is the humble clover’s time to shine. Symbolic of luck, the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, the welcoming of spring, 4-H enrollment time, clovers are featured prominently in our culture this time of year and they become prominent in pastures too.

Much of the agricultural community will recognize a four-leaf clover as the iconic national symbol of 4-H, a youth development program delivered by Cooperative Extension services from Continue reading Lucky Clovers →

Frost Seeding Clover: A Recipe for Success

Chris D. Teutsch, S. Ray Smith, and Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky

Figure 1. Clover and other legumes are an important part of sustainable grassland ecosystems. They form a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria in which nitrogen from the air into a plant available form, improve nutritive value, and help to alleviate tall fescue toxicosis. (Photo by Chris Teutsch)

Legumes are an essential part of a strong and healthy grassland ecosystems (Figure 1). They form a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria in which the bacteria fix nitrogen from the air into a plant available form and share it with the legume. Clover also increases forage quality and quantity and helps to manage tall fescue toxicosis. In the past, the positive impact of clover on tall fescue toxicosis has always been thought to simply be a dilution effect, but new research from the USDA’s Forage Animal Production Unit in Lexington shows that compounds found in red clover can reverse vasoconstriction that is caused by the ergot alkaloids in toxic tall fescue. The primary compound found in red clover is a vasodilator called Biochanin A.

Clover stands in pastures thin overtime due to various factors and require reseeding every three to four years. There are several techniques for reintroducing clover into pastures including no-till seeding, minimum tillage, and frost seeding. Of these techniques, frost seeding requires the least amount of equipment and is the simplest to implement. Frost seeding is accomplished Continue reading Frost Seeding Clover: A Recipe for Success →

Warm-Season Grasses Play Drought Defense

Amber Friedrichsen, Managing Editor, Hay and Forage Grower
(Previously published in Hay & Forage Grower: December 3, 2024)

(Image Source: Eastern Alliance for Production Kathadins)

Reflecting on another drought year may put a fire under some farmers’ seats to be more proactive about forage availability next season. Adding warm-season grasses into hay and grazing systems might be one answer to cushion short forage supplies, as long as the right species are seeded in the right places.

According to Dirk Philipp with the University of Arkansas, much of the current pastureland in his state was originally prairie or forest. Even though the forage base in Arkansas has largely shifted to bermudagrass, dallisgrass, and bahiagrass, there are opportunities to replicate the drought resistance that naturally existed in these systems presettlement by seeding annual and native grasses.

“Prairie and forest restoration may Continue reading Warm-Season Grasses Play Drought Defense →