Forages and Pasture

Help! I have Hemp Dogbane

Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Noble County

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had several inquiries about hemp dogbane concerns and requests for help with keeping it under control in agricultural systems.

Both hemp dogbane and milkweed are easy to find this time of year and are often growing in the same habitat, which can be anywhere from roadsides, creek edges, open fields, forest edges, and flower beds. These two plants are related but have some distinct differences that can help landowners identify them and implement control measures when needed.

Similarities between the two plants include that they have creeping roots; leaves that appear on opposite sides of the stem; and they produce a milky sap. Differences include that young milkweed leaves have fine hairs and hemp dogbane are nearly hairless; milkweed stems are Continue reading Help! I have Hemp Dogbane →

Clipping Pastures: An Age-Old Debate

Mike Rankin, Senior Editor, Hay & Forage Grower
(Previously published online with Hay & Forage Grower: July 23, 2024)

Farmers are known to have strong opinions and often readily express them. From a pasture management perspective, few topics illicit stronger feelings than when the clipping topic is put on the table.

I recently returned from a grazing dairy where I didn’t even have to broach the subject. As we walked down the lane to a far-off paddock, the farmer passionately went into a dissertation of why he routinely clips pastures after the first or second rotation. I’ve also been on farms where a strong stance was taken for not clipping.

The primary reason for clipping is to improve the forage quality of the pasture by eliminating the taller mature stems and seedheads. This sets pasture plants back to a vegetative state and creates a uniform stubble height. In doing so, the mature stems don’t restrict animals from accessing the vegetative growth in the lower canopy during the next rotation. A secondary reason to clip pastures — but with little economic significance — is simply Continue reading Clipping Pastures: An Age-Old Debate →

How and Why to Test for Forage Quality

As I have traveled across the state this week, I’ve noticed one thing. You’ve got to make hay when the sun shines! This has been the case for many producers here in the Buckeye state. However, with the extended cool weather coupled with extensive rains, our forages have produced a lot of dry matter. Unfortunately, quantity and quality of our forages don’t always play nice with one another. It is my estimation that much of the hay made this week will be of poor quality – but we won’t know for sure unless we get it tested!

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 →

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 →