Livestock & Small Animals

How and Why to Test for Forage Quality

Interested in testing your forage quality? OSU Extension, Washington County has a hay probe you can borrow.

The forage probe requires their own drill, “1/2” drill works best”, or a 3/8” drill with adapter

Requires a $25 deposit and a signed form acknowledging financial responsibility for damage etc.  Laymen’s terms, you brake it, you bought it.

Forage Analysis (dry samples only) prices: https://u.osu.edu/forageanalysis/sample-page/

Sample Submission: https://u.osu.edu/forageanalysis/sample-submission/

 

How and Why to Test for Forage Quality

June 7 – Market Goat, Market Lamb, Dairy Feeder Steer Tag-in

Required Tag-in for Market Lambs, Market Goats, Dairy Feeder Steers will be Saturday, June 7 from 7—9:00 am at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Watch for road signs to indicate lineup locations.

Time: 7-9 am

All Market Goats & Market Lambs must have a Scrapie Tag in the ear by the June 7 tag-in. The Scrapie Tag should be put in by the breeder or where you purchased your animals.

Blue Breed Verification Cards Required for Dairy Feeder Steers – due June 1 – must be signed by dairy farmer where purchased in Ohio and include the ODA Producer number. Cards are available from the OSU Extension Office, your advisor or printed here:  Dairy Feeder Breed Verification Blue Card 2025

Dehorning and castration must be done prior to tag-in. The Fair Vet – Dr Luke Morrow will be checking animals during tag-in but WILL NOT be castrating or dehorning animals at tag-in. If this is not done to the Vet’s satisfaction, the animal will not be tagged.

Breeding Animal Leases Due June 1

If you are enrolled in a breeding animal or dairy project, you are being mailed a letter with the following information.  If you do not own the breeding animal you are planning to show, then a lease must be completed and returned the OSU Extension Office by June 1, 2025.

Read the rules here: Ohio Youth Livestock Exhibition Rules 4.17.23

If you need to complete a lease, all leases are due to OSU Extension by June 1:

Just to clarify, leases are not needed for market animals as ALL market animals must be fully owned by the exhibitor or household. This leasing information is only for members that do not own their breeding animals.

Save the Date- Market Turkey, Chickens and Duck

All market poultry for Washington County have been ordered and arrival dates have been set.  Please note that the following dates are the week we expect the birds to arrive.  The birds will be shipped and available for pick up at Heritage Cooperative located at 219 Third Street Marietta.  Members will be notified once birds ship with an approximate time for pick up, however this time needs to remain flexible as shipping times and days may vary.  Members should be ready to receive birds and bring something to transport them home in.  Pens at home should be cleaned and disinfected and ready for new arrivals.  It is also good practice to call the feed store to order feed before you receive the birds.  This allows the store to be sure they have feed in stock for you when you arrive.  The following are the days that birds will ship.  Market turkey- May 20, market chicken- July 8, and market duck- July 8.  If you have questions or need additional information, please contact our office at 740-376-7431.

Glossary of Feed Analysis Terms

This article was posted on the OSU Small Rumenant Team Blog: https://u.osu.edu/sheep/2025/03/18/a-glossary-of-feed-analysis-terms-and-how-to-interpret-them/

Haley Campbell, Lecturer, The Ohio State University ATI

As we get closer to spring grazing, we’re itching to put our sheep out to pasture to enjoy the lush growth carpeting the fields. However, at least in the Midwest, we still have a few weeks before pastures are ready to be trodden down by cloven feet. In the meantime, the sheep can get by on hay, stored forages, or grains. But do you know what nutrients are in those feeds? Feed companies already give nutrient contents and those can be found on the feed tag. Forages are another story – visual appraisal can only get us so far. By submitting a forage sample (hay, silage, baleage, fresh pasture, etc.) to an analysis lab, like Rock River, DairyLand Laboratories, DairyOne, and others, we can accurately know what nutrients we can provide to our sheep. When those results come back, they are filled with a plethora of terms and acronyms that can be difficult to interpret without any background knowledge. Below, I’ve picked a few that are usually the most important to know and understand.

Dry Matter (DM)– the amount of feed in feed! It is the percent of nutrients left behind after all moisture/water has been removed from the feed. This is what all other nutrient percentages are based on. Dry matter is used for diet formulations to eliminate the variability of moisture in feeds.

As Fed (AF) – Sometimes written “as-is” or “as provided;” this is the feed as you would offer it to the animal and contains all moisture.

Crude Protein (CP) – the total protein in the feed based on the percent nitrogen as determined in the lab.

Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) – The full fiber fraction of the feed that includes cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin which are found in the cell wall of plants. NDF is an indicator of intake; more NDF, less intake. Grasses should have an NDF no more than 55% and legumes no more than 45%.

Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) – A portion of the NDF and only includes cellulose and hemicellulose and estimates digestibility.

Lignin – The indigestible portion of fiber that increases the “woodiness” of a plant. Lignin will increase as plants get older (more mature) to provide more support and structure to a larger plant. If a forage has more lignin, it is not as digestible.

Non-Fiber Carbohydrate (NFC) or Non-Structural Carbohydrate (NSC) – The starches, sugars, and pectin found in a plant. This value indicates the amount of quickly digestible/fermentable nutrients in the feed. Greater NFC/NSC means there is more energy in that feed.

Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD) – How much NDF is digested after a set amount of time; usually 48, 72, 12, or 240 hours. This shows how much fiber can be digested in the rumen of the animal. Usually the 48-hour value is referenced when discussing feed quality. The greater the value, the more digestible. Animals will be able to get more nutrients from that feed.

Undigestible Neutral Detergent Fiber (uNDF) – The amount of fiber that is unable to be digested after 240 hours (10 days).

Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) – The portion of nutrients that can actually be digested and used by the animal. Hopefully very high!

Net Energy for Maintenance, Lactation, or Gain (NEM, NEL, NEG) – The amount of energy that can be used for maintenance of the animal, milk production, or gain (for finishing or growing animals)

For more information, check out:

Oklahoma State University: Forage Quality Interpretations – https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/forage-quality-interpretations.html

List of National Forage Testing Association Certified Labs – https://www.foragetesting.org/_files/ugd/24f64f_3e42dad1cfd74595979b18d9e3e3ed63.pdf

Heat Lamp Safety

Heat Lamp Use for Newborn Livestock

It’s that time of year when we hear in the news of barn fires as a result of heat lamps being used for lambing, kidding, and even calving.  As temperatures get colder, livestock producers raising young animals need to make conditions favorable for rearing newborns in adverse conditions. Adding heat lamps to livestock pens should be done with caution.  With any electrical appliance or heating source, precautions need to be taken.

If you must use a heat lamp, best management practices recommend the following tips:

  1. Purchase a high-quality heat lamp. Use lamps that are enclosed with a heat lamp guard (wire or otherwise). If using a lamp outdoors, make sure the lamp is labeled for outdoor use.
  2. Use high- quality bulbs. Low quality bulbs such as thin glass can shatter.
  3. Regularly inspect to make sure that the bulb is tightly secured, and wiring is not exposed, is sealed, and is secured.
  4. Avoid using bulbs over 250W.
  5. Many lamps are used over numerous years. Remove any dust, cobwebs, or dead insects before use.
  6. Secure the lamp to a panel using a non-flammable chain or a heat lamp clamp.  Do not use twine or rope.
  7. Make sure the lamp is secured high enough that adult livestock cannot tamper or abuse the fixture (with head butts, kicks, or bashing).
  8. Keep the lamp away from the ground, combustible bedding (like straw and blankets), and the newborn livestock at a minimum distance of 20”.  Never lay a heat lamp on a flammable surface.
  9. Plug your heat lamp into an Arc Fault Interrupter breaker which will trip if the fixture sparks.  Best practice is to plug directly into an outlet and not an extension cord.
  10. Keep a 10-pound, ABC multipurpose fire extinguisher in the barn for incipient fires.
  11. Install a loud smoke detector that can be heard at the house that will help to alert you of a fire.
  12. A barn temperature monitoring system or fire monitoring system is ideal, but barn cameras will help monitor conditions when use of alternate heat methods are necessary.  This will help keep an eye on barn conditions and potential problems.
  13. Never leave a heat lamp unattended, especially overnight.

Heat lamps pose a significant fire risk, as they are designed to warm the area they are heating. There will be cases where you cannot avoid using a heat lamp, and in those situations, it is important to continuously check on the livestock and monitor the pen area for signs of overheating or dryness of the bedding material. Once the animal is warmed, turn off the light.

 

This column is provided by the OSU Extension Agricultural Safety and Health Team, https://agsafety.osu.edu/.

Sabrina Schirtzinger, ANR Educator Knox County, can be reached at 740-397-0401 or Schirtzinger.55@osu.edu.

Wayne Dellinger, ANR Educator Union County, can be reached at 937-644-8117 or Dellinger.6@osu.edu.

Dee Jepsen, Ag Safety and Health Specialist, can be reached at 614-292-6008 or Jepsen.4@osu.edu.