A Publication of:

OSU Extension - Fairfield County

831 College Ave., Suite D, Lancaster, OH 43130

and the

OSU Extension BEEF Team

BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor

You may subscribe to this weekly BEEF Cattle letter by sending a blank e-mail to beef-cattle-on@ag.osu.edu

Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter

Issue # 568

December 31, 2007

Story of the Year . . . Forage, or Lack Thereof! - Stan Smith, OSU Extension Program Assistant, Fairfield County

I saw in a recent web publication that readers had voted ethanol's impact on feed prices as the story of the year in agriculture. Globally, that might be hard to argue with. However, in my part of the world where ruminant livestock - as well as some single stomach hay consumers - continue to play an economically significant role in the daily lives of the people I visit with, forage production is more likely the hottest topic going, and quite frankly may be for years to come.

As we look today at weakened and thinning hay and pasture fields, quickly escalating forage seed and fertilizer prices, virtually no inventory of hay anywhere in the Midwest, and the seemingly never ending escalation in grain prices which continue to make a return to a corn, soybean and Florida rotation an attractive alternative, it becomes apparent that the quick return of relatively inexpensive and abundant forages supplies may not be realistic.

While the lack of forages may be the story of 2007, forage management . . . the detailed, in depth and intensive kind we've talked about for 20+ years . . . may become the story of 2008! Over the coming months in the BEEF Cattle letter we will be responding to most of the questions you've already been asking. Included will be information on the virtues of frost seeding, dealing with forage stands which suffered significant thinning over the past year, the issues that may be encountered while using lawn grass seed mixes in the absence of forage varieties, how much and where can we skimp on fertilizer or lime, and how do we fit summer planted oats most effectively fit into forage mix. The concerns previously listed are just to name a few of what you're already asked.

Obviously even in "the year of forage management" this publication will still be addressing the traditional beef cattle management issues as they arise. In the mean time, keep the questions coming, and look forward a whole new set of challenges to conquer in 2008!

Forage Focus: "We're Going Into the Turn…" - Dr. Roy Burris, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

The events of this year have prompted a lot of discussion on grazing management and its effect on the feed shortage. Some producers have adequate stored forage and have managed to stretch their pastures effectively. Most, however, are left to scramble for something to feed.

There is no doubt that this has been a difficult year for graziers. I was talking to Don Moore of Owensboro and he used an analogy that got me thinking about managing our pastures. Don said that "grazing management is a lot like driving a race car!" I didn't understand and asked him how that could be. He said "all the drivers look great going down the backstretch and into the turn, but its how you come out of the turn that really separates the drivers. All cattle producers look good in May, but it's how you come out of the winter that is important". I agree with Don.

This year we had three groups of spring calving cows on a grazing demonstration at Princeton. Each group consisted of 15 cows on 24 acres of pasture. One group (control) was on high endophyte fescue with continuous grazing. The second was on high endophyte fescue and rotational grazing with 1/6 acreage in Tifton-44 bermudagrass (HE-intensive). The third was low endophyte fescue and rotational grazing with 1/6 acreage in bermudagrass (LE-intensive). We observed the following results:

If you can pick up an extra $1,000+ a year on 15 cows in a dry year, then better grazing management would seem to pay. An extra 34 days of grazing can mean a lot to the entire cow herd.

I was voicing my concern about this coming winter to Rankin Powell, CEA-Union County recently. I told Rankin that, first, we want to prevent calving losses and low pregnancy rates in our Kentucky cow herds and, secondly, I don't want producers to say that the UK Extension Service didn't warn them of the potential problems. Rankin agreed but opined that this might be the type of situation that weeds out a lot of inefficient producers. That could well be. The beef producers that are in this business for the long-term will need to improve their forage managements to ensure that they can survive whatever "mother nature" throws at them. It might look easy in May but, like a race care driver, we have to "come out of the turn" in good shape (i.e. have cows in good breeding condition with an adequate forage supply).

Limit Feeding Large Round Bales - Dr. Steve Hammack, Professor and Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Emeritus, Texas A&M

University of Illinois researchers studied the effects of limit feeding round bales of alfalfa hay from mid-September to mid-December to 72 dry, third-trimester Simmental cows. In the first year, cows were allowed access to 17.6% CP hay for either 3, 6, 9, or 24 hr/day. Hay consumption, in that order, was 11.9 lb, 18.7 lb, 20.0 lb, and 20.7 lb. Hay waste per day was 5.9 lb, 5.7 lb, 9.2 lb, and 13.4 lb. (There were no significant differences in waste as a percent of consumption.) Weight gain and body condition increased as time of access to hay increased. For hay priced at $80/T, access for 3hr/day compared to ad lib would save $1980 over four months in a 25-cow herd.

In the second year, access to hay (15.4% CP) was for 6, 9, or 24 hr/day. Consumption, in that order, was 19.6 lb, 22.4 lb, and 23.8 lb. Hay waste was considerably lower in this trial. As in the first year, weight gain/body condition tended to increase as time of access increased, but the effect was not statistically significant. Across both years, the authors concluded that limiting access reduced hay loss while maintaining acceptable performance. NOTE: results might be different with hays other than alfalfa. (Prof. Anim. Sci. 23:366)

Oats Planted for Forage Remained a Viable Option in Fairfield County During 2007 - Curt Stivison, Engineering Technician, Fairfield County SWCD

In 2007, Fairfield County much like the majority of the Midwest experienced a shortage of forage created by a late freeze in April and reduced amounts of rainfall from April through August. Weather data collected at the Fairfield County Airport shows rainfall amounts for this time period were almost six inches below normal. Local forage producers' yields on first cutting hay and pastures were reduced by 50% or more, and second cutting hay was very short. In the past, Fairfield SWCD along with OSU Extension have worked with several producers to plant oats after wheat harvest in order to supplement their winter feed supply. This year with the drought conditions in Fairfield County, there was an increased interest in this practice.

There were at least 20 local producers who planted oats after wheat harvest in the county. In addition to planting oats after wheat, some producers had oats flown onto corn and bean fields before they were harvested. Planting oats into a wheat field or flying oats onto a standing crop costs about $30 an acre. With the cost of hay this fall at over $100 a ton and the supply very limited, it doesn't take much yield to recover the investment. We did not collect data on every field planted, but we did gather a large amount of data on a few fields. Since the fields were located in different parts of the county and rainfall varied greatly depending on where the field was located, the data cannot be compared on a one-to-one basis. We can, however, make some general assumptions about the information.

One thing we tried to compare was yield and quality differences between July and August planted oats. The amount of dry matter produced by the July planted oats ranged from 4386 pounds to 9320 pounds an acre. The protein in the forage ranged from 9.14% to 10.43%. The 9.14% hay was harvested at 70 days after planting and yielded twice as much dry matter as the 10.43% hay which was harvested at 54 days after planting. One of the observations we made this year was that the dry matter of July planted oats doubles between week four and week six, and it takes July planted oats at least five to seven days to dry before it may be safely baled.

Although not all of the data has been collected for the August planted oats, to date we have yields between 6203 pounds and 7444 pounds of dry matter per acre and protein levels of 11.42% to 14.06%. August planted oats do not grow as fast as July planted oats, but the quality of the forage is improved by about 30%. August planted oats tend to have larger leaves. Although they develop seed heads, they do not produce seeds.

Presently, we are finding 1000+ pounds of oat dry matter growth at protein levels exceeding 19% on harvested corn or soybean fields which had oats flown onto them in early September. In some cases, these oats have not yet been killed freezing weather, and continue to grow additional dry matter even today (see photo below).

Throughout the winter, we will continue to update and summarize our results and findings on oats planted after July 1. As a final thought for now, for those who have asked about the ability to bale late planted oats, this Mpg file taken on December 26, 2007 may serve as a graphic answer to that question. We'll update you on the quality of what you see in the film clip, and the other particulars of it later.

Photo below: Oats flown onto standing soybeans on 9/5/07, pictured 12/26/07. Total investment in seeding was $30 per acre. Average height in photo is 14 inches. Average standing yield on 11/30/07 was 799 lbs/ac. Average standing yield on 12/14/07 was 1120 lbs/ac. at 19+% protein. Despite several nights of temperatures in the lower 20's, more than 50% of the oats remained alive and vegetative on 12/26/07.

For complete details about each meeting, include detailed directions, visit www.ohiocattle.org or call the OCA office at (614) 873-6736.

Following is a list of the meetings and topics that are scheduled:

Jan. 9, 2008 - OCA District 4 Meeting (Counties: Allen, Auglaize, Darke, Mercer, Miami and Shelby), 7:00 p.m., Newport Sportsman's Club, Newport, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Jan. 28, 2008 - OCA District 5 Meeting (Counties: Champaign, Delaware, Hardin, Logan, Marion, Morrow and Union), 7:00 p.m., Ohio Cattlemen's Association Office, Marysville, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Jan. 29, 2008 - OCA District 9 Meeting (Counties: Fairfield, Hocking, Licking, Muskingum and Perry), 7:00 p.m., Fairfield County Extension Office, Lancaster, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Jan. 30, 2008 - OCA District 11 Meeting (Counties: Adams, Brown, Highland, Pike, Ross and Scioto), 7:00 p.m., Southern States Community College - Fincastle, Sardinia, Topic: Nutritional needs during the four stages of cow production.

Jan. 31, 2008 - OCA District 10 Meeting (Counties: Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Preble and Warren), 7:00 p.m., Collinsville Community Center, Collinsville, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Feb. 18, 2008 - OCA District 12 Meeting (Counties: Athens, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, Vinton and Washington), 7:00 p.m., University of Rio Grande Campus, Bob Evans Hall, Rio Grande, Topic: Nutritional needs during the four stages of cow production.

Feb. 19, 2008 - OCA District 2 Meeting (Counties: Crawford, Erie, Hancock, Huron, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca and Wyandot), 7:00 p.m., Crawford County Fairgrounds, Bucyrus, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Feb. 20, 2008 - OCA District 1 Meeting (Counties: Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams and Wood), 7:00 p.m., Wood County Fairgrounds, 4-H Building, Bowling Green, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Feb. 21, 2008 - OCA District 3 Meeting (Counties: Ashtabula, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit and Trumbull), 7:00 p.m., Millcreek Metroparks Farm, McMahon Hall, Canfield, Topic: Nutritional needs during the four stages of cow production.

Feb. 25, 2008 - OCA District 8 Meeting (Counties: Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Pickaway and Madison), 7:00 p.m., Fayette County Extension Office, Washington Court House, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Feb. 26, 2008 - OCA District 6 Meeting (Counties: Ashland, Coshocton, Knox, Holmes and Wayne), 7:00 p.m., Knox County Career Center, Mount Vernon, Topic: Nutrition considerations involving the use of ethanol co-products and their impact on carcass quality.

Feb. 28, 2008 - OCA District 7 Meeting (Counties: Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Noble and Tuscarawas), 7:00 p.m., Buckeye Career Center, New Philadelphia, Topic: Nutritional needs during the four stages of cow production.

Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events

BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

Fairfield County Agriculture and Natural Resources