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OSU Extension BEEF Team

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

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Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter

Issue # 506

September 27, 2006

Do You Have Your SRMs Managed by the Correct PVP or QSA? - Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

The target may be set, at least for casual conversation or maybe even outright aggressive purchasing, because countries, such as Japan, have opened up their markets to beef produced in the U.S., which is a good thing.

As producers gear up in anticipation of that market, the essential concept or entry point started last spring during spring calving or some other time, if a producer has a different calving season. The point being, if you go to the USDA Web site at www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/arc/evjapan.htm, you specifically will see what is needed. The site lists those companies that are approved and leads you to the particular Quality System Assessment (QSA) or Process Verified Program (PVP) that, as a producer, you will be required to be involved with, if exporting to Japan.

Granted, none of the programs are mandated, so it is purely optional if a producer wants to represent or market this year's calf crop as eligible. However, once the calves leave the point of origin and are commingled within a set of calves, the option is forever closed, at least for the producer.

Carcass criteria may be available to an approved supplier, but at the point of age determination on the rail, little to no value would be traced back to the original producer. Again, as these terms slowly find their way into a producer's vocabulary, the time is now to become street smart about the many overseas and domestic market opportunities.

For instance, although the USDA site has many requirements about the export verification program for Japan, the very first question about the export verification program for Japan discusses the specified product requirements.

The answer on the Web site says; "Specified product requirements are the constraints or qualities that define the product. The specified product requirements for export to Japan are included in the EV Program for Japan (ARC 1030J Procedure). The requirements include age verification (20 months of age or younger) and removal of designated specified risk materials (SRMs). These requirements are required to be met through a USDA QSA Program. (They may also be met through a USDA Process Verified Program.)"

"Who really cares?" could be a typical reaction to the wandering response to the question from the USDA, but a note of caution certainly is in the air. First off, I think most beef producers probably are glad they are not spinach producers this week. One could make that assumption and simply move on, but the hard, cold reality is we are all in the food business and any food retailer today will not tolerate a reluctance to institute stringent food safety requirements. Just like spinach producers, beef producers are not in the cattle business. We are in the food business and we are all at the same table. When one hollers "Pass the potatoes, carrots, spinach, lettuce, beef" and so on, we are all at the same table.

So the rumblings may be distant or near, depending on what side of the fence one is on, but the bottom-line message is that we may as well get used to the new street talk at the market. The concept of having the neighborhood over for a fall dinner certainly has expanded.

With the advent of the prepackaged, ready-to-serve foods, the concern for safety in the kitchen has spread across the country. It only takes one rotten apple to upset the apple cart.

Anyway, back to beef. Japan is a great option, but the option starts at home with a calving book and a dedication to let the world know just how great this beef is by solid marketing backed by solid data and records, but not by word-of-mouth.

Forage Focus: Fall Weed Management in Grass Hay and Pasture - Bill Curran and Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State University Extension

Fall is an excellent time to manage certain weeds in grass hay and pastures. In particular, biennials such as common burdock, wild carrot, and bull, musk, and plumeless thistles are much easier to kill while they are in the rosette stage of growth and prior to surviving a winter. Once they awake in the spring, they grow rapidly with the goal of reproducing and it becomes more difficult to control them. As you have heard many times before, late summer and fall is the best time to control most perennials with a systemic herbicide. In general, the application window runs from about Sept. 1 through October depending on where you are in the state and what weeds you are targeting. Applications to perennial species like horsenettle, smooth groundcherry, and woody species like multiflora rose should be on the early side of this window, while cool - season perennials like Canada thistle and dandelion can be effectively controlled after several light frosts. With both biennial and perennials species, adequate leaf tissue must be present and it should be reasonably healthy to absorb the herbicide.

Favorable air temperatures should be a consideration immediately before, during, and after application. In general, the warmer the better, with daytime high temperatures in the mid 50's at a minimum. Cold nights and cool, cloudy days will reduce and slow the effectiveness of the applications. The more active the weeds are growing, the better the herbicide performance.

So, how do you decide what product (s) to choose? There are a number of systemic broadleaf herbicides for grass hay and pasture. Currently there are no products labeled for grass control in cool--season grass hay or pasture. In addition, most broadleaf weed control products will kill or injure any legume companion crops. Some should not be used on certain grass species because of injury concerns. Some products are better than others on certain weed species; some are more restrictive relative to making hay, grazing, or planting a rotational crop or over-seeding and some have manure handling precautions. And of course, products will differ in cost per acre. These are the types of questions you need to ask and answer before deciding what product (s) are best for a particular situation. Check the 2005/2006 Penn State Agronomy Guide Table 2.6--7 for specific herbicide performance by weed species information and a current product label for use recommendations and restrictions.

Here is a quick summary of the more common herbicide options.

2, 4-D ester 4E (1/2 to 1.5 pt/A) - 2, 4-D is a systemic herbicide that controls annual, biennial, and perennial broadleaves. The ester formulation is slightly more active than the amine and should not be used post--emergence if temperatures are greater than 80°F. 2, 4--D is commonly tank mixed with other herbicides (e.g., dicamba) to improve control and broaden weed spectrum. This is a good, inexpensive herbicide with limitations. It tends to be weak on a number of weed species including wild carrot, dock species, bedstraw, horsenettle, hemp dogbane, common milkweed, pokeweed, brambles and most woody perennials. It has a 7 day grazing and 30 day haying restriction. Check product labels as some restrictions/uses vary.

Clarity 4S or Banvel 4S (0.5 to 4 pt/A) - Clarity/Banvel (dicamba) is a systemic herbicide that controls many annual and biennial broadleaf weeds and provides suppression or control of numerous perennials. Clarity/Banvel is commonly tank mixed with other herbicides (e.g., 2, 4-D) to improve control and broaden weed spectrum.

Overdrive 70WDG also contains dicamba in addition to diflufenzapyr (a synergist) and can be used in established grass stands (not seedlings) for control of numerous broadleaf weeds. The Overdrive use rate is 4 to 8 oz/A and can be tank mixed with numerous herbicides. Dicamba is fairly broad spectrum but tends to be weak on wild carrot, buttercup species, dandelion, milkweed, and bedstraw to name a few. At 1 to 2 pints/acre, dicamba has a 21 day grazing and 51 day haying restriction. Overdrive does not have any grazing or haying restrictions.

Cimarron 60DF (0.1 to 1 oz/A) - Cimarron (metsulfuron-methyl) is an ALS - inhibitor herbicide that controls many annual, biennial, and some perennial broadleaf weeds, depending on the rate used. It can be used in established warm or cool season grass stands. For most grass species, do not apply until one year after establishment (minimum of 6 months); timothy and fescue require a longer period. It is often tank mixed with 2, 4-D or dicamba to increase activity and weed control spectrum. This combination provides good control of weeds like Canada thistle, bull, musk, and plumeless thistle, and multiflora rose to name a few. COC or NIS must be included in the spray solution. Cimarron does not have any grazing or haying restrictions.

Crossbow 3E (1 to 4 qt/A) - Crossbow is a systemic herbicide that contains triclopyr plus 2, 4-D ester. It can be used on established cool or warm season grass stands for control of a variety of annual, biennial, and perennial broadleaf weeds and is also effective on woody plants and brush. Crossbow is often the standard product used for bedstraw control but is only fair on Canada thistle. For lactating dairy, do not graze until the following spring, while there are no grazing restrictions for other livestock. Crossbow has a 14-day interval between application and haying.

Stinger 3E (0.33 to 1.3 pt/A) -- Stinger (clopyralid) is systemic and controls certain broadleaf weeds and is especially effective on thistles (Canada, musk, bull, etc.) and other aster--family species. It can be used on established warm or cool season grass stands. Stinger is more cost effective when used as a spot treatment. Stinger has no grazing or haying restrictions. Curtail 2.38L (2 to 4 qt/A) contains clopyralid + 2,4-D and is labeled for permanent grass pasture. Curtail controls a wider range of broadleaf weeds and may be more cost effective than Stinger. Do not graze lactating dairy for 14 days and do not cut treated grass hay for 30 days after using Curtail. For both Stinger and Curtail, special manure handling precautions are recommended to prevent injury to sensitive broadleaf plants (see label guidelines).

Milestone 2L (3 to 7 fl oz/A) - Milestone (aminopyralid) is a newer active ingredient (related to Stinger) labeled for grass hay and pasture. Milestone controls many annual, biennial, and perennial broadleaf weeds and is effective on thistles (Canada, bull, musk, plumeless), burdock, dock species, bedstraw, horsenettle, knapweed, sowthistle, ironweed and others. It is less effective on wild carrot, hemp dogbane, common milkweed, and most brush species to name a few. Milestone can be tank-mixed with other herbicides and the addition of NIS is recommended to enhance activity. Milestone is non-volatile. ForeFront R&P 3L (1.5 to 2.6 pt/A) is a premix of aminopyralid plus 2,4-D that can also be used in grass hay and pasture to broaden the spectrum of activity. Milestone has no grazing or haying restrictions, while Forefront has a 7 day haying restriction. For both Milestone and ForeFront, special manure handling precautions are recommended to prevent injury to sensitive broadleaf plants (see label guidelines).

Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report - Mike Roberts, Commodity Marketing Agent, Virginia Tech

LIVE CATTLE in Chicago (CME) closed higher on Monday with the OCT'06LC at $90.725/cwt, up $0.625/cwt and the DEC'06LC up $0.200/cwt at $90.00/cwt. Short covering occurred after Friday's stronger-than-expected cash cattle sales pushed nearby futures up. Cash cattle traded mostly between $88.50/cwt-$89.50/cwt with some southwest feedlots reporting $90.00/cwt. Some February/December spreading was reported with October/December spreading more active. USDA's Cattle on Feed report issued last Friday showing a record large September 1 feedlot supply and large August placements proved bearish on prices at times, especially on deferred contracts. USDA reports that many cattle are being placed at lighter weights. USDA put the choice beef cutout at $139.78/cwt, up $0.66/cwt from last week. HedgersEdge.com estimated the average beef plant margin for Monday to be a negative $46.60/head, down $3.80/head from a negative $42.80/head last Friday and down $12.45/head from a negative $33.15/head last week. Cash sellers should remain ready to protect a portion of 4th quarter '06 and 1st quarter '07 marketings at this point due to a heavy supply burden. Hedgers should be sensitive to any downturn in this market. Corn users may still think about pricing a significant portion of corn supplies at this time as input prices may have established their lows. Try to catch the low bounce in this choppy corn market to price your corn if you haven't done so already.

FEEDER CATTLE at the CME closed down with the SEPT'06FC off $0.350/cwt at $115.700/cwt and the OCT'06FC contract closing at $114.675/cwt, off $0.375/cwt. The NOV'06FC contract finished off $0.150/cwt at $113.500/cwt. Lower live cattle in the later months provided bearish pressure on feeders. Weakness in those months were seen as limiting hedging opportunities in feeder cattle. Limiting losses were expectations of fewer cattle remaining outside feedlots that can be placed on feed later. Funds moved out of the OCT'06FC futures into November/October spreading. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for Sept. 21 was placed at $117.26/cwt, off $0.20/cwt. Interest for feeders is expected to rebound. Cattle feeders may want to watch these markets still looking to catch those "up" days to sell. Corn users may still think about pricing a significant portion of corn supplies at this time as input prices may have established their lows. Try to catch the low bounce in this choppy corn market to price your corn if you haven't already.

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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.

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