Farm Facts for Fairfield County

for July 17, 2002 ; also seen on Fridays in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette

Despite suffering through 10 weeks of wet weather in the spring that many are describing as "the worst planting season since '81," the 'D' word (drought) has now returned to many local conversations. After the wet spring destroyed first cutting hay quality, delayed (or eliminated) corn and bean planting, and caused pastures to suffer from much trampling, current 'drought like' conditions over much of Ohio are continuing to stymie plant growth. A friend from near Hicksville in northwestern Ohio told us that he recently harvested less than 300 pounds per acre from a second cutting of alfalfa. Just southeast of Columbus, we've received ½ inch of rainfall over the past 4+ weeks and haven't mowed anything but buckhorn in our lawns during that time. While the Palmer Drought Index doesn't yet show us in a drought, the fired out corn, cracks in the ground, and the weather we've had in recent weeks is certainly showing the symptoms of one.

The point is, for cattlemen, it's time to begin considering the alternatives for managing low quality, and low yields of feed stuffs. That includes grazed, harvested, and purchased feeds. Currently wheat midds, wet brewers grain, and even shelled corn are affordable alternatives as purchased feeds. All that being said, take a look now at your forage and feed resources, and give some thought to alternatives that will hold you until cooler temperatures and precipitation returns.

* Wean spring born calves now - despite the dry weather market that is pushing grain prices, corn is still only about 4 cents a pound. Considering you can realize 4:1 feed conversions on young weaned calves, save the pasture for mamma. Mamma doesn't need nearly as much feed when she's not lactating! Besides, early weaned, vaccinated, bunk broke calves sell for a premium. It's not too late to become involved in the Ohio FSBI sales, or other premium calf sales that are scheduled for later this year.

* As an alternative to offering supplemental hay, feed the cows 2-3 pounds of whole corn per head per day - one pound of corn replaces about 2 pounds of hay, and, it's a whole bunch easier to haul. Feed it on the dry ground under an electric fence wire and the cows and calves won't waste any. If you have adequate bunk space, wheat midds might be an even better and cheaper alternative than corn. If you're fall calving and short on forage, a little additional energy in the form of corn or midds is almost a must!

* If your forage growth has stopped, pull the cows in and feed hay or silage. Overgrazed plants won't recover very well when precipitation and cooler temperatures do return. Roots transport moisture and nutrients to growing plants. When plants are overgrazed, root growth stops and when root growth stops, leaf growth stops too. The result is no leaf to absorb dew or light rain, and no shading for the soil to retain the moisture that is present. During the 1999 drought, one area cattleman pulled his cows from the pastures in late July and August and opened a corn silage bag. His pastures recovered much more quickly that fall, and were significantly more productive than others' around the County that were allowed to be grazed down to the soil. Manage for the long haul - don't destroy a productive pasture just to survive the short term!

* If you do still have forage that's suitable for grazing, allow at least 4-5 inches of top growth to remain in the field. Also, extend rest periods now to 35-40 days for most forage species.

* If a pasture must be overgrazed and abused, make sure it's a mature, well established one. It will recover more quickly than younger seedings.

* After the cows are dry and their nutrient requirements go down, plan to graze wheat stubble and the volunteer wheat that emerged with the showers you may have received. If you have a decent stand, you might even consider applying a little ammonium nitrate to these fields. Beyond that, begin planning to graze corn stalks after corn harvest.

* Palpate and cull now before everyone else does. Moving culls now will not only save feed, but our dairymen typically cull more cows this time of year, and, we're nearing the end of hamburger fry season - equaling less demand and more pressure on the cull cow market.

* Apply ammonium nitrate to resting pastures - especially the fescue - to encourage more fall growth.

* When a little pasture top growth does return, don't be impatient about grazing it. If you must, only top graze it lightly and move the cattle on.

* Also, go back and re-visit the "Drought '99 - Crop, Livestock and Forage Information" webpage that we assembled in response to the drought of 1999. It's still on-line at: http://corn.osu.edu/drought99/

Twospotted Spider Mite Populations Are Building

Soybean growers should be aware of possible outbreaks of the twospotted spider mite on soybeans because of the drought conditions that exist in many areas of Ohio. Over the past week or so, the frings of many Fairfield County soybeans are beginning to show symptoms of spider mite populations beginning to build.

Growers should check their fields, especially the field edges, for the presence of mites, looking for both adult mites and eggs. However, growers should also realize that these outbreaks can also begin to occur throughout the field, so care should be taken that the entire field is scouted.

If mites and/or eggs are present in large numbers, treatment is probably warranted. If mites are present throughout the field, the entire field would need treatment. Lorsban (1/2 to 1 pt/acre) and dimethoate (various formulations at 1 to 1 1/3 pt/acre) are labeled for mite control, while Warrior (3.84 fl oz/acre) is registered for suppression only. For effective control with Lorsban, it should be applied again within 3 to 5 days after initial treatment to control newly hatched nymphs.

New 'Average' Custom Rates Released

The 2002 Ohio Custom Rates Survey is completed. Copies are now available from County Extension offices and the survey can also be found on-line at http://aede.ag.ohio-state.edu/people/moore.301/custompage.htm

OSU economist Robert Moore, who assembled and summarized the survey, tells us that the number of survey responses increased by almost 5 times, which in turn doubled the number of operations listed on the survey results this year.

Ohio's Wheat Yields Vary

Wheat yields in 2002 have varied widely, from 20-30 bu/ac where severe freeze damage occurred after heading up to 100 bu/ac in northern Ohio where there was no freeze damage and a somewhat normal length grain fill period. Fairfield County yields varied nearly as much.

A few hours of 90-degree temperatures at the soft dough stage will kill wheat prematurely. In southern Ohio, the grain fill period was cut short by high temperatures that greatly reduced yield in some areas. Northern Ohio also had temperature stress problems but they were less severe and yields were reduced only 10 to 20 percent in that part of the state.

A wheat crop produces from 3 to 6 bushels per acre per day during the grain fill period depending on the weather and disease pressure. The grain fill period in Ohio is from 12 to 21 days long with 15 to 18 days being typical. With poor weather or heavy disease and 3 bu/ac/day, yields would be in the range of 36 to 63 bu/ac depending on the length of the grain fill period. With no disease and ideal weather the crop can produce up to 6 bu/ac/day. In 2002, the weather was not ideal but there was very little disease and the crop produced about 4.5 bu/ac/day, but the grain fill period was short in many areas due to the high temperatures. These factors account for the wide range in Ohio's 2002 wheat yield.

Fruit Grower's Field Meeting

Branstool Orchard near Utica will be the location of a fruit growers field meeting on Tuesday, July 23rd beginning at 6:00 p.m.

A presentation on the calibration of orchard sprayers will be offered by Celeste Welty, an OSU entomologist, at 6 p.m.. This program will provide 60 minutes of CORE pesticide training. Following at 7 p.m. will be a light supper which will be available to those attending with the cost being a voluntary donation. Those not interested in the pesticide training may arrive at 7 p.m. for the supper and wagon tour.

Following supper there will be demonstrations on the training of apples, table grapes, wine grapes and peaches and a wagon tour of the farm by orchard owner Marshall Branstool and Richard Funt an OSU Horticulturist.

There is no need for advanced reservations. Branstool's Orchard is located one mile east of the intersection of State Routes 62 and 13 in Utica along State Route 62. For further information contact the OSU Extension office at 740.349.6900.

For a listing of upcoming programs, meetings and events, visit the AG CALENDAR

Previous Issues of Farm Facts

updated on July 17, 2002 by Stan Smith

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.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.
TDD # 1 (800) 589-8292 (Ohio only) or (614) 292-1868