BEEF NEWSLETTER

                                              June - July 2008

In This Issue:

Dear Beef Producer,

            What a difference a year can make.  Last year at this time we had dry conditions and above average temperatures as we entered a season long drought.  This year we have had unseasonably cool temperatures with frequent rains.  This has helped pastures that were stressed from overgrazing to recover somewhat this year.  It will be important to maintain good grazing practices throughout this growing season to allow those pastures to continue to recover.  There are some articles in this newsletter targeted to this topic.

            One item of big news for agriculture was passage of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 in mid-May.  This legislation, more commonly referred to as the Farm Bill has an estimated cost of 300 billion dollars over a 5-year period.  It is important to recognize that programs and benefits that pass directly to farmers are only a portion of the total cost.  The largest cost section of the farm bill is the nutrition component that accounts for about 200 billion dollars or approximately 66% of the total cost.  Funding for food banks, the food stamp program, the supplemental food program for senior citizens, the USDA snack program in schools, and various nutrition education programs are included in this component.  Crop subsidies are allocated at 43 billion dollars, about 14% of the total farm bill, Conservation programs are budgeted at 27 billion dollars making up about 9% of the bill and crop insurance to protect against crop losses at 23 billion accounts for another 8 percent of the total.  Less than 200 million dollars, under 1% of the total, is included for foreign food aid.  For the first time, the farm bill includes a section that provides funding for resources to benefit fruit, vegetable and organic producers.  Funding for renewable energy sources is also part of the farm bill.

            There are some provisions and aspects of the 2008 farm bill that may be of particular interest to livestock producers.

• Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is required for beef and other meat products.

• Interstate market access for meat products from selected state inspected processors will be allowed.  This provision will essentially allow state inspection programs like Ohio’s to receive federal inspection status, opening up some additional market opportunities.

• Increased funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).  In Athens County this program has helped a number of livestock producers develop and/or improve their grazing management programs by providing dollars for fence, access lanes, and water systems.

      Even though the 2008 farm bill may be big news, it will not play a big role in maintaining profitability in a beef cattle operation.  That will depend on management skill and attention directed towards pasture management, nutrition, especially with regards to understanding costs of various feedstuffs, reproductive efficiency/genetic selection and marketing options.

      As usual, give me a call at 593-8555 if I can be of assistance with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Rory Lewandowski

Extension Educator, Ag/NR

Athens County

BACK TO THE BASICS?

By: Dr. Roy Burris, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

            Taken from the OSU Extension Beef Cattle Letter, Issue 586, 5-07-08

        Most of us tend to make situations more complicated than they really are. It is my opinion that we could solve most of our problems if we just got back to basics. The solution might not be easy, but it could be simple.

        Here's the problem. Corn is over six dollars a bushel, gasoline and diesel are getting higher every day (oil is over $100 a barrel) and nitrogen fertilizer is off the chart. All of this follows a year of drought and feed shortage. We find ourselves vulnerable to another disaster. The most basic question is "how do we survive"?

        In the short term, we must make sure that another drought doesn't put us out of business. We have "zeroed-out" all of our feed reserves and our hay supply. We have to restock. Simply put … "let's make hay while the sun shines". Take every window of opportunity that you get. Also, consider some warm-season hay crops so that we aren't totally dependent upon making hay in the springtime.

        Ever since we started using big round bales of hay, some have flirted with disaster by storing all of their hay outside and not being able to carry any over. We should have the goal, and the ability; to keep an extra one-third of our annual hay needs stored inside for emergency feeding. Consider an old barn or a new structure for hay storage.

        We also need to manage our pastures to take advantage of legumes and minimize our use of nitrogen fertilizers. Clovers will also improve the nutritional quality of pastures and hay.

        Our long-term adjustments are just as basic. We need to match cattle genetics to our farm's available forage resources. We continue to select cattle for "more frame-more milk" with little concern for the nutritional cost or, more importantly, the effect on reproduction. If you really want bigger calves, use a moderate-sized, efficient cow and a terminal cross sire. Rediscover crossbreeding.

        We have the genetic information to help make breeding decisions but we abuse their intended use. EPD's are tools, which allow you to make a more informed decision. They are not an end in themselves. Why do we always think that a large number must be better?

        Take cow size and milk production, for example. What happens if we keep using bulls with bigger numbers for yearling weight and milk EPD's? These two things have a dramatic effect on nutritional needs of their offspring. If you don't meet the cow's nutritional needs, they don't rebreed. It's that simple.

        Does cow efficiency really matter? Let's consider two different cows in the first 60 days of lactation. First, a 1100 lb cow with a body condition score (BCS) of 5 and producing 15 lb of milk daily could have her nutritional needs met with 24 lb of average hay and 3 lb of corn. The second, a 1400 lb cow with a BCS of 4 (needs to gain around 80 lb before breeding) and producing 30 lb of milk daily would need about 18 lb hay, 12 lb corn and 1.3 lb of soybean meal, for example. So you say the second cow will wean a bigger calf. Maybe, but she won't wean anything if she doesn't get pregnant.

        It is time to select bulls and order semen for spring breeding. The trend, as I see it, is that most of us will select Angus bulls for example, with yearling weight EPD of greater than 100 and milk EPD of well over 30. Where does that put us in terms of reproductive efficiency? Do we really think that we'll see cheap corn anytime soon?

        Let's just get back to the basics and stay focused on functional cattle, which produce efficiently under our management and our environmental conditions with a minimum of extra attention. Keep it simple.

OHIO FARM CUSTOM RATES: 2008

            The 2008 Ohio Farm Custom Rates publication is now available.  The custom rates reported in the publication are the result of a survey of Ohio farmers, custom operators and farm managers.  While the rates may vary across the state depending upon the availability of custom operators and demand for services, the publication provides a guide for pricing custom work and machinery costs.  Rates in the publication include fuel, lubrication and ownership costs.  For those with Internet access, the report is available in a PDF document at: http://aede.osu.edu/resources/docs/pdf/RFN4LSVG-7ND3-ZI99-Q93NUG0H30MHWEYV.pdf.  A hard copy of the publication is available at the Athens County Extension office.

SOME PASTURE MANAGEMENT DO’S AND DON’TS

            To this point, (end of May) the 2008 growing season has been good for the cool season forages that make up the vast majority of our pasture acreage.  However, barring a very unusual year, we can expect that June and July will bring us stretches of dry weather and hot temperatures.  Growth rates of cool season grass pastures will decline.  Getting the most out of your pasture demands management, especially as growth rates decline.

Here are some management dos and don’ts to consider as we enter the summer months:

• Don’t ignore the seed heads that have accumulated in your pasture paddocks.  A plant in reproductive growth producing seeds is not putting energy into leafy growth or producing tillers to fill in thin spots in the pasture sod.

• Do clip seed heads from pasture grasses, allowing the plant to go back into vegetative growth that will result in more total forage being produced over the course of the growing season.

• Don’t ignore uneven grazing patterns in your pasture paddocks.  This indicates that selective grazing is occurring, allowing some plants to be overgrazed while others are becoming too mature.  In this situation, forage utilization is being compromised.

• Do consider adding more pasture divisions, more paddocks to your pasture system when uneven grazing patterns are noticed.  This means you will be grazing your cattle on smaller areas, increasing the stocking density.  This will reduce the amount of selective grazing that occurs.  Forage utilization will increase, manure distribution will be more uniform and pasture clipping can be reduced.  All positives given the high cost of forages, fertilizer and fuel.

• Don’t ignore the take half leave half principle.  If this rule is violated and pastures are grazed down too low, the result is that plant root growth stops, and plant root reserves may be used to re-grow leaf tissue, diminishing the vigor of the plant root system.  In addition, when adequate leaf cover is not maintained, the sun is able to penetrate to the soil surface, increasing the soil temperature and moisture evaporation from the soil.  This will result in reduced plant growth.

• Do pay attention to when it is time to move the cows to a new paddock, and do provide adequate rest periods to allow a paddock to recover to proper grazing height before allowing cattle to make another grazing pass.  As we get in to drier and hotter weather, grass growth rates will slow down.  Rotation speed between paddocks will also have to slow down to provide the plants with a longer rest or recovery period.  Consider the following charts as a guide:

            Pure or Dominant Grass Pastures

      Grass/Legume Pastures (30% or greater legume)

• Do take some time to look ahead to the summer months and have a plan for slower cool season growth rates.  Will you be able to feed hay and hold cattle in a sacrifice area if grass growth stops?  Can you manage your pasture rotations to slow them down and give plants an opportunity to re-grow to a proper grazing height?  If you think forage will be tight, can you plant a summer annual forage like sudangrass or a sorghum x sudangrass hybrid?  If so, this should be planted before mid-June.

• Finally, don’t ignore the economics of management decisions.  Do take the time to analyze costs and benefits.  If you can’t take advantage of the extra forage and increase in quality that is produced by clipping pasture paddocks or by putting in more pasture divisions, then these may not be good decisions.

DETERMINING THE COST OF HAY

      I’ve had several conversations regarding the cost of hay recently.  One person, trying to determine what to charge for essentially renting hay ground, reasoned that if the renter was going to sell small square bales for $5 or more per bale, then they ought to have at least $2 per bale as their share.  Another person told me that if there is a lot of grass growing that gets made into a lot of hay then hay will again be cheap ($50-60/ton?) as in past years.  The cost of producing hay can be determined from the value of nutrients removed plus the equipment costs.  Whether hay is actually worth what it costs to produce it is yet another question.

      According to the Ohio Agronomy Guide, each ton of grass hay removes 40 lbs of nitrogen, 13 lbs of phosphate (P₂O₅) and 50 lbs of potash (K₂O).  I called two local fertilizer dealers to get prices on per ton bulk quantities.  Urea (46-0-0) was quoted at $690 and $788/ton, DAP (18-46-0) was quoted at $1050 and $1375/ton and potash (0-0-60) at $600 and $665/ton.  Using these prices to replace the nitrogen, phosphate and potash removed in a ton of hay resulted in a cost of between  $61.41 to $70.66 per ton.  Since I was using DAP to replace the phosphate removed, this also provided about 5 lbs of nitrogen.  The remaining 35 lbs was replaced using urea.  Besides the fertilizer cost, there should be something figured in for spreading the fertilizer.  Using the 2008 Ohio Farm Custom Rates, the average cost for spreading dry bulk fertilizer is about $4.50/acre.

      It is true that hay can be produced without fertilizing.  I see it happen all the time here in Athens County.  So, should fertilizer cost be part of determining the cost of hay?  Yes, because each ton of hay removes those nutrients whether they are replaced or not.  It is a matter of pay now or pay later.  The soil can get mined to the point where it is no longer practical to produce hay.  To restore soil to good productivity then takes a massive investment to restore soil fertility.  Every year I get phone calls where people say they will fertilize in the future, or they are waiting for fertilizer to get cheaper because it is too expensive.  If your soil fertility levels are good, and you are pretty sure fertilizer prices are going to decrease, then go ahead and delay fertilizing.  However, you should still include some fertilizer charge into your hay cost calculation based on that future fertilization.

      The next part of calculating the cost of hay production is machinery/equipment expense.  I used average cost figures from the 2008 Ohio Farm Custom Rates.  These rates are based on survey responses of Ohio farmers.  Your own equipment costs may vary, and if you know what they are, plug those in.  For those who don’t know, this is a good place to start.  Mowing is valued at $11.13/acre, tedding at $6.13/acre, raking at $6.59/acre and large round bale baling and hauling at $8.81 per bale.  Since we talk about hay in terms of price/ton, these per acre costs will have to get converted into costs /ton.  Here is where fertility will pay some dividends.  As tonnage yields increase, the machinery costs of mowing, tedding and raking decrease on a per ton basis.

      Let’s consider an example where hay production is at 2 tons per acre and large round bales weigh 1000 lbs.  The machinery costs are $5.56/ton for mowing, $3.07/ton for tedding, $3.29/ton for raking and $17.62/ton for baling and hauling the bales.  If we need to do one tedding and one raking before baling, our total machinery cost is $29.54/ton.  Adding the machinery cost to the lower of our fertilizer quotes  ($61.41) results in a total hay production cost of $90.95/ton.  At the higher fertilizer quote ($70.66), the cost is $100.20/ton.  This does not include the cost of spreading fertilizer.

      Now, it may be possible to reduce these hay production costs somewhat.  You might find a better deal on fertilizer.  Maybe you have an even distribution of 30% or more legumes in your hay mix, so the legumes provide nitrogen.  Possibly you can spread some livestock manure that accumulated on a heavy use-feeding pad. You might be able to take out a pass with the rake if the weather is right and just tedd the hay.  Maybe your machinery costs are a little lower.  The point is, even with some of these conditions, hay is still going to be an expensive commodity.  If you are making your own hay, these production costs are there whether that hay is mowed and baled at 15% crude protein and 65% TDN or at 7% crude protein and 48% TDN.

      Then again, maybe the best situation is to find a neighbor or some other person who likes to make hay and hasn’t pushed a pencil on the costs.  You just might run into a good deal.

GRASS HAY FERTILIZATION

By:  Doug Beegle, Soil Fertility Specialist, PA Extension

            Taken from the OSU Extension Beef Cattle Letter, Issue 587, 5-14-08

        As grass hay harvest gets underway we need to be thinking about fertilizing those stands with nitrogen (N). The most efficient way to fertilize these grass hay stands is to split apply N based on the expected yield of the next growth. The actual rate should be 50 lb N/ton of expected hay yield. Fertilizer should be applied as soon after cutting as practical. All of our common N fertilizer materials work well. If urea or UAN are used, applying these right before rain will help to minimize N volatilization loss.

        Manure is an excellent choice for these grass hay fields, especially with current high fertilizer prices. Grass hay has a high demand for all manure nutrients so it will make good use of manure nutrients. Be aware that if manure is used as the sole source of N for a grass hay crop, excess P and K will likely be applied over time. Follow regular soil testing to monitor for excesses of these nutrients. Grass hay fields are a much better choice for manure than legume based hay fields because they need the N, where as the legumes do not need the N. Applying manure between cuttings also provides another window to spread manure. This is typically manure that, if not spread on these hay fields, would be stored and spread in the fall when manure nutrient use efficiency is generally very low. Applying to these hay fields can thus dramatically increase the economic return from manure nutrients compared to late fall applications of the same manure for next year's crops. Be careful not to apply too much manure that you smother the hay. Also, apply as soon after harvest as practical to reduce potential injury to the re-growth.

        Finally, watch soil conditions so that you do not cause compaction by driving heavy manure spreaders on wet soils in these hay fields. Liquid manure is probably best on hay fields because there is less chance of smothering and you are less likely to gather up remnants of the manure in the next hay harvest. Estimate the amount of N that will be available from the manure application to make sure it is adequate for optimum production.

        Depending on the rate applied, supplemental fertilizer N may be needed also. The availability of manure N applied between hay cuttings will range from around 50% if it gets significant rain (~1/2 in) within a day of application to only 20% if there is no rain for a week.

        For example, using book values, applying 5000 gal/A of dairy manure and getting it rained in right away will supply adequate N for most 2^nd cuttings of grass hay (5000 gal/A x 28 lb N/1000 gal x 0.5 = 70 lb avail. N). However, if you apply 5000 gal/A anticipating rain and it does not rain you may only get 28 lb avail. N/A (5000 gal/A x 28 lb N/1000 gal x 0.2= 28 lb avail. N), which means you would need an additional 42 lb N/A, probably as fertilizer, to meet the crop needs for optimum production in this situation. The bottom line is that with good management, this 5000 gal/A manure application to a grass hay field could be worth as much as $150/A in fertilizer nutrient value.

CALF SEASON EVALUATION

Look Back at the Calving Season and Start to Make Improvements Now

By: Glenn Selk, OSU Extension Cattle Reproduction Specialist

Taken from the OSU Extension Beef Cattle Letter, Issue 588, 5-21-08

        Only 1 to 2 months ago the spring calving cows were calving, the temperature was cold and the calving pastures were muddy. Experience would say that you do not want to ask cow calf operators how "calving" is then, because the response would be less than objective, reflecting bone-chilling cold and not enough sleep. However if you wait too long, perhaps until this fall, time will have mellowed most of the events and one soon has difficulty matching a calving season with particular problems. Now is perhaps the best time to make a few notes on what to change for next year.

        The first step is to list the dead calves. Hopefully, your cattle are in a record system that will provide that information. If not, grab a piece of paper and pencil and list the calves. Your calving notebook should have the dead calves checked off and a brief notation on what happened to each. Until all the calves are listed, the shock of lost opportunities has not had its full impact.

        Can you identify a pattern of problems?

        Was most of the death loss right at delivery and involved two-year old heifers? This could indicate that sire selection needs to be done more carefully, with attention being paid to low birth weight EPD sires for heifers. Perhaps the heifers were underdeveloped. This could contribute to more calving difficulty than necessary. Do you provide assistance to heifers after they have been in stage II of labor for one hour? Longer deliveries result in stress on both calf and cow.

        Was the death loss more prevalent after the calves had reached 10 days to 2 weeks of age? This of course often means that calf diarrhea (or scours) is a major concern. Calf scours will be more likely to occur to calves from first calf heifers. Calves that receive inadequate amounts of colostrum within the first 6 hours of life are 5 to 6 times more likely to die from calf scours. Calves that are born to thin heifers are weakened at birth and receive less colostrum, which compounds their likelihood of scours. Often, these same calves were born via a difficult delivery and adds to the chances of getting sick and dying. All of this means that we need to reassess the bred heifer growing program to assure that the heifers were in a body condition score of 6 (moderate flesh) at calving time.

        Do you use the same trap or pasture each year for calving? There may be a buildup of bacteria or viruses that contribute to calf diarrhea in that pasture. This particular calving pasture may need a rest for the upcoming calving season. Plus it is always a good idea to get new calves and their mothers out of the calving pasture as soon as they can be moved comfortably to a new pasture to get them away from other potential calf scour organisms.

        Pre-calving scours vaccines (to the cows) may be recommended by your veterinarian for next winter and spring. This should be considered an important short-term plan to reduce the incidence of calf diarrhea. The above suggestions are more long-term solutions to the problem.

SUDANGRASS AS A SUMMER GRAZING OPTION

        At this point no one knows exactly what our summer weather holds in store for us.  Will we receive some timely rains that allow well-managed pastures to continue to grow or will we lack rainfall and run out of pasture options similar to last summer?  One summer grazing option that might be considered to insure adequate grazing is planting a warm season annual forage such as sudangrass or a sudangrass x sorghum hybrid.  Most seed companies have some good varieties available; I know that last year a number of acres were seeded to Ampac Seed and Barenburg Seed varieties with good results.  In this article I want to pass on the results of a seeding of a brown mid-rib (BMR) sudangrass from Ampac Seeds that I monitored last summer.

        The field was seeded on June 1 at a rate of 25 lbs/acre.  Since our 2007 trial, I have spoken with Ampac seed representatives and they are currently recommending a seeding rate for grazing conditions of 35 lbs/acre. The field had been in winter rye and was tilled using a chisel plow and disk.  Seed was applied with a broadcast seeder mounted on a 4-wheeler and then cultipacked.  The seedbed was very dry.  Soil fertility on this field was at low to moderate levels with a soil pH slightly below 6.0.  According to the Ohio Agronomy Guide, soil fertility levels should be similar to what is needed to produce a 100-to 150-bushels/acre-corn crop.  This translates into a critical soil phosphorus level of 15 ppm and a soil potassium level of 100 ppm at a cation exchange capacity of 10.  Following a grass sod, nitrogen requirements range from 60 lbs/acre for a 3-4 ton yield goal to 100 lbs/acre for a 5-6 ton yield goal.  Seed should be planted one-half to one inch deep on a firm seedbed.  Recommended planting time is from late May until the end of June.  Soil temperature should be in the 60 to 65 degree F range.

        Rain was in short supply in 2007 and the prepared seedbed was too dry initially for the BMR sudangrass seed to germinate.  On June 4 a quarter inch of rainfall provided enough moisture for seed germination.  Fortunately, an isolated thunderstorm brought 1.3 inches of rain to the farm on June 9-10.  From this point on the BMR sudangrass made rapid growth.  On July 12, several days before the first grazing pass was made, random samples were collected from the field, and a dry matter yield was calculated at 3000 lbs/acre.  By the time livestock were turned into the field several days’ latter, some additional growth had occurred and the field averaged about 40 inches in height, which is actually a little taller than recommended.  According to both the Ohio Agronomy Guide and the Ampac Seed literature, grazing should start at between 24 to 30 inches in height, and be grazed down to a 6 to 8 inch stubble.

        Quality samples collected on July 16, the day livestock entered the field, came back from the lab with an analysis of 20% crude protein and 68% TDN.  This quantity and quality of forage was produced during a period with limited rainfall and daytime temperatures in the 90’s.  During this same period cool season grass pastures were shutting down, recording very low levels of dry matter accumulation.

        Something that producers need to consider regarding a warm season annual like sudangrass is how to best utilize the production capacity of the forage.  Since the forage grows rapidly, it is similar to managing the spring flush of cool season pasture growth.  It is very easy for the forage to get ahead of animal consumption, leaving a field of mature, declining quality forage.

        The Ohio Agronomy Guide says that when a 6-8 inch stubble is left, plants should re-grow to the 24 to 30 inch grazing height in 2 to 3 weeks.  This is consistent with what was observed in this study last summer.  So, getting back to a management strategy to best utilize the forage quantity being produced, while also taking advantage of the high quality that is possible, the producer may want to consider staggered plantings of the sudangrass at 2 week intervals, or plan to do a cutting for hay or silage on part of the acreage.  A sample planning calculation might look something like this: Sudangrass at 24-30 inches of height producing 2500 lbs of dry matter (DM)/acre.  A 1200 lb cow consuming 2.7% of body weight per day in DM needs about 32.5 lbs.  If the field is strip grazed, forage utilization should be at least 70%, so 2500 lbs of DM x .70 = 1750 lbs of DM available.  This would provide grazing for 54 head of 1200 lb cows /acre for one day.  If we want a 2 week grazing period, this will allot 125 lbs of DM / day, so we could graze 3 to 4 head of 1200 lb cows /acre for 14 days.    If we had staggered planted a second acre of sudangrass 2 weeks after the first, or harvested the second acre as stored forage when grazing started, it would now be ready for a grazing pass.  In reality, because the sudangrass will continue to grow and add dry matter from the time the grazing pass is begun, more animals will be needed to keep ahead of forage growth.  However, this example illustrates the potential available during a time when forage is generally in short supply.

        In summary, a warm season annual like BMR sudangrass can be used to provide good tonnage and good quality during a time cool season pastures have little growth.  To most effectively utilize this forage, a producer must have a plan to manage the rapid growth, including adequate animal numbers, strip grazing, staggered plantings and/or the capacity to harvest surplus growth.

SOUTHEASTERN OHIO HAY DAY

            The Southeastern Ohio Hay Day is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 from 8:30 am until 3:00 pm at the Eastern Agricultural Research Station.  The station is located at 16870 Township Road 126, Caldwell Ohio, near Belle Valley.

            Hay Day features a range of hay harvesting demonstrations including mowing, tedding, raking, baling and wrapping.  Participants have the opportunity to see, ask about and evaluate hay-harvesting equipment under field conditions.  There will also be dealer exhibits of hay equipment.  In addition, OARDC and OSU Extension specialist will be on hand to discuss the latest forage research and recommendations.

            There is no fee to attend hay day, but pre-registration is requested because a lunch will be provided for those who pre-register.  Pre-registration can be made by calling (740) 732-2682 or (740) 732-5681.

GRAZING COUNCIL MEETINGS

            The June grazing council meeting will involve a trip to the Bob Hendershot farm that incorporates grazing management and sheep production.  Bob, an NRCS Grasslands Specialist, is well known to many livestock producers and graziers around Athens County.  Bob is an entertaining speaker and a fountain of grazing knowledge.  The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24 at 6:30 pm. 

The address of the Hendershot farm is:

25995 State Route 159

Circleville, OH 43113

Directions: 

The most direct route is to take State Route 56 through Laurelville to

State Route 159 in Pickaway County turn right (toward Lancaster) travel

about 1.5 miles. The farm will be on the left  (north) side of the road.

You can also take US 50 to Chillicothe, north on US 23 to the SR 159

exit.  The first exit north of Chillicothe also the exit for the

Hospital and Kenworth, go north (away from Chillicothe) on SR 159 to the

farm, it is about 8 miles north of Kingston.

According to Bob, plan on about 1.25 hours in travel time to reach his farm from Athens as a starting point.

        I have had a few inquiries about car-pooling.  For anyone interested in car-pooling to the Hendershot farm, plan on meeting at the Athens County Extension office at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, June 24.  We will organize into car-pools and be on the road shortly after 5:00 pm.  For more information, contact the Athens County Extension office at 593-8555.

            In July, there are a couple of good learning opportunities for anyone interested in learning more about forages and pasture management.  The first is Ohio Sheep Day on Saturday, July 12.  Curt and Wendy Cline are hosting Ohio Sheep Day at 3933 Factory Road just outside of Albany.  Now, before you write off attending Sheep Day as a beef producer, let me say that the emphasis will be on forages, pasture management and farm economics.  Curt has planted a couple of fields (seeded in September of 2007) to improved pasture species featuring seed from both Ampac and Barenburg seed companies.  In addition there will be 15 plus acres of sudangrass being used for summer grazing.  Other forage species that participants will see include teff, a warm season annual grass, and chicory, a short-lived perennial legume species.  Curt uses a management intensive philosophy to graze forages on his farm.  Sheep Day registration begins at 8:30 am, with the program starting at 9:00 am.  The cost is $5 for Ohio Sheep Improvement members and $10 for non-members.  Registration includes lunch.  The day concludes at 4:00 pm.

            On Saturday, July 26, John and Mary Ellen Wozny of Spectrum Farm are hosting a grazing day program.  Gina Casto, a grassland conservationist with the NRCS is putting together the program that will include a section on beef genetics as well as a pasture tour of the Wozny’s grazing system.  All the program details have not been finalized at this time, but more information will be available soon.  Contact me at the Athens County Extension office if you are interested in more details.  I will also be posting more information about the day on the grazing page of the Athens County Extension web site.