Amazing Graze

A publication of The Ohio State University Extension, Edward M. Vollborn, Editor
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September, 1999

Dear Friend:

I usually cannot enjoy the fall months because of my knowing that the dreaded winter follows. This year may be the exception. The return of rain has greened-up everything as if it were spring again. Warm sunny days (great for photosynthesis), cool nights (great for high energy grass) are producing some of the highest quality forage of the year. A window of opportunity exists to capitalize from increased milk production or compensatory feeder gain. This is certainly a bright light at the end of a long, hot, dry summer.

I have had the opportunity to contribute to a series of articles published in Ohio and throughout the U.S., addressing the issue of coping with drought reduced forage supply for grazing. The concept - "reduce the need or increase the feed" was developed by Daryl Clark, OSU Extension Agent, Noble County. The phrase caught the attention of the media, but Clark didn't get proper credit. Thanks Daryl!

Sincerely,

Edward M. Vollborn

Leader, Grazing Program

OSU Extension, South District

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LATE SEASON GRAZING ALTERNATIVES - Clif Little, OSU Extension, Guernsey County

With dry weather throughout Ohio during most of the summer, many livestock producers are searching for alternative forages to graze. Small grain crops seeded in September can provide high quality forage during late fall and early spring. Cereal rye is an alternative which has been tested since 1993 in Jackson County and in 1998 at EORDC in Belle Valley.

Rye can produce grazable forage when seeded in September and may yield in excess of 2000 pounds of dry matter per acre in the fall. Rye breaks winter dormancy early and can also be grazed in the spring. Rye should not be over-grazed in the fall, be sure to leave three-four inches of leaf height going into the winter.

Rye seeding is generally accomplished through minimum tillage following corn or tobacco in southern Ohio. However, with adequate moisture, no-till has been used successfully at EORDC. When no-tilling into sod it is recommended to burn down existing vegetation with recommended rates of Gromoxone Extra or Roundup.

Seeding rates of 110 pounds per acre for no-till, 90-110 pounds conventional, and two bushel/acre broadcast are recommended for cereal rye. If fields have no carryover nitrogen, it is recommended to apply 50 units of nitrogen per acre when the plants are actively growing. Studies in Jackson and Belle Valley have produced up to a ton of dry matter per acre 80 days after planting. Crude protein content of cereal rye ranges from 22-24%.

According to Dave Samples, Extension Agent in Jackson County, the date of seeding makes a difference in how and when rye can be grazed. In his trial, rye seeded on September 20 yielded from 1300-2700 pounds dry matter when harvested 80 days later. Delaying seeding until mid-October will not allow for adequate growth for grazing until spring. Dave has also noted some variety differences in spring and fall growth. In his studies, the varieties with the greatest fall growth were Wheeler, Oklon, Winter King and Aroostook. The greatest early spring growth was made from Elbon, Aroostook, Maton, and an untested seed. Dave also states through three years of trials, four varieties have demonstrated good yields. These include: Aroostook, Winter King, Elbon and Pastar. Nineteen-ninety-nine seed costs range from $6.00 to over $12 per bag.

If you would like more information on the rye cultivars tested at Jackson, call Dave Samples at 740-286-5044 or Ed Vollborn at 740-286-2177. For EORDC trials, call Clif Little at 740-432-9300.

Editor's Note: This year, at the OARDC Southern Branch in Brown county, a stocking rate of approximately 112 animal units (cow/calf pairs) per acre per day were needed to keep a Triticale grazing blend under control in late April.

BEEF - REPLACEMENT HEIFER COST - *From: "The Market Advisor" - 8/19/99; Dr. Harlan Hughes, Extension Livestock Economist, NDSU Extension Service

I think it would be appropriate at this time to make some general comments on the cost of producing a replacement heifer in the fall of 1999. First, we have to start with the market value of a weaned 1998 heifer calf. A 500-pound 1998 heifer calf that could have been sold for $69 per hundredweight has a beginning opportunity cost of $345. My budget suggests that it will take $150 to go from weaning to breeding. Wintering costs include feed costs ($83), lot cost ($18), interest ($23), vet and medicine ($3) and death loss ($6) for a total cost of $133 per head. Costs from pasture turnout to breeding are pasture ($8), feed grain ($3), and interest on previous investment ($6), for a total winter to breeding cost of $150. Costs from breeding to pregnancy check include pasture costs ($41), breeding costs ($20), and interest on investment ($28). The total costs of producing a bred heifer in November 1999 is projected to be $584.

Not all heifers will be pregnant. Adjusting this $584 costs for an 80 percent pregnancy rate brings the cost of producing a pregnant replacement heifer to $730 per head. After adjusting for the value of cull open heifer sales (one out of every five heifers weighing 950 pounds and sold at $60 per hundredweight) each bred heifer has an open-heifer credit of $114. This reduces the cost of a bred heifer to $616 per head. Let me summarize all of this by suggesting that it costs from $600-$700 to produce a replacement heifer.

WHY NITRATE CONCERNS - From Memo: Drought Concerns, Dr. William Shulaw, 8/20/99

Nitrate itself, is not highly toxic. Problems develop when nitrate (NO₃) is converted to nitrite (NO₂) in the ruminant animal's digestive system. Plants normally convert soil nitrate to plant protein. However, when stressed by dry weather, plants may be unable to totally effect this conversion and nitrates may accumulate. In the live animal the nitrite which is formed binds to the hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells and produces methemoglobin which prevents oxygen transmission to tissues and cells.

OFGC WELCOMES ABOARD DR. STEPHEN MYERS

Dr. Stephen Myers has been named the new Chair of the OSU Department of Horticulture and Crop Science. Stephen earned his Ph.D. at OSU working with Dave Ferree in pomology. He has been on the faculty at Virginia Tech and the University of Georgia and he comes to OSU from the University of Arkansas, where he was chair of the Department of Horticulture. A native South Carolina, Stephen was asked during the interview process whether he was a horticulturist or an agronomist. His artful, pre-chair reply was, "I'm a South Carolinian!" He began serving as Department Chair on September 1, 1999. We welcome Stephen, his wife Deanna, and their two daughters, ages 15 and 11 to their new home in Ohio!

. . . Dr. Mark Sulc

EORDC FORAGE STUDY - Daryl Clark, Clif Little, Jim Barrett

Since April 28, we have been sampling a 30 foot by 30 foot section of EORDC's hay field used for mowing demonstrations at Hay Day in June. Samples were analyzed at DHI Forage Testing Laboratory in Ithaca, New York. The following are the results from analyzed orchardgrass 2 by 2's.

Sample Data (dry basis)

Date	CP	RFV	Quantity (DM/A)
4/28/99	15.7	108	2415
5/05/99	15.1	130	1981
5/26/99	12.6	92	5666
6/02/99	13.0	91	5315
6/09/99	10.5	83	6491
6/16/99	7.6	79	6902

The sample taken 4/28/99 was sampled again approximately two weeks later to simulate rotational grazing. May 12, 1999, this sample tested 17.1% CP; 113 RFV. The same thing was done 6/2/99, a re-cut of a sample taken three weeks earlier, it tested 17.9% CP; 105 RFV. Compare this to an adjacent 2 by 2 with a CP content of 13% and RFV of 91.

Some grass producers seem to prefer taking all three cuttings off in one cutting. You can see the drastic reduction in forage quality that occurs when that happens and there is no yield advantage to a one cutting method of forage harvest.

LOSS OF GRAZING LEADER

Jim Barrett, Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent in Washington County was killed July 25 in an accident on his farm near Vincent, Ohio.

Barrett was an active member of the OSU Extension Integrated Forage Team, instructor for many grazing schools, and frequent contributor to "Amazing Graze." He practiced what he preached - management intensive grazing - on his rural Washington County farm.

Perhaps, Lou Fourman, East District Extension Director, expressed our loss best. "We've lost a good Extension Agent, a good friend and a very respected member of the community."

. . . Edward M. Vollborn

FEEDING THE HIGH MERIT COWS - Tom Noyes, Wayne County Extension Agent

Five OSU Extension forage team members, including myself, had the opportunity to visit England and Ireland this summer to study their methods of grass management and grazing systems. One of our highlights was the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland at Hillsborough. Dr. Sinclair Mayne and colleagues Conrad Ferris and Desmond Patterson shared with us several research trials studying management and feeding of dairy cows.

Seems as though the Irish dairy producers have developed through their breeding programs dairy cows very similar to ours in the U. S. Their genetic merit (as they call it) for milk production has increased dramatically and they need to change the way of feeding cows both on pasture and in the barn. One of their research projects was the use of TMR feeding. This is a grazing newsletter, so we'll skip the details.

Let me share with you the results of a study comparing two systems of milk production for high merit cows. High merit dairy cows sustain higher levels of milk production by mobilizing body reserves. However, as excessive tissue loss is undesirable, it is essential that increased nutrient intakes are achieved with high merit cows. Two different systems of milk production, described below, have been recently compared at Hillsborough with each system designed to increase nutrient intakes:

	High Forage System	High Concentrate System
Winter	High feed value silage (intake value 93) 5.5 kg meal/day (12 lb) Extended grazing from 14 March	Medium feed value silage (intake value 74) 14 kg meal/day (30 lb) Turnout on 10 April
Summer	Grass allowance of 23 kg DM/cow/day 0.5 kg meal	Grass allowance of 16 kg DM/cow/day 4.5 kg meal

The results from this study are outlined in the table below:

	High forage system	High concentrate system
Winter milk yield (liters/167 days)	4966 (11,421)	5558 (12,783)
Summer milk yield (liters/138 days)	2917 (6709)	3053 (7022)
305 day yield (liters)	7883 (18,130 lb)	8611 (19,805 lb)
Fat (%)	4.19	4.29
Protein (%)	3.29	3.53
Total meal input (t/cow)	0.98	2.86

*An additional 728 kg (1674 lb) milk (of higher quality) was produced from the high concentrate system. This system involved an additional 1.88 ton meal.

*5700 liters (13,110 lb) milk was produced from forage with the high forage system.

*However, the cost of high quality silage combined with relatively inefficient use of grazed grass penalizes the high forage system.

*Economics of each system, or of any intermediate system, will vary from farm-to-farm, being influenced by the availability of land and the opportunity cost attributed to land on the farm.

Conclusions: Ten years ago, the performance target for autumn calving cows at Hillsborough fed one ton meal was approximately 6000 liters. Today, as a consequence of improvements in forage quality and genetic potential, this target has increased by almost 2000 liters. If managed appropriately, animals of high genetic potential can make a major contribution to the profitability of the Northern Ireland dairy industry.

Well, I think the results of this research speaks for itself and the farmers over there are getting more milk from their cows. So what should our grazers be doing? What is the genetic merit of your cows, and then you decide how you want to feed them. Feeding and management is what limits an individual farms production.

"QUOTES"

"So many people cull their open beef cows at preg-checking time when they wean, and that's when they're pulled down the furthest and the least saleable. If you weigh your cows at weaning time, in a 30-day period, they'll put on 90-100 pounds."

Bill Roden, Cholame, CA, Beef Magazine, P. 8, September 1999

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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.