A bi-monthly news publication of The Ohio State University Extension, Editors: Clif Little and Mark Sulc
This newsletter is made possible with support from the Bob & Jewell Evans Foundation
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Contents:

• Utilizing Parasite Biology & Lamb Resilience
• American Forage & Grassland Council 2005 Conference
• Timely Hay Harvest Makes “Cents”
• Arguing the Case for MaxQ Tall Fescue?
• Fertilizing Pastures in the Spring

[top]Utilizing Parasite Biology & Lamb Resilience- Clif Little, Extension Educator, Guernsey County

Sheep and goats are now beginning to demonstrate drug resistance to all approved classes of dewormers. Fewer chemical classes, how we use them, and how frequently we use them all play a role in the development of drug resistance. As most producers understand, individual animals vary in their level of resistance to internal parasites. In general, younger animals and nutritionally stressed animals are more susceptible to parasite infestation. Understanding parasite biology and reducing nutritional stress can reduce the need for chemical dewormers.

A recent study conducted at Ohio State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Station in Belle Valle investigated the roll of nutrition and parasite biology on lamb growth. Six groups of wether lambs were randomly sorted into six pens, three replicates and equally divided according to fecal egg shedding. In total 35 lambs were utilized in the trial. Three groups were randomly selected for drug treatment, while three received no anthelmitic product. All groups were grown on fescue pasture with full feed feeders for 107 days, starting Oct. 1st. Results indicated that for these lambs at this location, there was no significant difference between treated and untreated groups in feed efficiency. However, fecal egg counts for treated and untreated groups did significantly vary and treated lambs were relatively worm-free. Researchers felt that this was observed because of two factors creating lamb resilience to parasitism and at some point from Oct. 1st to the end of the finish phase, parasites went into a resting state as egg shedding declined for all animals, treated or not. Consequently, at this location we could finish our lambs utilizing supplemental feed and not necessarily need to deworm in a fall program. The extent of lamb resilience will be measured further during the 2005 season.

[top] American Forage & Grassland Council 2005 Conference

The American Forage & Grassland Council 2005 Conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center in Bloomington, Illinois on June 11-15. Check out the AFGC website at www.afgc.org for complete information including just posted schedules for:

• Forage Expo
• Emerging Grassland Technologies Seminar
• Grazing Management Meeting
• 2005 Collegiate Grassland Evaluation Contest (including study guides)
• 2005 Forage Bowl Competition (including study guides)
• Certified Grassland Professional Information (including requirements, fees, application, sample test questions, etc.)

Deadline for early registration is May 10. Don't delay....Register Today!

[top] Timely Hay Harvest Makes “Cents”- Mark Landefeld, Extension Educator, Monroe County

Hay making season will soon be here again for Ohio farmers. Timely harvest of forage is critical to maintain high quality feeds. The last two years frequent rain events during much of the spring delayed the beginning of hay harvest until the middle of June in many areas. Most varieties of orchardgrass had been headed out for two to three weeks before harvest even began. Many forage analyses of first cutting hay made late June and early July of those years showed low protein content (8% or less) and high neutral detergent fiber (70-77%). Hay of this quality cannot meet the nutrient requirements of many, if any, classes of livestock without supplementation. Sometimes making hay of this quality cannot be avoided, but often times it can.

Quite often I’ve seen producers who never made any of their first cutting hay until late June even when we had good hay making conditions. Making hay when the quality value is still high is a way to save money. Often, feeding high quality hay means no supplementation is needed, other than minerals, to meet nutrient requirements for most of your livestock. By harvesting and feeding high quality forage, many problems that are hard to estimate a dollar value for such as loss of body condition, dystocia, lower milk production, and delayed returning to estrous.

A few years ago Extension agents Clark, Little and Barrett systematically collected forage samples from a mixed grass hay field at the Eastern Ohio Resource Development Center and sent them to a laboratory for analysis. The results are listed in table 1. As one would expect, crude protein was highest while the forage was youngest and declined as it matured. Yield data also showed relatively typical results as the dry matter per acre of most samples increased as the forage matured. Looking at the results, by the middle of June the quality (CP and RFV) of the forage quickly began to decline even though the quantity kept increasing.

Table 1.

As you can see waiting until tonnage increases so you can make a lot of hay per acre may only mean you have a lot of low quality feed for your livestock. To meet nutrient requirements of these animals you may have to feed a grain supplement or risk the problems we mentioned earlier.

So, get the equipment ready now and be prepared for the first window of opportunity to make high quality hay. Each production year and each field of forage is different, but timely harvest of your hay (weather permitting) makes a lot of “cents” for you and your livestock.

[top]Arguing the Case for MaxQ Tall Fescue?- D.J. Barker, C. Little, D. Samples, C. Penrose, R.M. Sulc

You love it or you hate it, but either way tall fescue has advantages and disadvantages. Before planting tall fescue you have at least 3 options to consider:

a) plant toxic endophyte infected K31-type tall fescue

b) plant endophyte-free tall fescue

c) plant non-toxic endophyte infected (MaxQ) tall fescue

Let’s consider Option A… Seed costs are low (approx. $20/acre) and pastures are persistent - lasting more than 10 years. The disadvantage is that stocker growth will average 0.1 lb/day less for every 10% of endophyte. K31 is usually 60-80% infected, resulting in an average opportunity cost to a stocker farmer of 0.7 lb/day per stocker (figure that cost using your own price per lb of gain!!).

Let’s consider Option B… Seed costs are moderate (approx $30/acre) and livestock will grow at their potential rate for tall fescue. The disadvantage is that pastures are likely to become reinfested with toxic endophyte. Information on reinfestation rates is sparse. The best case-scenario, with ‘ideal’ management to prevent any infected seed reaching a field, is zero reinfestation. The worst case-scenario (with buried seed, spreading meadow hay, transfer in dung, selective grazing and drought) is total reinfestion within 2-3 years.

Let’s consider Option C… The seed cost of MaxQ is significant (approx $80/ac), however this can be justified by a) the better persistence of MaxQ stands than endophyte-free stands, and b) better stocker production on MaxQ pasture than on K31.

Our endophyte-free research plots at OARDC-Jackson and at OARDC-Eastern Branch have both become reinfested with toxic endophyte after 3 years (10% toxic endophyte at Jackson, and 6% at EOARDC). MaxQ pastures beside these have no toxic endophyte. We have found similar rates of reinfestation on dairy farms in Ohio.

We have compared heifer growth rates at Jackson, and lamb growth rates at EOARDC. We did not find any significant differences in livestock performance between endophyte-free and MaxQ pastures. We had no performance data for K31.

Summary – Deciding the best option for which tall fescue to plant is not easy. It will depend on the details of each farming situation. There are legitimate reasons for choosing any of the options listed above.

• Option A (K31) is the cheapest option
• Option B (endophyte-free) is the short-term option (however, with careful management to prevent seed dispersal this could be a medium-term option)
• Option C (MaxQ) is the best option for stand persistence and high livestock performance; however it is also the most expensive. We have a SARE project during the next 2 years that intends to calculate the economic benefits from using MaxQ.

(Summarized from the full paper presented at the American Forage and Grasslands Council Conference, Bloomington, IL, June 2005)

[top]Fertilizing Pastures in the Spring- Jeff McCutcheon, Extension Educator, Knox County

Every spring I get questions from producers about fertilizing their pastures with nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Many producers coming out of winter want to give their pastures a boost or they are fertilizing crop fields and figure they might as well do their pasture while they are thinking about it. Eventually I lead the conversation to the question of is this really the best time to fertilize pasture?

Now, I am not totally opposed to fertilizing pastures in the spring. Applications of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) should be made prior to establishing a new seeding based on soil test results. A light application of nitrogen (N), 20-40 lbs. N/ac. in March could be used to jump start spring growth and allow for earlier grazing. This could potentially give about two weeks of earlier grazing if environmental conditions are favorable. But the acreage for this N application should be limited. The spring flush is coming and most producers can’t normally harvest it all with grazing animals. Why add to the amount of forage produced when you don’t need it? An early nitrogen application also can increase the potential for grass tetany and excess nitrogen in the spring may possibly increase toxins in endophyte-infected tall fescue. Generally, one acre of pasture for every two cows should be fertilized with N in early spring and never more than a third of the total pasture acreage.

All applications of K should wait until the plants can utilize it better. If we were to look at soil levels of potassium during the year we would find that it is in greater concentration during the spring (due to mineralization of K during the winter. Plants have the ability to take up more potassium than they need. This is called luxury consumption. Luxury consumption can occur when there are high soil levels of potassium, like what we see in spring. High concentrations of potassium can affect magnesium uptake by plants. This not only affects the plant physiology but can also cause metabolic imbalances in animals that consume mainly forages. The metabolic imbalance in animals is usually referred to as grass tetany. Why apply potassium at a time when more is already available and plants can take up more than they need?

So when is the best time to apply fertilizer to pastures? Research shows that if one application of P and K is being done, then fall is the best time for the application. By applying P and K in September or October plants develop a healthier root system and improve winter survival. This results in plants better able to withstand drought the following year. If high rates of phosphorus and potassium are recommended by soil test, then there is an advantage to splitting the application. Some of the recommended fertilizer should be applied after the first hay harvest, early summer, with the balance being applied in the fall. This will help reduce the luxury consumption of potassium by the plants and improve the efficiency of K use.

Fertilizing pasture in the spring is not the best use of your time or fertilizer dollar.