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:

• Extending the Grazing Season Backwards
• American Forage and Grassland Council 2006 Conference
• 2006 Ohio Forage & Grasslands Council’s Annual Conference
• Forages for Goats
• Spring Turnout
• Are You Ready to Plant This Spring?
• Announcement of "Tall Fescue On-line Monograph" Availability

[top]Extending the Grazing Season Backwards- Chris Penrose, OSU Extension Educator, Morgan County

When we think of extending the grazing season, we usually think of how long we can go into the fall or winter without feeding stored feed. Another option often overlooked is how soon we can stop feeding as spring approaches.

There are several options to accomplish this. The first is by the use of wheat, barley of cereal rye planted back in late summer or early fall. If grazing is your primary option for the crop, cereal rye may be the best bet. This crop can be lightly grazed in December, then graze again in March. This is probably the small grain that will start growing first in late winter/early spring. When young, it is high quality and provides feed in March; however, if rye is not stocked adequately as temperatures warm up, it can quickly get out of control and lose quality and palatability. If you plant a small grain crop for winter or early spring grazing, I recommend no-till to provide firmer ground when grazing. Livestock, especially cattle can make a mess if the ground gets too wet. Sheep and goats are a good option when the ground is wet and light stocking or fast rotation can reduce mud problems with the early grazing.

Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion on how early we can turn livestock out on pasture and often it depends if you are looking from the forage or livestock perspective (or if you are out of hay). If you have a healthy, productive pasture, you can turn out livestock as soon as the grass starts to green up (in Southeast Ohio, it is usually around the first day of spring). If you use rotational grazing, you can use a fast rotation or open up all the paddocks until the grass really takes off in early April, then start rotational grazing.

A couple other ideas that can work include stockpiling and grazing hay fields. Each year, you can stockpile a field (set it aside to grow from the end of summer through the fall). Tall fescue is the best species to stockpile. Let it set until calving season starts in early March. If the cows are in good condition, the only feed they will get is the stockpiled fescue and a good salt/mineral mix. There are four advantages to this. First, there will be a clean, thick sod to calve on. Second, according to University of Missouri research, the endophyte levels start dropping in fescue after freezing temperatures, and by the end of January, are low enough that they will not cause problems. Third, if you are trying to introduce new species into a predominately fescue sod, grazing down in March (or anytime in the winter) and even exposing the soil will make it ideal for frost seeding and allowing other grasses and clovers to germinate Finally, it is nice not to have to feed any more hay.

Early grazing hay fields may be an option. It seems no matter how hard we try, many years we just can’t get hay made until mid to late June (some are having success wrapping high moisture bales in May). If we have hay fields that were not grazed last fall, the option of turning them out in early March has worked. Try to estimate how much forage is available, the needs of the animals, minus estimated waste, to figure how many days are available. Then turn out the animals in March and try to have the animals finish the hay fields when the pastures start growing. Many years this works. Last year I had to feed hay for five days in early April as the cattle got ahead of the pasture, but in many years, you could finish feeding hay in early March.

Another advantage to early grazing hay fields, is if you can’t get hay made until mid to late June, early grazing will set back the hay a little and you will have a higher quality first cutting. Finish early grazing of hay fields in mid to late April, prior to stem elongation, and yield loss on the hay fields will be minimal. Keep in mind when early grazing, especially with cattle, to keep an eye on wet fields for pugging or mudding up. Finally, don’t forget to have a good mineral program to reduce chances of grass tetany and other mineral deficiencies that occur in late stockpiled forages or when grazing young grass pastures.

[top] American Forage and Grassland Council 2006 Conference

The 2006 Annual Conference of the American Forage and Grassland Council will be held on March 10-14, 2006 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

Click on this link for a complete schedule and registration information: http://www.afgc.org/txfgc-conference.html

For hotel reservations at the beautiful Westin Riverwalk Hotel click: http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=0511013086&key=E1F16

[top] 2006 Ohio Forage & Grasslands Council’s Annual Conference

Celebrating 10 years of promoting Ohio's forage industry is the theme of the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council 2006 annual meeting. It will be held on March 3, at the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Bromfield Administration Building in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. with registration and visits with trade show exhibitors and concludes at 3:30 p.m.

Kit Pharo, a Cheyenne Falls, Colorado cow/calf producer will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Since establishing their ranch - Pharo Cattle Company - in the early 1980's Pharo and his wife, Deanna have strived to create an efficient and profitable cow/calf operation. Their goal is to increase profits while improving the land and their lifestyle. Pharo has some unique and innovative management ideas and philosophies that differ from traditional ways of thinking and he shares these ideas in a newsletter mailed out to over 20,000 cow/calf producers.

Also on the agenda is Terri Hawbaker, of Pawamo, Michigan, winner of the 2005 American Forage and Grasslands Council Spokesperson Contest. Hawbaker and her husband, Rick and family operate a 160 acre grass based seasonal dairy near Pawamo, Michigan. A Michigan State University graduate, Hawbaker is active in the Michigan Forage Council, Michigan Farm Bureau, and her local United Methodist Church. She has been a speaker at several Michigan grazing conferences, the Family Farm Conference, and the family has hosted tours for students from MSU and proGrassitnators. She has been featured in GRAZE, USA Today, Michigan Hay and Grazing, and was featured in a documentary on Michigan farm women.

The afternoon session includes a producer panel featuring Scott Stoller, (dairy producer) Scott Pfeiffer (beef producer) and Jim Anderson (sheep producer) and concurrent sessions with Dr. Mark Sulc; "Unraveling The Mysteries of Ryegrass-Will The Real Ryegrass Please Stand Up!", Clif Little; "Pasture Management Strategies for Dealing With Internal Parasites of Sheep and Goats", Kit Pharo; "Three Keys to Increasing Cow/Calf Profits", Dr. David Barker; "Forage Research Update: Max Q Fescue, Rotational versus Continuous Grazing" and Allen Gaehler; "Extending The Grazing Season With Annual Forages".

Cost of the conference is $25 for OFGC members ($30 after February 24) and $35 for non-members ($40 after February 24). Checks should be made payable to OFGC and mailed to P.O. Box 1803, Wooster, Ohio 44691. Registration information is also available online at http://forages.osu.edu/education/06%20OFGC%20Meeting%20Brochure.pdf

[top]Forages for Goats- Megan Burgess & David Barker

The meat goat industry is among the fastest growing animal industries in the United States. The increase in demand for goat is greatly exceeding the supply, and has given way to a 420%, or a $9 million increase in live goats imported into the United States from 1995 to 2001. Throughout the United States, goats are primarily being used as biological control agents for brush and noxious weeds. Although this practice is common in southeastern Ohio and the broader Appalachian region, there are producers throughout the remainder of Ohio and the U.S. where forage and grazing production practices in areas with no brush should be explored. However, there is uncertainty about the goats’ preferred forage species. Two studies were conducted over two years (2002 and 2003) on private farms in Wayne and Ashland Counties to determine some of the preferred forage species for goats in Ohio, including forage species that the animals may have not previously experienced.

Firstly, an indoor study compared four forages: chicory, birdsfoot trefoil, orchardgrass, and red clover arranged in three spatial scales. At the small scale, species were planted and grazed in a mixture (traditional mixture). At the medium scale, species were planted in adjacent monocultures, and animals had the opportunity to select among all species (‘buffet’ mixture). At the large scale, each set of animals grazed an individual monoculture. Secondly, a field study extended the findings of the indoor study to determine goat preference to more species over a longer period of time. The field study included the four forage species used in the indoor study, as well as five additional forages: plantain, alfalfa, white clover, ryegrass, and crabgrass. The field study also tested the same three spatial scales as did the indoor study.

The first objective of these studies was to determine some of the preferred forage species for goats in Ohio, including forage species that the animals may have not previously experienced (non-traditional forage species). Of the species used, the goats’ preference was for chicory (non-traditional) and red clover (traditional). Chicory intake was the greatest of the species tested in both studies for both years. Red clover was highly preferred in the indoor studies and the 2002 field study. Orchardgrass also had good intake in the indoor studies, while ryegrass was highly preferred in the 2003 field study. I believe these were readily consumed because they are common grass species found in Northeastern Ohio pastures.

Combining the preferred forage species with the familiar forage species would allow goats the best opportunity for increased intake and for the highest utilization of the pasture.

Goat grazing preferences were not strongly related to forage quality. Birdsfoot trefoil had the highest crude protein (CP) and lowest neutral detergent fiber (NDF), but was the least preferred species of this study. Conversely, orchardgrass had the highest NDF and lowest CP, but was one of the more preferred forage species. Chicory, though, was a preferred species and had low NDF and one of the highest CP values.

The second objective was to determine the effects of spatial scale on goat intake. We thought that the spatial scale, or degree of species mixing, and the number of species offered would affect goat intake. The medium spatial scale with the choice between pure plots of multiple species had the greatest intake overall for the 2002 field study. This supported the idea that spatial scale affects goat intake. Goats preferred a variety of forages to choose from (large and medium scales), rather than consuming multiple species in one bite (small scale).

One unexpected result was the variation I found between goat herds. For a multiplicity of reasons I used goats from at least 5 different herds and as many producers over the two studies in 2002 and 2003. Although these goats represented six breeds (and their cross-breeds), this did not seem to be a dominant factor in their preference for forage species and spatial patterns. Of primary significance seemed to be the familiarity of goats to grazing the forages in this study. Goats with a predominance of concentrate in their diet, and goats relocated from another location did not graze as well as goats that were familiar with grazing.

In conclusion, goats preferred to choose from a variety of forages, rather than consuming multiple species in one bite. Combining the preferred forage species with the familiar forage species would allow goats the best opportunity for increased intake and for the highest utilization of the pasture. Overall, knowing the forage species familiar to a herd and mixing them with preferred forage species will allow a producer the opportunity to maximize intake and production.

Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Mark Sulc, Kent Harrison, Dave Zartman, Jessica Gardner, Traci Bultemeier, and Gene Varns for their technical assistance; the Harold Swain family farm, Ashland, OH for use of their facilities and goats; Riddle Ridge Farm (the Barr family), Ashland, OH for use of their goats; Acer Acres (Bob Kapper and family), Apple Creek, OH for use of their facilities and goats; and Ampac Seed Company for donating the seed. This project was funded by the North Central Region SARE Program’s Graduate Student Award.

[top]Spring Turnout- Jeff McCutcheon, Extension Educator, Knox County

With the stretch of warmer weather I have started to notice a greener color to the pasture fields. I have even noticed livestock grazing in fields you would swear there was nothing to graze. Soon it will be time for the question ‘When should you start grazing cool-season pastures in the spring?’

The recommendation to graze a field is usually given in forage height. Depending on the forage species and the animals used to graze, the general recommendation is to turn animals into a field when the forage height is between six and ten inches.

The six to ten inch recommendation is based on the grass growth curve during the growing season. Remember how forages grow. First they break dor-mancy in the spring and start to grow leaves. Cool-season grasses can do this when the temperature reaches 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This growth is fueled by reserves stored in the roots or crowns of the plant. This growth is slow.

Once enough leaf area is produced, the plant really takes off. This is the second stage. Growth is now fueled by energy produced from photosynthesis with some replacing what was used earlier from the reserves. The six to ten inch grazing recommendation should catch plants in this stage before they get to the reproductive stage when growth slows down.

Waiting until forages reach this second phase of growth puts the grazier behind. They will never be able to keep up with the ‘spring flush’. ‘Spring Flush’ describes the fact that our cool season grasses produce 40-60% of their annual growth in the months of April, May and June.

The explosion of growth in the spring is hard to manage. If a grazier gets behind the ‘spring flush’, the forage will quickly get ahead of them and will lose quality. It is also difficult to get the staggered regrowth needed to make the following rotations of grazing go smoothly. The first grazing needs to start earlier than the recommended 6 to 8-inch height.

In a survey of attendees from the “Pastures for Profit” or beginning grazing schools we asked if they had been able to extend the grazing season by managing grazing. It was not surprising that the majority of respondents said they were able to extend the grazing season. One way producers said they extended the grazing season was by starting an average of 23 days earlier than usual.

But don’t start grazing too early. If you do, you risk reducing yields or even killing the stand. Remember that the first growth is fueled by the reserves stored in the roots and crown. Depending on the previous fall those reserves could be low, so the reserves could have been used up keeping the plants alive through winter. The reserves may be just enough to fuel two to three days of growth. Cutting off those first leaves may mean no more growth from that plant.

When should you start grazing to stay ahead of the spring flush but not damage the plants? For spring turnout the general recommendation is to graze when the forages are about three inches tall. The first grazing should be light. Rotate the livestock through quickly. You do not want to remove half of the dry matter on this rotation. Remember those new leaves are needed to fuel the next growth. One additional problem graziers face is that the fields in springtime are usually wet. The soil can be too moist to support the animals when the forage is ready to graze. At those times, plan to graze on well-drained, accessible paddocks first. If soil conditions continue to be less than ideal, you may want to start grazing in a sacrifice area first. A sacrifice area may be a field you are planning to renovate soon.

Another option if field conditions are too wet is to wait until the forage is six inches tall. The extra growth will help support the animals. Graze for short periods, and only allow them to lightly graze the stand down to three to four inches. Just keep in mind that waiting this long could put you behind the ‘spring flush’. If forage growth gets beyond the ideal stage before you can start grazing, offer the animals larger areas for shorter periods. Let them top off the fields.

When to graze is always based on the forage growth. For the initial turn out in the spring, the plants should be about 3 inches tall and the soil should be dry enough to support the animals without damaging the plants.

This article was originally published by Farm & Dairy. Used with permission.

[top]Are You Ready to Plant This Spring?- Dr. Mark Sulc, The Ohio State University

Establishing a good stand is critical for profitable forage production and requires careful planning and attention to details for success. The time you invest in planning ahead will pay dividends over the life of the stand. Spring is just around the corner, so consider the following items carefully as you look ahead to establish new forage stands this spring.

1. Have you taken a soil test? Ideally this was done last year, and corrective lime applications were applied. Apply P and K fertilizers to correct deficiencies.
2. Check herbicide history for carryover that can harm forages. Refer to the current Weed Control Guide for Ohio and Indiana (Bulletin 789) and herbicide labels for more information on crop rotation restrictions.
3. Crop rotation is important for improving forage productivity, especially when seeding forage legumes. Seeding alfalfa after alfalfa is very risky because old plants of alfalfa release a toxin that reduces germination and growth of new alfalfa seedlings (called autotoxicity). The toxin leaches slowly from heavy textured soils. Disease pathogens also accumulate in older stands, so rotating to another crop for at least one year before re-establishing is best.
4. Prepare seeding equipment. Check the planting equipment now so you will be ready to roll come good weather!
5. Select a good variety. Evaluate yield performance in the Ohio Forage Performance Trials (available at extension offices and http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/%7Eperf/) and in university trials in adjoining states.
6. Use high quality seed. Seed lots should have high germination, be free of weed seed and other crop seed, and contain only minimal amounts of inert matter.
7. Inoculate legume seed with the proper nitrogen-fixing bacteria to assure good nodulation. Verify the inoculant expiration date and make sure it was stored in a cool, dry place. If in doubt, re-inoculate the seed.
8. Plant early, as soon as the seedbed can be prepared after March 15 in southern Ohio and April 1 in northern Ohio. Spring seeding should be completed by early May in northern Ohio and by late April in southern Ohio.
9. The ideal seedbed for conventional seeding is smooth, firm, and weed-free. Don’t overwork the soil, which depletes moisture and increases surface crusting. Cultipackers and cultimulchers are excellent implements for firming the soil. The soil should be firm enough so your footprint is no deeper than 1/2 to 3/4 inch.
10. When seeding into a tilled seedbed, drills with press wheels and cultipacker seeders such as the Brillion are excellent choices. If the seeder doesn’t have press wheels, cultipack before and after seeding in the same direction as the seeder was driven. Broadcast seedings can be successful, but only if the land is well-prepared and cultipacked before and after broadcasting to achieve good seed-soil contact.
11. No-Till and Minimum-Till seeding can be successful with good management, especially with species having good seedling vigor (e.g. red clover, ryegrass). No-till seeding works best on well-drained silt loam soils, while good results are more difficult on clay soils or poorly drained soils. Weed control and sod suppression are essential. It is easy to plant seeds too deep with no-till drills, so calibrate the depth carefully. A relatively level seedbed improves seed placement. Crop residue must be managed for good seed-soil contact. A light disking may be necessary at times. When residue levels are greater than 35 percent, use a good no-till drill.
12. Fluid seeding where seed is distributed in a carrier of water or in a fertilizer solution can be successful on tilled seedbeds. Custom application is recommended, because special equipment for good seed suspension and distribution is required. Prepare a firm seedbed before “spraying” seed and cultipack after it is applied. Seed should be mixed into solution at the field and applied immediately. Seeding legumes through dry fertilizer air spreaders can be successful as well on well-prepared, tilled seedbeds. Cultipack before and after the seed is broadcast.
13. Apply starter nitrogen at 10 to 20 lbs/acre when seeding grass-legume mixtures and 30 lbs/acre for pure grass stands. Starter nitrogen at 10 lbs/acre may be beneficial when planting a pure legume stand under cool conditions and on soils low in nitrogen. Manure applications incorporated ahead of seeding can be beneficial to seedling establishment of forages, including alfalfa. Obtain a manure nutrient analysis and base application rates on soil test results.
14. Weed pressure increases with delayed seeding in the spring, especially annual grassy weeds. Herbicides are often essential when seeding late in the spring. Weed control is especially important when direct seeding pure legume stands. Preplant and post-emerge herbicide options are available; refer to the Weed Control Guide for Ohio and Indiana, Bulletin 789.
15. Direct seeding without a companion crop in the spring allows two or three harvests of high-quality forage in the seeding year, particularly with early seedings of alfalfa and red clover. Select fields with little erosion potential when direct seeding into a tilled seedbed.
16. Spring oats or triticale companion crop seedings help reduce erosion and weed competition and increase total forage tonnage in the seeding year, but forage quality will be lower than direct seeded legumes. For the small grain companion crop, use early-maturing and short varieties, sow at 50-75% the normal seeding rate, remove the companion as early pasture or silage, and do not apply additional nitrogen for the companion crop. Where erosion control is needed but high-quality legume forage is desired the first year, seed oat as a companion and kill it with a post-emerge grass herbicide when it reaches 4 to 8 inches tall.
17. Seed shallow, 1/4 to 1/2 inch on clay and loam soils. On sandy soils, seed can be placed 1/2 to 3/4-inch deep. Seeding too deep is one of the most common reasons for seeding failures.
18. Scout new seedings carefully, especially during the first six weeks of establishment. This is when the most serious problems usually occur with stand establishment. Check for insects and weed competition, and take corrective action quickly when necessary.

[top]Announcement of "Tall Fescue On-line Monograph" Availability

The "Tall Fescue On-line Monograph" is now available as part of the Forage Information System website. The direct access URL is http://forages.oregonstate.edu/is/tfis/book.cfm?PageID=372

This on-line monograph describes historical, current, and potential future uses of tall fescue, one of the most important forage, turf, and soil conservation species in the world. It contains peer-reviewed contributions from teams of authors recognized for their specific subject matter expertise. It also represents the collective effort of a multidisciplinary team of computer-based technology experts, including design, implementation, and delivery components.

Traditional agronomic approaches coupled with current and future computer-based applications are increasingly applied to improve understanding and efficiency leading to more economically and environmentally sustainable forage-livestock systems. This monograph seeks to incorporate these approaches in addressing efficient prod-uction, environmental protection, and effective outreach issues.

We offer this collection of papers and related resources to the global scientific research and outreach community and the interested learner. We hope that this 'on-line monograph' will be of value and continue to grow in usefulness as it is revised over the years.

We acknowledge and thank the authors for their cooperation and superior efforts and recognize the help of other scientists who reviewed the manu-scripts. We are grateful to the web development team whose efforts made it possible to place this resource into the Forage Information System.

Henry A. Fribourg, Professor Emeritus, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, and David B. Hannaway, Forage Info System Sr. Editor, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon