A Publication of:

OSU Extension - Fairfield County

831 College Ave., Suite D, Lancaster, OH 43130

and the

OSU Extension BEEF Team

BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor

You may subscribe to the weekly Ohio BEEF Cattle letter by sending an e-mail to smith.263@osu.edu

Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter

Issue # 651

September 2, 2009

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Sign-up for 2008-09 is Underway

The 2008 Farm Bill authorized the LIP program to provide assistance to producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality rates that result from natural disasters. Examples of natural disaster losses eligible for LIP are those due to adverse weather, as determined by the Secretary, during the calendar year, including blizzards, disease, extreme cold, extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.

Producers who had livestock deaths from natural disaster anytime in 2008 and through July 12, 2009 should contact their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office before September 13, 2009 for more details, and/or to file a notice of loss. Losses occurring July 13, 2009 and beyond must be filed within 30 days after the loss occurs. See the April 29, 2009, issue number 634 of this publication, for details on documenting losses for FSA.

Nearly a year ago in this publication (The Winds of Change, October 22, 2008) we discussed the virtues of storing hay under roof, and explained that the new Farm Bill included an opportunity to secure low interest loans for such buildings. Effective August 17, 2009, this opportunity became reality.

Patterned and regulated similarly to the grain bin loans which Farm Service Agency (FSA) has administered for years, 85% of the cost of new storage facilities for up to two years worth of "hay and renewable biomass" production may be financed at the fixed FSA interest rate for either 7, 10 or 12 years depending on the amount of the loan. In certain circumstances, the renovation of existing storage may also be financed. The FSA farm storage facility loan interest rates for loans processed in September, 2009 are 3.25% amortized for 7 years, 3.625% for 10 years, or 4.0% for a 12 year loan.

For the purposes of this loan program, "hay" is defined as all the traditional grasses and legumes grown in Ohio for hay crops plus grain legumes such as soybeans if they are harvested as whole plants. "Renewable biomass" is defined as any organic matter that is available on a renewable basis used for producing energy in the form of heat, electricity and fuel. Examples include algae, crop residues, plants and trees, other ag commodities and vegetative waste material.

For more detail on securing financing for hay storage facilities, you may contact your local Farm Service Agency, or review this Farm Storage Facility Loan Fact Sheet or USDA Notice FSFL-57 on the subject.

Dodder (Cuscuta spp.) in Western Ohio Red Clover Stands - Roger Bender, OSU Extension Educator, Shelby County

Yellow orange threadlike stems were reported in red clover fields in several western Ohio counties last week. The stems are stringlike, twining, smooth and branching to form dense masses in some fields.

Purdue's Glen Nice says that dodder is a parasitic plant without any leaves nor any chlorophyll to produce its own food. It lives by attaching to a host with small appendages (called 'haustoria") and extracting the host plant's carbohydrates.

Although neither toxic nor unpalatable to some livestock, dodder can weaken host plants enough to reduce yield, quality, and stand. If infestations are severe enough, dodder may kill host plants. When looking at broadleaf plants, single dodder plants may be missed if you don't look close enough. They appear as yellow strings winding up the stems or over the leaves of other plants.

Dodders are annuals that spread by seed. Having a hard seed coat, it is suspected that gas and water levels control seed dormancy. Seed may be able to survive in the soil over 20 years. Some have speculated this summer's cooler conditions have enhanced the growth of dodder. Several control approaches have been investigated. Controlling dodder with herbicides depends on the crop in which you wish to control it. Some herbicides may affect dodder, but also may affect the crop, or not be labeled for use in that crop. Always read and follow herbicide labels.

In many cases, dodder control may be more effective if herbicide applications are made before the plant attaches to the host. PRE applications of Kerb® have provided good control of dodder in ornamentals and turf (Anonymous). Treflan® and Prowl® have also been reported to suppress dodder germination (Mueller.2006). However, in most cases that Nice has experienced, PRE applications often do not retain enough residual activity to provide control for the rest of the season.

Glyphosate has been reported to control dodder POST and can be applied as a spot treatment of a 1-2 percent solution to alfalfa. However, be aware that the alfalfa will be damaged where glyphosate is applied. Others suggest little or no control with glyphosate.

Raptor® can suppress dodder at 5 fl oz/A when applied after dodder emergence and applied before it is three inches tall. Pursuit DG® also can suppress dodder after emergence, but as soon as dodder attaches to the host plant, suppression drops. The Pursuit® label recommends using it with COC or methylated seed oil to suppress dodder.

For more on dodder, please refer to the following websites http://www.btny.purdue.edu/weedscience/2005/Dodder05.pdf and http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/dodder.html

Fall Grazing Management - Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension Educator, Athens County

Fall is a critical time to maintain good grazing management practices. Put simply; do not overgraze in the fall of the year. Our cool season pasture plants are perennials; they survive from year to year. The way they do that is by storing carbohydrates in stem bases and tiller bases, in rhizomes and roots. These reserves are used to initiate new growth in the spring. Over the winter the leaf tissue dies, but the buds and roots of the plant remain alive and continue to respire and burn energy. This energy comes from reserves stored in the fall of the year. If root reserves are insufficient the plant may die over the winter or be very slow to start growth the next spring.

The process by which plants produce the carbohydrates that are stored is photosynthesis. In order for photosynthesis to take place, there must be green leaf tissue. So again the message is; do not overgraze pasture plants in the fall of the year. Make sure that a residual height of at least 4 inches is maintained after a grazing pass.

Our cooler than average summer temperatures plus the regular rainfalls has made this a very good year for grazing. Cool season grasses have continued to grow throughout the entire summer. Graziers who are managing pastures should have an abundance of forage this fall and should take advantage of these weather conditions to make sure that pastures maintain adequate leaf area to provide good photosynthetic rates and allow plants to build carbohydrate reserves. This management will result in healthier spring pastures.

Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report - Mike Roberts, Commodity Marketing Agent, Virginia Tech

LIVE CATTLE futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) were down on Monday. The OCT'09LC contract closed off $0.025/cwt at $86.675/cwt. DEC'09LC futures closed at $86.825/cwt; down $0.275/cwt and $1.400/cwt lower than last report. The October contract came near an 11-week low while December futures fell to its lowest level in 6 months. End-of-month position squaring was noted. Losses in equities and weakness in energy markets was a noted influence. USDA last Friday put the Choice Beef cutout at $143.44, down $0.16/cwt but $0.30/cwt higher than this time last week. Cash cattle traded $1-$1.50/cwt higher at auctions but demand is seen as weakening ahead of the Labor Day holiday and short processing week. USDA put the 5-area price at $84.40/cwt; $2.30/cwt higher than this time last week. According to HedgersEdge.com, average packer margins were lowered $9.10/head from last week to a positive $40.10/head based on the average buy of $83.52/cwt vs. the average breakeven of $86.59/cwt.

FEEDER CATTLE at the CME were off on Monday. The SEPT '09FC contract closed down $0.90/cwt at $97.250/cwt. The OCT'09FC contract closed at $97.425/cwt; down $0.625/cwt and $3.025cwt lower than last report. DEC'09FC futures closed at $98.025/cwt; off $0.525/cwt. Sell stops; back-month bear premiums to the CME index; bear spreading; and lower live cattle pressured feeders the entire session. Cash feeders were steady to weak in Oklahoma City. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for Aug. 27, 2009 was placed at $99.45/cwt, off $0.20/cwt and $1.21/cwt lower than last Monday. It is a good idea to sell feeders when ready.

Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events

BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.

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. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

Fairfield County Agriculture and Natural Resources