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OSU Extension - Fairfield County
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and the
BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor
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Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter
Issue # 597
Forage Focus: Oats Double Cropped for Forage - Most Commonly Asked Questions - Stan Smith, PA, OSU Extension, Fairfield county
Since the update on double cropping oats into wheat stubble appeared in this publication two weeks ago, we've received some follow-up questions. Below, find the 4 most commonly asked questions and the responses we've offered based on only 6 years of experience with growing oats in July and August.
Q: I plan to no-til oats in the next 3-4 days. I hate to put down N without working it in. Do you think we would have a reasonable yield without N?
A: We don't yet have an answer that's based in research regarding July/August planted oat response to N, but we are planning to do some nitrogen plots locally this summer and may be better prepared this winter to be more precise. Regardless, I'll offer this.
All grass crops require nitrogen to maximize yield and quality. It can come from applied nitrogen, or from organic nitrogen released from the soil.
Oats are great scavengers of nutrients, so if you have high organic matter soils and we get lots of frequent showers the remainder of the summer, the soil may provide enough N to optimize yields.
However, if maximum tonnage and maximum quality are important to you, I'd encourage you to apply at least 18-25 units of N, and perhaps up to 50 pounds, even at today's prices. Research shows us that with perennial grass crops, for each pound of N applied in late summer, we can expect a result of 25 to 30 pounds of additional dry matter growth. If N is costing 75 cents per pound, then the additional forage that results costs you ~ 3 cents per pound of dry matter (75 cents per lb of N divided by 25 additional pounds of forage) or $60 per ton.
If you plan to mechanically harvest the oats, we know that the forage removed will take with it ~ 14 pounds of P and 50-55 pounds of K per ton. On the other hand grazed forages return ~ 80+ % of the nutrients to the field through the manure.
If you expect to get 4 tons of oats and remove it by baling, then you will need to replace the P and K some time unless your soils are already too high in these nutrients. That being said, 120 pounds of 18-46-0 will replace the P that 4 tons of oats will remove, and offer you 21 pounds of very stable nitrogen at the same time.
Or, if you are getting rain 3 times a week like some of us seem to be, you could use urea or 28% N, and it will likely be rained in before any of it volatilizes.
Q: Do I need to spray Roundup (glyphosate) on the wheat stubble before the oats emerge?
A: Yes, I think it will make you money, especially this year. With all the moisture we had when the wheat came off, I'm seeing lots of green coming up in wheat fields. Much of the green is volunteer wheat, foxtail, and a variety of other annuals and perennials. All these things will compete with the oats as they come up, and are things you don't want growing there this winter anyway, especially the volunteer wheat. I'd kill them before the oats emerge even if it requires another trip across the field.
Q: I've got lots of volunteer wheat growing in my stubble. Why can't I fertilize it, and harvest it the same as I would if I plant oats?
A: The oats we are planting are an annual, and will elongate now as they grow and continue to create significant amounts of forage well into the fall. Wheat is a bi-annual and will not elongate until after it has gone dormant once and emerged from dormancy in the spring. If you need forage growth yet this calendar year, oats are the answer. If you prefer abundant forage growth in the spring and early next summer, then cereal rye or perhaps in some cases wheat will provide the solution.
Q: My wheat came off late, and I'm still baling straw, and would like to spread manure on the fields before I plant oats. Do I still have time to plant the oats?
A: Yes, most definitely. In fact, over the past 6 years, our experience shows the best quality and most consistently high yields have come when the oats were planted into wheat stubble around August 1st.
K Deficiency and Fertilizing Forage Crops - Doug Beegle, Soil Fertility Specialist, Penn State University Extension
The most common nutrient deficiency problem this year seems to be potassium (K). Potassium deficiency symptoms occur on the edges of the lower leaves on most plants. In corn and soybeans, the symptoms start as yellowing on the edges of the lower leaves. Eventually the edges of the leaves will turn brown and the whole leaf may die. In alfalfa, the symptoms start as small spots on the edges of the leaves which eventually grow together and end up as yellow and finally brown leaf edges. As the deficiency becomes more severe, the symptoms will progress higher up the plant.
Potassium deficiency is a common symptom of soil compaction. Earlier this year there was quite a bit of K deficiency in corn fields planted during the extended wet period we had in May. In most cases, if soil K levels were optimum, when the roots finally broke through the planter compaction, the plants recovered and the deficiency symptoms pretty much went away. However, there are still fields out there showing K deficiency probably due to low soil K because of the high price of potash fertilizer. A common situation for K deficiency is in corn after alfalfa. As alfalfa stands wear out, they are often relegated to a lower priority for fertilization so K removal is no longer being replaced and soil reserves are depleted. It is not uncommon to see a pattern of K deficiency in the corn in the areas of the field where the alfalfa stand was the best.
Even with high fertilizer prices we need to make sure we are meeting the nutrient needs of our crops if we want optimum production. Forage crops in particular have a large appetite for nutrients removing around 50 lb N, 15 lb P2O5, and 50 lb K2O per ton of hay equivalent harvested. Many fields that get a lot of manure in the corn part of the rotation have good reserves of nutrients that can be used by the forage crops, at least for a while. Here is a place to save some dollars and utilize these banked nutrients rather than applying fertilizer. Fields receiving little manure or that are late in the forage rotation can have fairly low soil test levels and thus need fertilization. This is where you need to prioritize your forage fertility dollars. The key is to recognize these differences and fertilize wisely.
As always, begin with a soil test. Even though it maybe the last minute, the Ag Analytical Services Lab at Penn State normally has about 2 day turn-around with soil samples. So if you overnight your samples to the lab and have signed up for free web access to your results you could sample at harvest and still have your results in time to make topdressing decisions. Other labs have similar service. The ideal management for forage crops is to build the soil levels at least into the optimum before seeding. If the soil test levels are above optimum at that point, you can draw them down for a while until they are in the optimum range and then maintain the soil in the optimum range throughout the remaining life of the stand by replacing nutrients removed in the harvested crop.
Timing of fertilizer applications to forages will depend on the situation. If the soil tests are in the optimum range and the recommendations are relatively small, timing is not very critical. The most common timing is after first cutting but fall is also an excellent time to apply these maintenance applications. For larger applications on low testing soils, split applications are usually more efficient. Apply some early in the season and the balance in the early fall. This minimizes luxury consumption of nutrients like potassium and the fall application may improve winter survival of the forage. Split applications are almost always the most efficient way to apply K, but this must be balanced against the cost of multiple trips across the field. As fertilizer prices increase, the economics of multiple applications improves.
What about manure on forages? Manure is excellent on grass forages which need N, P, and K. Splitting applications in the spring and immediately after each harvest is recommended for maximum nutrient use efficiency and to avoid problems with injury. Base the rate on the N requirement of the grass forage which is 50 lb/ton of expected yield for the upcoming cutting. Remember that typically manure N will only be about 35% available compared to fertilizer. See table 1.2-14 in the Agronomy Guide for more specifics. On legumes manure is a good source of P and K but since they do not need the N, it will be essentially worthless to the crop. Also, in mixed grass-legume stands or where there is weed pressure, the N in manure can stimulate the grass and weeds and crowd the legume out of the stand. Old stands that will soon be rotated out of forage are usually the best place to go with the manure rather than newer stands. Applying manure to these older stands can also replenish soil reserves depleted by the alfalfa and help avoid K deficiencies in the following corn crop.
OSU Offers August 5th Beef Cattle Marketing Seminar
Get the latest resources, tips and techniques for selling cattle at Ohio State University Extension's Beef Cattle Marketing Seminar, 7-9 p.m., Tuesday, August 5, at the Eastern Agricultural Research Station, 16870 Township Road 126, near Belle Valley in Noble County.
The classroom-style program will highlight cattle, calf and cull-cow marketing options available to local producers.
Sale barn presentations will be given by Brad Haurey of Producer's Livestock, Caldwell; Daryl Watson, Barnesville Livestock; Denny Ruff, Muskingum Livestock; John Miller, West Virginia Cattle Pool; and Jim Gibson, Bluegrass Stockyards.
Station manager Wayne Shriver will present "Marketing Cull Cows."
Admission is free, but registration is needed by August 1.
For more information and to register, contact Clif Little of Ohio State University Extension's Guernsey County office at (740) 432-9300 or little.16@osu.edu, or call the office directly at (740) 489-5300.
OSU Extension and Ohio State's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) are the sponsors.
The station is one of OARDC's 10 outlying units. To get there: Take exit 28 off Interstate 77. Turn south on State Route 821. Turn left (east) on State Route 215. Go about one mile then turn right onto Bond Ridge Road (Township Road 126). The station is on the right. Signs will be posted.
OARDC and OSU Extension are the research and outreach arms, respectively, of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Ohio Cattlemen's Roundup Tours Crawford County Beef Farms
The Ohio Cattlemen's Association's (OCA's) Roundup will take place on Friday, August 22 and Saturday, August 23, 2008. The event, hosted by the Crawford County Cattleman's Association and sponsored by Farm Credit Services, is a chance to learn about the latest news in the beef industry. The program includes a weekend with an informational session with speakers from the cattle industry and a day tour of selected beef operations in Crawford County. OCA extends a warm invitation to all who have an interest in Ohio's cattle industry to attend.
The weekend's events will be preceded by the Ohio Cattlemen's Golf Scramble that will be held at the River Oak Golf Course in Bucyrus. The scramble begins at 1 p.m. and all proceeds will benefit the educational activities and events of the Ohio Cattlemen's Foundation.
The Roundup officially begins at 5 p.m. with Ohio Cattlemen's Association and Ohio CattleWomen's Association membership meetings at the Crawford County Fairgrounds. Attendees will hear an update on current OCA programs and activities. At 5:30 p.m. Gregg Doud, Chief Economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association will address the crowd. Doud manages top-level economic and international trade policy issues for the beef industry in Washington, D.C. A dinner sponsored by United Producers will follow Doud.
Trent Loos, a nationally known agricultural activist and sixth generation farmer, will be the evening's final speaker. His radio program "Loos Tales" is heard by 3 million listeners on nearly 100 radio stations daily. Loos travels the country to unearth stories about the people involved in the many different facets of production agriculture and to spread the good word about food producers in the United States.
Saturday's events kick off at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast at the fairgrounds. Attendees will then depart on buses for farm tours or the optional women's tour. This year's tours feature six Crawford County beef operations.
The first stop will be Glen Feichtner's operation that is operated by Glen and Deb Feichtner. The operation feeds 250 to 300 head of cattle per year as well as farms 930 acres.
The next stop on the tour will be Wagner Farms, operated by Robert, Mary, Larry, Tom and Dick and families. The operation calves 60 to 70 cows annually and feeds calves to a market weight of 1,100 to 1,400 pounds and markets them through the Ohio Signature Beef program.
From there participants will visit Hord Livestock, which is managed and operated by Duane and Patrick Hord. The operation that originally began with a hog and crop focus now feeds 275 head of cattle and is currently constructing a hoop barn feedlot.
Paradise Knoll and Paradise Corner Farm, owned and operated by Don Lohr and sons Andy and Bryan and families, are two of the featured stops. The operations intensively grazes 100 head of cows, keeps 10 to 12 replacement heifers annually and feeds the remaining steers and heifers.
MKB Farms is the last stop which is owned by Mike and Brenda Kocher and their family. The farm consists of 2,100 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay and they finish 225 head of cattle annually in two locations.
Lunch will take place at the Crawford County fairgrounds in between the morning and afternoon tours and will feature a Crawford County Cattlemen's Steak Fry with all the trimmings. After the meal a NCBA PAC fundraiser will be held and the crowd will hear from Steve Foglesong, NCBA's Vice President. Foglesong operates a cow-calf, stocker, feedlot and replacement heifer development program in Illinois.
The day will wrap up with an early evening hamburger fry at the Crawford County Fairgrounds, where attendees can pick up their vehicles and grab a hamburger for the road.
Registration deadline for this event is Aug. 10, 2008, and the cost is $35 for OCA members and $50 for non-OCA members. All registrations at the door will be $50. For more information about the Roundup or to register call the Ohio Cattlemen's Association at (614) 873-6736 or visit the Web site at www.ohiocattle.org.
Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report - Mike Roberts, Commodity Marketing Agent, Virginia Tech
LIVE CATTLE futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) fared better on Monday. The AUG'08LC contract closed at $98.500/cwt, up $1.000cwt from Friday but $0.625/cwt lower than last Monday's close. OCT'08LC futures were up $0.600/cwt at $105.700/cwt but $0.700/cwt lower than last week at this time. Softening corn and grain markets; short-covering, and a general disinterest in selling were supportive. Traders are expecting USDA to show a reduced number of feeder cattle placed on feed and live cattle currently on feed in Friday's Cattle-on-Feed report. August/October spreading was noted as short positions were rolled forward. The 14-day RSI for October '08 live cattle ended near oversold conditions at 35.44. An RSI at or below 30 is considered oversold. This was supportive for prices. However, declining boxed beef values and weak cash markets weighed on prices. USDA placed the choice boxed beef cutout at $167.27/cwt, down $0.99/cwt. The USDA 5-area price for cash cattle came in at $97.21/cwt vs. $99.50/cwt last week and $101-$101.50/cwt two weeks ago. However, cash feeders in Oklahoma City on Monday were $1-$2/cwt higher. According to HedgersEdge.com, the average packer margin was $61.55/head based on the average buy of $98.540/cwt vs. a breakeven of $103.380/cwt. This was $3.45/head lower than this time last week. It might be a good idea to hold cattle to slightly heavier weights this week. It is a very, very good idea to price some feed inputs at this time.
FEEDER CATTLE at the CME closed mixed with the August and September contracts gaining while deferreds slumped on Monday. AUG'08FC futures were up $0.775/cwt at $114.650/cwt and $4.475/cwt higher than last Monday. The SEPT'08 contract finished the day at $115.075/cwt, up $0.575/cwt and $2.375/cwt higher than a week ago. Nearby pricing was optimistic about inputs and USDA's next report while there still remains uncertainty about corn prices in coming months. Profit taking; back months dragging feeding margins in the red; and bearish premiums to the CME Feeder Cattle Index pressured prices. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was placed at $111.16/cwt, a gain of $0.24/cwt. It is a good idea to hold feeders to heavier weights if grass is available. Pricing feed inputs now is a very, very good idea.
CORN on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) finished down again on Monday. The SEPT'08 contract finished at $5.892/bu, off 20.2 cents/bu. The DEC'08 contract closed at $6.082/bu, off 20.2 cents/bu; 74.0 cents/bu lower than this time last week and $1.388/bu (18.6%) lower than two weeks ago. Chart based selling continued to pressure prices as funds liquidate long positions and the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stayed just below 70 at 67.63. An RSI at or above 70 is considered overbought. Support in the December contract is now at $5.49/bu with a measuring objective of $4.79/bu. Increased concern of congressional influence on curbing speculative influence in commodities; good crop weather, improving crop conditions; the settling of the export tax issue in Argentina; and reports that Brazil has planted a larger corn crop all have put pressure on prices. Rising crude oil prices are putting money back into jittery fund's pockets supporting prices somewhat. Weather will continue now to be the leading factor in price volatility for crops. USDA placed the U.S. corn crop at 65% good-to-excellent, a 1 point improvement over last week. The August 12 USDA World Agriculture Supply Demand Estimate report is expected to show the effects (or non-effects) of the floods back in June. Exports picked up as USDA placed corn-inspected-for-export at 29.8 mi bu vs. expectations for between 23-27 mi bu. Cash bids in the U.S. Corn Belt were steady to weaker while those in the U.S. Mid- Atlantic States on Monday were between 15.0 cents/bu -22.0 cents/bu lower. Funds were net sellers. Hopefully up to 60% of the '08 crop has been priced. It would be a good idea to price another 10% now.
Enjoy the Best Sandwich on the Ohio State Fairgrounds!
Don't forget the Ohio State Fair begins next Wednesday, and you'll find the best sandwich on the grounds in the Ohio Cattlemen's Steak Barn or at their AIR CONDITIONED location in the Food Pavilion. If you attend the Fair on Tuesday, August 5, be sure and stop by and say hello to members of the OSU Extension Beef Team who will be working the second shift in the Pavilion.
Perhaps even better yet for our young golfing cow hands, I've been promised the par 18, Cattleman's Country Club will be open for business in the Voinovich building's upper level, bright and early on the 30th.
I doubt we'll publish a BEEF Cattle letter next week . . . see you at the Fair!
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
