Ohio Pasture Growth by June 9, 2013

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for 2013 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2013

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 8 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 31	6	0	34.6	12.5	27
April 7	11	0	172.3	43	68
April 14	19	2.2	138.2	49.7	53
April 21	27	0	151.7	41.1	69
April 28	20	22.8	225.8	87.4	76
May 5	30	1.2	257.9	85.8	83
May 12	28	0.4	167	76.7	89
May 19	22	9.1	213.9	72.4	75
May 26	21	9.4	102.8	64.4	60
June 2	18	7	125.4	50.2	52

Summer annual forage options

SUMMER ANNUALS CAN PROVIDE PASTURE OR STORED FEED OPTIONS
            Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Wayne County
            Livestock owners that are looking for supplemental forage options should consider summer annuals.  June is the ideal time frame for planting a warm season summer annual crop.  These forages thrive in summer heat, are drought tolerant, and can be used for either grazing or as a stored feed.  Summer annuals include sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum x sudangrass hybrids, millet, teff, and corn.  With adequate soil fertility and a minimum of moisture, these species are capable of producing three to five tons of dry matter over the summer months.  Most of these species can provide two to three grazing passes or cuttings beginning 30 to 45 days after planting.
            Plant summer annuals when the soil temperature is 60 to 65 degrees F.  Plant forage sorghum at 12-15 pounds/ acre, millet, sudangrass and sorghum x sudangrass hybrids at 25 to 35 pounds/acre, teff grass at 4 to 5 pounds/acre and corn used as forage at about 80,000 kernels/acre and seeded with a grain drill.  Soil pH should be in the 6.0 to 6.5 range, soil phosphorus should be at least 15 ppm and soil potassium in the 100 to 125 ppm range.  All summer annuals respond to nitrogen and best yields will be obtained when 50 pounds of actual nitrogen/acre is applied before or at planting and then again following each cutting or grazing pass.  Livestock owners that need to summer apply manure can utilize summer annuals for this purpose.
          Summer annuals can be used as a double crop in situations where the previous crop is harvested by the end of June.  Some examples include planting a summer annual after 1or 2 cuttings of alfalfa that needs to be rotated out of production, or perhaps after the harvest of barley.
            In situations where the summer annual is going to be used for grazing, stagger plant the allotted acreage.  Summer annuals grow fast and mature quickly.  Forage quality is good at young vegetative growth stages but declines rapidly once the plant enters reproductive growth.  A good strategy is to separate plantings by 14 days from the end of May through early July.  Summer annuals best suited to grazing include millet, sudangrass and sorghum x sudangrass hybrids.  The brown mid-rib (BMR) varieties of sudangrass and sorghum x sudangrass are recommended because they have superior digestibility compared to non-BMR varieties.  Corn has also been used for grazing but only one grazing pass is possible since corn will not regrow.
          Graze sudangrass and sorghum x sudangrass hybrids when plants are 18 to 30 inches tall. At this growth stage forage quality will be 17 to 19% crude protein, with a neutral detergent fiber (NFD) content of 58 to 60% and a net energy of lactation around 0.69 Mcal or a total digestible nutrient (TDN) content of 66 to 68%.   Leave a 6 to 8 inch stubble to facilitate fast regrowth.  Millet should be grazed beginning at 12 to 18 inches in height.  Remove cattle to leave a 6 inch stubble.  Millet forage quality will be equal to or slightly higher than sudangrass and sorghum x sudangrass hybrids when it is grazed in this fashion.  Due to the rapid maturity of summer annuals, plan acreage based on what livestock can consume in about 10 days.  If grazing was uneven and old stems remain, clip the stubble to a uniform 6 to 8 inches after the grazing pass.
            All of the summer annual species can be mechanically harvested for stored feed.  This is really the best option if forage sorghum or teff grass is planted.  With the exception of teff grass, baleage and silage are the best harvest and storage options for summer annuals because they have a high moisture content and they are difficult to dry.  Typically, forage sorghum, sorghum x sudangrass hybrids and sudangrass are harvested at 36 to 48 inches in height while millet and teff grass are harvested at the boot stage or approximately 36 inches in height.
            One note of caution is that summer annual crops can accumulate nitrates in the lower portions of the stems under drought conditions.  Reduce nitrogen fertilization and manage grazing to make sure livestock do not graze lower than 8 inches to reduce the risk of nitrate toxicity.  In addition, sorghum, sorghum x sudangrass hybrids and sudangrass all have varying levels of potential for prussic acid poisoning if plants are consumed when they are under stress conditions.
            For more information about the use of summer annuals as a supplemental pasture or stored feed crop, contact a member of the Extension Integrated Forages Team.

Ohio Pasture Growth by June 2, 2013

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for 2013 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2013

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 8 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 31	6	0	34.6	12.5	27
April 7	11	0	172.3	43	68
April 14	19	2.2	138.2	49.7	53
April 21	27	0	151.7	41.1	69
April 28	20	22.8	225.8	87.4	76
May 5	30	1.2	257.9	85.8	83
May 12	27	0.4	167	75.8	89
May 19	22	9.1	213.9	72.4	75
May 26	19	9.4	97.5	58	60

2013 Pasture Measurement Project

The Ohio Pasture Measurement Project is in full swing for 2013. For more details about this project check out the post "What Is the Ohio Pasture Measurement Project?". Basically, this project involves graziers measuring the same pasture field every week using a commercially available rising plate meter and reporting the measurement. We then calculate how much the pasture is growing during that week. (The specific plate meter we are using is made by Jenquip and available through Eagle Dairy Direct.) Results will be posted on this blog.

This year we have over 27 volunteers measuring their pasture.

2013 Pasture Measurement Locations

Pay Attention to Hay Moisture Content

         Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County

           The goal in haymaking is to preserve forage quality in a form that can be used by livestock at a later date.  Each year however, dry matter and forage quality is lost due to spontaneous heating in hay that is caused by baling at too high of a moisture content.  Generally all bales left to air dry after baling at 15 to 20% moisture undergo some degree of heating beginning a couple of days after baling and continuing for a week to 10 days after baling.  The heat that is generated is a result of plant respiration and microorganisms on the hay consuming carbohydrates (sugars and starches).  In general, if temperatures do not exceed the 130 to 140 degree F range, quality damage is minimal.  However, if internal hay temperature exceeds 175 degrees F, then combustion and fire can occur.

Wayne Coblentz at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison Wisconsin examined the relationship between moisture content at baling, size of bales and forage quality using a heating degree days concept.  Heating degree days are calculated by subtracting 86 from the maximum internal bale temperature measured in degrees F, for each day of storage.  The difference is summed each day until bales reach the point where the difference between internal bale temperature minus 86 is zero.  His research basically showed that small square bales, baled at 20% or lower moisture accumulated a low level (200 or fewer) of heating degree days.  As bale size and diameter increased, baling at a moisture content of 20% resulted in more heating degree days accumulated and a higher risk of spontaneous heating leading to more significant quality losses.

Quality losses begin to increase dramatically as heating degree days exceed 300.  Quality losses include an increase in fiber concentration and a decrease in energy concentration due to heating.  For example, at 300 heating degree days the increase in neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was about 2 percentage units compared to the initial NDF concentration and the decrease in energy concentration was about 1 percentage unit.  At 600 heating degree days the increase in NDF was 7 percentage units and the decrease in energy concentration was about 5 percentage units.  Coblentz found that concentrations of NDF could increase by as much as 11 percentage points as a result of spontaneous heating.  The increases in NDF are a result of cell sugars being oxidized during microbial respiration.  So the fiber components increase because the cell soluble concentration decreases.  The other consequence of heating is that energy density as measured by total digestible nutrients is decreased because the sugars and cell solubles are 100% digestible while the fiber components are less digestible.

It is important to understand that some heating loss occurs in any bale made at 15% or greater moisture during the growing season, but heating losses increase as bale moisture content increases and/or as bale size increases.  Heating losses can be minimized by baling small square bales at 20% or lower moisture content, 18% or lower moisture content for large round bales and 16% or lower moisture content for large rectangular bales.  For legume hay production, these lower moisture contents are problematic because of increased leaf shatter and the associated forage quality loss.  In that case, in order to minimize heating losses and minimize leaf loss, it may be necessary to utilize a preservative or plastic wrap to permit baling at higher moisture contents.

TALL FESCUE: RENOVATION OR ERADICATION?

            Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County

            Mark Sulc, Extension Forage Specialist

            Many cow/calf beef enterprises across the state utilize tall fescue as their primary pasture forage.  In most instances, it is Kentucky 31 endophyte infected forage, and while this is a great option for a late fall and winter stockpiled forage, there are some significant downsides to using this forage during the growing season, particularly summer.  The endophyte is a fungus, specifically Neotyphodium coenophialum and it is responsible for multiple livestock disorders including fescue foot, bovine fat necrosis and fescue toxicity.  Fescue toxicity is the most common disorder and is associated with poor animal performance characterized by reduced feed intake, decreased weight gains, lowered milk production, lowered reproductive performance and rough hair coat.

            Last summer’s drought may have inadvertently created an opportunity for some beef cattle graziers to reevaluate the tall fescue mix in their pastures.  Pastures that were overgrazed during the drought and into the fall period are likely to have “holes” where desirable grass species have dropped out and where weeds may have or will be filling in.  Even those endophyte infected tall fescue pastures could be thinned out; although it is likely the tall fescue will recover and survive.  However, these pastures can benefit from renovation.

            We are now past the point where frost seeding and broadcasting seed is a viable option.  April is a good month to do some no-till drill pasture renovation work.  One of the commonly employed strategies to reduce the effects of fescue toxicity is dilution with other species in the pasture.  Endophyte infected tall fescue pastures can benefit from renovation when other species, particularly legumes, are added to the pasture mix.  Generally red and white clover can work well as legume species in a tall fescue stand.  The goal should be to establish a 30 to 35% clover mix evenly distributed throughout the fescue pasture.  The no-till drill should be adjusted to insure that seed is not placed more than one-quarter to one-half inch deep.

If weeds are present or the tall fescue sod is vigorous then something must be done to reduce this competition and give the new seedlings a chance to establish.  The most effective option may be the use of a chemical herbicide.  Always read and follow the label directions regarding rates and possible intervals between application and planting a new crop/seed.  Gramoxone can be used as a burndown to provide time for the new seeding to become established.  Non-chemical methods include mowing at very short heights or grazing the cover down tight to suppress the grass sod.

There may be situations where eradication of an endophyte infected tall fescue pasture is a better option than renovation and the dilution strategy.  Right up front I will say that this is not an easy task and in order for this to be successful it takes a commitment of time and management.  According to some tall fescue management fact sheets from the University of West Virginia and the University of Arkansas, this is a process that will take 1 to 2 years and requires steps to kill the endophyte infected stand, prevent the reintroduction of endophyte infected seed and then continued to management of the new seeding.  This process is more likely to have success if there is a pasture field where some tillage machinery can be used.

Although there are variations to this process, if eradication is going to start in the spring, these steps should be followed:

·         Soil test to determine if lime, phosphate or potash needs to be added to bring the field to critical soil levels.  Those levels are a soil pH of 6.5, a phosphate level of 25 ppm and a potash level of 120 ppm or according to the formula of: 75 +(2.5 x C.E.C.).

·         Kill the existing tall fescue sod.  Generally glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide for this purpose.  If the sod can’t be sprayed until late April or early May, then the pasture must be clipped to prevent any seed head formation.

·         If lime or fertilizer is needed to correct soil deficiencies, till the field and incorporate the lime and fertilizer 6-8 inches deep.

·         Plant a warm season annual crop such as pearl millet, sorghum x sudangrass or sudangrass when the soil temperature reaches 60 to 65 degrees F.  These are vigorous, tall growing forages that will act to smother out any fescue that might germinate.  These crops can be used for summer grazing. Another option would be foxtail millet, which would make a single hay crop by late summer (and would not require killing after the single hay crop)

·         In late August or early September kill off the summer annual using glyphosate (not necessary if foxtail millet is used). This glyphosate application is another opportunity to kill any surviving tall fescue plants.

·         Till the field and prepare a seedbed to plant a winter annual crop such as winter wheat or winter rye.  No-till planting is also appropriate.  This crop can provide some late fall grazing.

·         The next year, depending upon the spring, take a final grazing pass or remove the winter annual as wet wrapped baleage.  Take time to walk over the field.  If any fescue is observed, apply another application of glyphosate.  In mid to late April plant the field with a perennial pasture mix that includes grass and legume species.

After this time period removed from tall fescue seed head production, any tall fescue that emerges from old seed in the soil should no longer contain a viable infective fungus.  A fact sheet on endophyte toxins from Oregon State University says that the fungus will lose its viability if stored for 18 or more months.  Other sources say 12 months is enough for the fungus to lose its viability in stored seed.

     Finally, even if eradication is successful, the grazier must continue to manage to prevent endophyte infected seed from being re-introduced into the field from machinery and/or animals carrying viable seed in their digestive tracts from endophyte infected fields. Infected tall fescue can also be reintroduced by feeding hay of endophyte-infected tall fescue containing seed heads with viable seed.

           

References:

Aldrich-Markham, S., Pirelli, G., Craig, A., Oregon State University “Endophyte Toxins in Grass Seed Fields and Straw Effects on Livestock”

Ball, D., Schmidt, S., Lacefield, G., “Tall Fescue Endophyte Concepts”

Jennings J., West C., Jones, S., University of Arkansas, “Friendly Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue for Livestock Production”

Rayburn E., West Virginia University, “Tall Fescue Management”

OHIO FORAGE & GRASSLANDS COUNCIL CONFERENCE!

The Ohio Forages and Grasslands Council Annual Meeting will be held February 8, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Ohio Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg, OH. The program focuses on “Adapting to our Changing Climate” featuring Dr. Chris Teutsch, the Forage and Livestock Specialist at Virginia Tech's Southern Piedmont Research and Extension Center near Blackstone, Virginia. An Ohio native and an outstanding speaker, Dr. Teutsch has very practical advice on how to make pasture and forage systems more resilient to weather extremes.

Do you know how often we face water deficits for pasture production? Come and find out --- the statistics may surprise you! Dr. Teutsch will discuss management that will improve pasture production by more than 33% while also increasing drought tolerance of pastures through a stronger plant root system.

You will also learn how to plan ahead for filling in the cool season grass summer slump and other periods of forage deficit with alternative forages. This is a timely topic as we look back at the drought of 2012 and look forward to how to prepare for weather extremes in the future.

Dr. Teutsch will host two sessions during the day. The conference will also feature a panel of beef, sheep and dairy producers who will share how they manage and utilize forages in their operations.
Other topics will include how nutrient management plan standards affect livestock producers, how to produce and utilize late season oat forage, and research on alfalfa fertilization in Ohio. In addition, this year’s winners of the Ohio State Grazing Essay Contest and Ohio Forage & Grasslands Council Awards will be announced!

For more details of the program and a registration form, click here. Print the form, fill it out and mail it to the address indicated before February 1st.