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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 this weekly BEEF Cattle letter by sending a blank e-mail to beef-cattle-on@ag.osu.edu

Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter

Issue # 619

January 14, 2009

NRCS Adds 'Manure Stockpiling' Recommendations

Recently, Ohio NRCS has added manure stockpiling recommendations as part of NRCS Practice Standard 633. Stockpiling of manure can be a relatively environmentally safe method of temporarily storing manure and may be utilized when field and/or soil conditions are not suitable for spreading, such as on frozen or snow covered ground. The practice is not meant as a substitute for adequate manure storage, but rather intended for short term storage (8 months or less) of solid manure in the field in which it will be applied. Solid manure is defined as having a minimum of 20 % solid content (requires bedding) or dry poultry manure.

Under this link is a copy of the Manure Stockpiling Jobsheet which is also housed in eFOTG Section IV under practice code 633.

If you wish to review the best practices for winter manure application, review Winter Manuire Application in the December 19, 2007, issue #567, of this publication.

Mortality Composting and Livestock Environmental Assurance Program

On January 29, 2009 a workshop for livestock producers will take place specifically addressing Livestock Mortality Composting and Livestock Environmental Assurance Program. The workshop will be held at the Jefferson Township Fire Department, 470 South Main Street, Bellville, Ohio beginning at 9:30 a.m.

By participating in this workshop and training, livestock producers will learn how to build and manage a compost facility for their dead animals and receive a certificate of attendance. Livestock producers will demonstrate their willingness to take a proactive approach in blending sound production economics with concern about environmental quality that addresses relevant environmental issues. The Livestock Environmental Assurance Program curriculum and educational materials is coordinated by the Ohio Livestock Coalition in cooperation with Ohio State University Extension, Ohio EPA, ODNR Division of Soil and Water Conservation, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, along with various commodity and farm organizations.

Reservation is required. The cost of the workshop is $20 per person which covers refreshment, meal, and manuals. Registration deadline is January 23, 2009. Registration fee is to be remitted to OSU Extension Richland County 1495 West Longview Ave. Suite 206 Mansfield, Ohio 44906.

For additional information, contact the Ohio State University Extension, Richland County Office at (419) 747-8755 or email Duane Rader at rader.72@osu.edu.

GLFF Pursues "All Natural" Market - Dan Frobose, OSU Extension Beef Marketing Educator

Great Lakes Family Farms (GLFF) has joined forces with Pineland Farms of New Gloucester, Maine for the distribution of its all natural beef product lines. Pineland Farms will market beef in Ohio sourced from members of the Great Lakes Family Farms under the labels of Ohio Signature Beef (OSB) and Ohio Heritage Beef (OHB). Cattle produced by Ohio farms that are in excess of Ohio demand will be marketed through the Wolf's Neck brand in stores along the Eastern seaboard.

The Board of Directors of GLFF views this agreement as a step forward in providing market access to retail stores and restaurants. According to Bruce Stone, GLFF president, (419-466-8735) this decision will allow our producers to processing and distribution that not only will improve market access but also reduce our overall costs.

How will this affect Ohio beef producers? This venture will require Ohio producers to provide "All Natural Cattle" to be marketed under these brands. Calves will need to be sourced from cow/calf producers who can provide feeders that are free of any antibiotic or hormonal influence. Finishers will need to purchase cattle with these criteria and take them to harvest weights without the use of antibiotics or hormonal growth aides.

Producers will still be able to finish cattle utilizing available feedstuff. With the only requirement being that the concentrate diets be comprised of 50% corn.

Cattle will be sold on a carcass grid and priced off a Nebraska based weighted average plus 18¢/lb. hot carcass weight premium. There are no discounts on carcass weight or on yield grade 4's or lower. The cattle are required to grade choice or higher with no additional premiums for primes at this time. The seller will cover the cost of transportation to harvest.

Example: 1300 pound steer dresses out at 800 pounds hot carcass weight and grades choice yield grade 3. His base carcass value (Nebraska is $1.40/cwt or $1,120. Since he qualifies for the OSB label he will receive a premium of $144 ($.18 x 800) or a total of $1,264. Transportation and marketing overhead will need to be removed but that will vary by producer/location. Great Lakes Family Farms receive their revenue from Pineland Farms market premiums. These funds will then be used for marketing programs and point of sale materials.

Ohio producers who are interested in working with GLFF can contact the market coordinator Shawn Davies at 419-260-3636 or OSU Beef Marketing Educator, Dan Frobose at 419-354-6916.

EDITOR's NOTE: "All Natural" markets and other niches will be included in the discussion during the final evening of the February series, Managing Dynamic Change in the Beef Cattle Industry. Find more details, and registration information in the November 12, issue #610, of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter.

Forage Focus: Frost Seed to Renovate Pastures - Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County

Frost seeding is one method that producers can use to renovate pastures and improve pasture quality and/or the species mix within the pasture. Frost seeding involves broadcasting seed over a pasture area and letting the natural freeze/thaw cycles of late winter and early spring help to move the seed into good contact with the soil. A basic requirement for frost seeding success is to make sure that the sod cover has been opened up, that is, that there is not so much growth present that the broadcast seed will not be able to come into contact with bare soil. Generally, a pasture is prepared for frost seeding by grazing it down hard, although some light tillage or a close mowing could also be used.

Another twist to frost seeding that sheep producers can use to their advantage is to combine frost seeding with hoof action. Under this seeding scenario, let your animals begin to graze the paddock that is to be frost seeded in early March. Let the animals graze down the forage, scuff up the soil and open up bare areas in the sod. At this point, broadcast the forage seed across the paddock. Keep the sheep in the paddock another couple of days and let them continue to graze and trample or hoof in the seed. This method seems to work best with sheep because they don't trample in the seed too deep as could happen with cattle.

In general, legumes work better for frost seeding as compared to grasses. This might be because legume seeds are typically heavier than grass seed and that may help them get down to the soil level better than grass seed. The advantage to frost seeding a legume such as red or white clover is that legumes "fix" nitrogen typically in excess of their own needs. The existing grass plants use the excess nitrogen, which improves their quality as a feedstuff. Once legumes become established in a stand of pasture grass and compose 25 to 30 % of the stand, there is no need to apply supplemental nitrogen so this portion of fertilizer costs is reduced.

Red clover is probably the most widely used forage species when it comes to frost seeding. Red clover has high seedling vigor, is tolerant of a range of soil pH and fertility conditions, and tolerates drought better than white clover. Red clover produces its heaviest growth during the summer months. Red clover is known as a short-lived perennial, typically persisting in a stand for only a couple of years. Thus, many producers find themselves frost-seeding red clover every couple of years back into the same pasture. However, work is underway to improve red clover longevity and there are a couple of varieties on the market that in OSU trials have high yields and stand percentages of around 60% or greater after 4 years. This seed is higher in cost than some of the more common shorter-lived red clovers, but may be worth it to some producers in some pasture situations.

After red clover, the next most popular legume that I see being used for frost seeding is white clover. White clover is a perennial clover and begins its production in the cooler spring weather. The older varieties of white clover are known as low growing or prostrate type of growth. This means that in order for the white clover to thrive, grass must be grazed down shorter so that light can get down to the white clover. However many seed companies now have newer, improved varieties that are more upright growing and compete better with grasses.

Other legumes that also are used for frost seeding purposes include alfalfa and birdsfoot trefoil. Alfalfa has also been tried as a frost seeded legume with variable results. Alfalfa has higher fertility requirements than clovers or birdsfoot trefoil and it also requires a soil pH above 6.5 for best establishment results. Some producers like a combination of red clover and birdsfoot trefoil in their frost seeding mix. Birdsfoot trefoil is a persistent perennial once established, but can be slow to establish, often not showing up in a stand until the second year after frost seeding. This works well for most common varieties of red clover as they begin to decline after the second year in a stand.

Another legume that is starting to receive more interest for pasture and frost seeding use is annual lespedeza, especially in the southern third of Ohio. Annual lespedeza is a non-bloating legume that is drought tolerant. Although annual lespedeza will tolerate acidic soils (pH 5.0 to 5.5) and low phosphorous level soils, it will also respond to applications of lime, phosphorous and potassium. Applications of nitrogen will decrease lespedeza yields. Lespedeza is a warm season forage that can be used to fill in the "summer slump" period that cool season grasses experience. Expect growth of annual lespedeza to kick in during July and August. Do not graze after early September to allow sufficient seed production for stand regeneration. I know of one beef producer in Athens County who frost seeded lespedeza into his pasture several years ago and he was very pleased with its performance during the summer's drought. However, I did some frost seeding trials with lespedeza on 4 different farms a few years ago and didn't have much success. My experience was that the seed was light, more similar to a grass seed, and I don't think good seed to soil contact was established, even though the pastures had been grazed down tight and there were areas of soil showing. This might be the case where the seed should be broadcast and then let animals continue to graze for a couple days to use some hoof action to get better seed to soil contact.

As a final note, remember that when seeding a legume that has not been grown in the pasture for a number of years, it is a good idea to include the proper bacterial inoculum with the seed to insure that the bacteria responsible for fixing nitrogen becomes associated with the plant roots.

Grasses do not generally work as well as legumes to establish through frost seeding, although in some of those pasture fields that have been trampled and beat down, the possibility for success should be greater than in conditions of a thicker sod. Frost seeding trials have indicated that perennial and annual ryegrass is probably the best choice for frost seeding followed by orchardgrass. My preference, given the increased seed prices we have seen in the past couple of years, would be to stay away from frost seeding grass seed and use a no-till drill as the preferred seeding method.

Once the decision has been made to frost seed and the forage species selected, the producer must think about timing and seeding rate. Generally, from mid-February through the end of March is a good time to frost seed. Of course, if there is a good snow cover on a hillside that you desire to frost seed, you may want to wait until the snow has melted or your seed may all end up being carried down the hill. Recommended frost seeding rates by species is included in the following table:

Researchers have played around with frost seeding rates and found that by doubling these rates plants per square foot can be increased in the stand; however, the number of plants established as a percentage of the seeding rate was actually slightly lower than what resulted from these recommended rates. For the average producer, these rates are probably the most economical, but there may be situations that warrant higher seeding rates. For example, where the existing grass sod has not been grazed down or opened up, higher frost seeding rates may be necessary to insure that at least some of the seed makes it down to soil level.

Frost seeding is a low-cost seeding method that can allow the sheep producer to renovate pastures by increasing the legume content of the pasture and moving some improved genetics into the pasture mix. The end result can be a more productive, higher yielding pasture that requires less synthetic nitrogen inputs.

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

USDA's World Agriculture Supply Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was released January 12 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The numbers are bearish. Corn and soybean ending stocks were raised; demand for corn was lowered in every way; a small increase in soybean demand was mildly supportive; and all markets I report on except for Feeder Cattle took a blow on the 12th. Crude oil prices plunged nearly 8% on lowered demand expectations while a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on prices. When the dollar is stronger the market trades expectations exports will be hurt. Commodity prices were not expected to fall this much even as many analysts expected bearish USDA WASDE numbers. A gloomy economy and last Friday's report by the FED that the U.S. unemployment rate was the highest it's been in 16 years influenced trading to lower-than-expected levels.

CORN futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed limit down on Monday. MAR'09 corn futures closed at $3.806/bu; off 30.0¢/bu and 30.75¢/bu lower than last week. The March contract was trading synthetically at $3.73/bu. A contract trades synthetically when a combination of puts and calls mimics the payout of the actual futures contract. A synthetic long futures contract is created by combining long calls and short puts. A synthetic short futures contract is created by combining short calls and long puts. In order for both combinations to be identical to a futures position, the options must have the same expiry dates and strike prices. Traders use this sophisticated strategy sometimes to avoid margin calls in a very volatile market. The JULY'09 contract closed at $4.014/bu; off 30.0¢/bu and 20.0¢/bu lower than a week ago. New corn trading limits will be 45.0¢/bu on Tuesday's opening bell and will revert back to the standard 30.0¢/bu when no contract month closes at an expanded limit bid or offer. The bearish USDA report was the main culprit as profits were taken amid a skittish market and recent price momentum built mostly technical signals vs. phantom fundamental strength. USDA raised U.S. corn production 81 mi bu to 12.101 bi bu, well above expectations of 11.975 bi bu. Corn ending stocks were raised 316 mi bu to 1.79 bi bu. Total use was lowered 235 mi bu to 11.95 bi bu while the average farmer selling price was lowered 10.0¢/bu on both sides of the range to between $3.55/bu-$4.25/bu. All demand categories for corn were lowered especially noting decreased ethanol use by 100 mi bu to 3.6 bi bu. Exports were lowered by 50 mi bu to 1.75 bi bu. Since the numbers were more bearish than expected the market turned limit down. Exports were also disappointing with USDA placing corn-inspected-for-export at 20.013 mi bu vs. expectations between 24-29 mi bu. Dry weather in Argentina's corn region was mildly supportive. Funds sold 4,000 lots in a get-out-of-dodge attitude as large speculators decreased net bear positions for the week ended January 6th. Cash corn in the U.S. Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic States was mostly steady amid slow farmer selling after the market opened. Sales were brisk ahead of open outcry trading but pretty much shut down by mid-morning on falling futures. Last week's advice was to sell up to 35% of any un-priced corn in the bin. Hold off on pricing any more of the 2009 crop.

LIVE CATTLE futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) were down on Monday. FEB'09LC futures closed down $0.200/cwt at $82.900/cwt; $4.65/cwt lower than last week. The APR'09LC contract closed at $86.5/cwt; off $0.325/cwt and $3.90/cwt lower than a week ago. Worries about the weakening economy and lower cash prices last week burdened the market. Fund spreading in April/February futures pulled support out from under the February contract. The USDA 5-area price on Monday was placed at $83.76/cwt; $2.46/cwt lower than last Monday. Low packer margins pressured cash cattle. According to HedgersEdge.com, the average packer margin was raised $13.85/head from last report to a negative $17.10/head based on the average buy of $85.54/cwt vs. the average breakeven of $84.22/cwt. Odd as it sounds, lower corn prices pressured deferreds because, according to two floor sources, traders thought that lower corn prices would spur cattle production. And of course, a higher U.S. dollar put the brakes on prices as well. USDA put the choice boxed beef price at $147.09/cwt; up $1.61/cwt. It might be a good idea to price short-term feed inputs at this time. Sell cattle when ready.

FEEDER CATTLE at the CME closed up on Monday, being the only bright spot in commodities. JAN'09FC futures finished at $95.200/cwt, up $1.10/cwt but $1.800/cwt lower than last week. The MAR'09FC contract settled at $93.325/cwt; up $0.650/cwt but $3.400/cwt lower than last Monday. Feeders found support in buy stops and corn's weakness. Technically, traders put together January/March bull spreads (buying January futures and selling March futures). A bear spread is the opposite, selling the nearby and purchasing a deferred contract. Bull spreading limited gains in the March contract while supporting the January. Cash feeders in Oklahoma City were up $4-$7/cwt last week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for January 8 was placed at $96.52/cwt, up $0.09/cwt. If you need feed in this cold weather now is the time to price about 2 months worth.

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