I think it is safe to say that everyone’s workload has dramatically increased with the change to springtime temperatures. Most producers have begun field operations in preparation for spring planting. Our pastures have initiated their early-season growth, and the gates have been opened to begin the grazing season.
The warmer weather also gives an opportunity to tackle those outside projects that you were putting off during those weeks of freezing temperatures and snow-covered ground. I want to use this week’s column to provide a few reminders of tasks to get accomplished in the near future.
Mineral Supplementation and Fly Control
I know everyone is on their own production schedule, but many of you have finished your winter lambing and calving season. As you have turned your animals out to pasture, our beef cattle producers will also be thinking about turning the bulls out for the breeding season. We are always happy to stop feeding hay and allow our animals to harvest their own feed through grazing. The lush pastures will provide excellent nutrition, but there are some early-season risks. Those would be grass tetany and bloat. The health concerns from both of these conditions can be reduced through your mineral supplementation program. High magnesium mineral supplements can reduce the chance of grass tetany. Many of these early-season mineral supplements will also contain a surfactant to reduce the incidence of bloat from high legume pastures.
We can also use these minerals to help with our summer fly control program. The fly species that harass livestock reproduce in the animal’s manure. There are “pass-through” larvicides that can be included in your mineral supplement that will keep the fly larvae from developing once the eggs have hatched in the manure. Regardless of what you want to include in your mineral supplement, they don’t work overnight. You will need to plan ahead. Some need at least 30 days to get concentrations high enough to be effective, and 90 days is even better. The earlier you can make your mineral change the better.
Breeding Soundness Exams for Bulls
As I previously mentioned, many of our spring calving beef herds will begin the breeding season in the next month. In preparation, it is important to have your herd bulls evaluated by your veterinarian. Your vet will not only perform a physical exam to ensure that he hasn’t sustained any injuries in the off season and they will also evaluate a sample to check his fertility. A breeding soundness exam can give you confidence that they will be ready when you turn them out with your cows. You should also take this time to body condition score your bulls to make sure they are in the right shape to handle the workload of the breeding season. Bulls that are under-conditioned or over-conditioned can result in open cows. Ideally, they are a body condition score of 6 or 7.
Getting a Jump on Weeds
Just as our grasses have greened up, so have the weeds. In a pasture situation, most of the time, a healthy forage stand will limit the weed pressure you see later in the year. Even with the best grazing management, you can have difficulty controlling weeds with your animals. Weeds are often unpalatable, and your livestock will avoid eating them until that is the only thing left. This would require you to keep your animals on an individual paddock longer than what we would recommend. You can choose a herbicide application, but most often, mowing can be just as effective. After you have rotated your animals to a new pasture, clip the weeds down to the grazed height to allow the grass to compete with the weeds. If you choose to chemically control the weeds, remember to spray them early. The young plants will be more susceptible to the herbicide, and you can have better control than with an application at flowering.
The OSU Extension and the Department of Animal Science are actively recruiting participants for two research studies. The first focuses on heat abatement strategies for dairies. The study is directed by Dr. Grazyne Tresoldi, Assistant Professor of Animal Welfare, and is looking for operations that house 400 or more lactating cows in freestalls. Participants will be asked to participate in a 30-minute interview with the research team and allow observation of their heat abatement practices, production records, and cow comfort measures. In return, participants will receive a free heat stress evaluation of their operation. Interested farms can contact Dr. Tresoldi at tresoldi.3@osu.edu.
The second project is a survey of soil nitrogen being coordinated by the OSU Extension. This is a statewide project where we are observing soil nitrogen throughout the growing season. There is no cost or time commitment to the producer. We are asking for each participant to identify a field that will be planted to corn where we can take soil samples to be analyzed for available nitrogen at three times during the year: Pre-sidedress, at harvest/blacklayer, and the following spring prior to any field operations. Interested participants can contact John at the OSU Extension office in Wayne County for more information or to enroll (yost.77@osu.edu).
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Spring is here, and so is the work
Reporting by John Yost/Wayne County Extension, Wooster Daily Record / The Daily Record
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