From the Ground Up. Robert Amburgey. Bath County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS:

Transcription

1 From the Ground Up Bath County Agricultural Newsletter MARCH 2019 Robert Amburgey Cooperative Extension Service Bath County 2914 E. Hwy 60 Owingsville, KY (606) Fax: (606) bath.ca.uky.edu LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: BATH COUNTY AGRICULTURE Bath County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS: March 19 CAIP Producer Information Meeting Bath Ag Center 6:00 March 19 Beef Cattle Update (Meets Education Requirement for CAIP) after CAIP meeting March 21 PBPT (Vegetable GAP) Training Bath County Extension 6:00 p.m. March 25 Backyard Poultry Meeting Bath County Ag Center 6:00 p.m. March 28 Regional Farmer s Market Producer Meeting 6:00 Morehead State Farm Vegetable producers who are wanting to serve raw/uncooked vegetable samples at the farmer s market must be PBPT certified to do so. The Bath County Extension office will host a multi-county PBPT training on March 21 at 6:00 to provide you the opportunity to become certified. You will receive a certificate of completion. Anyone selling fresh produce should consider attending this training as a way to help prevent the spread of illness from the handling of fresh produce. We will have snacks that evening.

2 Bath, Menifee and Montgomery County Extension Offices will be hosting a Backyard Poultry Production program in March. The program will be held on March 25th at the Bath County Extension Office. The March 25th meeting will cover poultry disease, pest control and egg production. The program begins at 6:00 p.m. and light refreshments will be provided. (CAIP qualifying meeting) Please RSVP to the Bath County Extension Office if you would like to participate in this program. RSVP to

3 RSVP BY CALLING Bath County will be participating with other counties in our District to offer a regional Farmer s Market vendor meeting. The program will be held at the Morehead State University Farm. The address on the flyer above. The program will begin at 5:30 and dinner will be provided. If you plan to attend the meting, please RSVP to the Bath County Extension Office at no later than Tuesday, March 26th. If you have any questions, please give me a call. BRING YOUR SCALES KDA WILL BE ON SITE TO CHECK THEM

4 Eight Reasons To Test Your Soil Source: Frank Sikora, UK soil testing coordinator Soil testing can tell you many things about your soil that can help you make informed decisions about fertilizer application, site selection for crops and so much more. It is an essential part of a successful agriculture or horticulture enterprise. Home gardens and lawns can also greatly benefit from soil testing. With the wet pattern Kentucky has been in over the past year, soil testing is paramount to having a quality hay supply for next winter. There s really no reason not to test your soil since your local office of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service makes it simple. So, let s get to it. Why should you test your soil? Know the ph level of your soil. Soil experts will make different recommendations depending on the acidity or alkalinity of your soil and your intended use. Save time and money. Having the proper levels of soil nutrients will help maximize economic yields. Soil testing also reduces the chance of over-applying and over purchasing fertilizers. It s good for the environment. Soil testing results in a more accurate application of fertilizers and that ultimately reduces runoff into waterways. They are not expensive. The Bath county office charges an $8.00 to cover soil analysis costs. It is easy. Taking samples doesn t take a lot of time or skill, and your county agents can help you along the way. Find out the fertility level of the soil. You gain knowledge about the soil condition and can make informed decisions about how to improve it. Follow soil changes over time. Follow how conditions like drought, prolonged wet periods and other weather scenarios affect the soil. Identify problem areas in your field or garden. You ll need to take different samples for various land uses such as agricultural, fields, lawns, gardens, fruit trees, shrubs and flowers because they all have distinct fertility and ph requirements.

5 Managing Limited Hay Supplies Source: Jeff Lehmkuhler, Extension Beef Specialist Having a limited hay supply can cause stress, but sound management will allow you to conserve hay without sacrificing animal productivity. Remember that the animals nutritional needs should always come first. Here are a few tips to help you figure it out. Determine your hay needs. If you know the mature weights of your cows, multiply the average weight by 3 percent and then by the expected number of days you will feed hay. If a cow at a body condition score of 5 weighs 1,300 pounds, it needs 39 pounds of hay per day. That cow needs about 5,850 pounds of hay for a five-month period. If bales provide 800 pounds of good forage (excluding rot/spoiled hay), you would need 7.3 bales for one cow. Always add percent more to cover feeding losses, spoilage and longer feeding periods. Ideally, you took inventory of your hay in the early winter as hay is cheaper at the start of the winter as opposed to later. Match hay quality to what your animals need. Use limited forage wisely by matching quality to stage of production. Growing and lactating animals have the highest nutritional needs. As we consider the annual production of a beef cow, nutritionally we tend to break them out to late gestation, early lactation, late lactation, and the dry, mid-gestation period. During late gestation, particularly the last days before calving, the fetus grows rapidly, increasing the nutrient needs of the cow. Additionally, mammary tissue development and colostrum formation require additional nutrients. Nutritional requirements increase with milk production. Peak milk production occurs around eight weeks post-calving and corresponds with the highest nutritional needs during the production year. Nutritional needs may decrease after peak as milk production declines. However, some research has shown that cows may sustain high levels of milk production 120 days post-calving. It is important to monitor cow body condition through lactation and make necessary feeding adjustments. Fall calving beef cows may require additional supplementation to support higher milk production levels.

6 Feed the highest quality forage during lactation to minimize body condition loss and supplementation needs. As you wean cows and milk production ceases, nutritional needs greatly decrease. Dry, nonlactating cows that have weaned 6-8-month-old calves should be in the second trimester of gestation. The nutritional needs to support fetal development at this point is low and corresponds to the lowest nutritional requirements for the production year. Use lower quality forages to conserve higher quality forages for other phases of production. You can stretch limited hay stores if you can limit the amount of time cows have access to the hay. You can only do this for mature cows that are in the dry, mid-gestational stage of production and are 5-6 body condition scores. Young and thin cows need additional feed to grow and replenish body stores and should not have their feed limited. Don t restrict low-quality forage. Cows will need to consume as much low-quality forage as they can due to the low digestibility and low nutrient concentrations. To do this, separate the herd by age and production as lactating cows, late gestational and young or thin cows Reducing feed loss is key. Research demonstrated increased losses when unrolling hay on the ground. Cows trample hay into the mud by walking and laying on it. Defecation and urination will prevent intake as well. If you are using a processor and want to minimize losses, place processed hay in a feeder or bunk rather than on the ground. Hay rings should have sheeting around the bottom to minimize hay losses. Improved designs that keep bales elevated off the ground while allowing dropped hay to fall within the hay feeder also lower feeding losses. These feeders are more expensive up front but if hay is expensive, they can lower feeding costs. It is important these hay feeders are managed. If hay builds up inside the feeder and the cattle don t consume the hay due to rot or mold, move the hay ring. If the hay is not of low quality, allow animals to consume the hay that is lying on the ground within the ring before placing a new bale in the feeder. Allowing the hay to build up to the top of the ring/sheeting/tire in these newer designs will increase losses when a new bale is offered as hay will fall out over the edge of the ring or tire. Placing hay rings on a feeding pad can lower losses from hay that falls outside the ring on the ground.

7 Consider replacing hay with other feedstuffs to supply necessary nutrients. Use caution when restricting hay; the rumen will not be full. Stretch receptors on the rumen will cause cows to eat even though nutritionally, they won t need to eat. This can lead to tree and fence damage or even cows getting out looking for something to eat. Giving access to low-quality forage can curb this behavior. You can use corn stover, wheat straw and other low-quality forages. Typical fescue hay contains percent of total digestible nutrients and 7-9 percent protein on a dry matter basis. If you offer 1 pound of dried distillers grains, the protein is equal to 3-4 pounds of hay, while the energy from the distillers grains would replace 1.75 pounds of hay. For dry, gestating cows, you can use soybean hulls to replace average grass hay at a rate of 1.5 pounds of soyhulls per pound of hay. Always offer cows at least 8-10 pounds of long-stemmed forage to maintain rumen health and lower the incidence of bloat. Be sure to work with a nutritionist to ensure you are meeting the cows nutrient needs and lessening the risk of digestive disorders. Don t overlook other nutrients. A beef cow may need gallons of water a day. Restricting water availability leads to lower feed intake and reduced milk production. Always provide a high-quality loose mineral to meet mineral and vitamin requirements. Consider supplementing an ionophore such as monensin or lasalocid to improve energy efficiency.

8 Timely Tips Spring-Calving Cows Observe spring-calving cows closely. Check cows at least twice daily and first-calf heifers more frequently than that. Be ready to assist those not making progress after 1 to 2 hours of hard labor. Chilled calves should be dried and warmed as soon as possible. See that each calf gets colostrum within an hour of birth, or administer colostrum (or a commercial colostrum replacement) with an esophageal feeder, if needed. Identify calves with eartags and/or tattoos while calves are young and easy to handle and record birthdate and Dam ID. Commercial male calves should be castrated and implanted as soon as possible. Registered calves should be weighed in the first 24 hours. Separate cows that have calved and increase their feed. Energy supplementation to cows receiving hay is necessary to prepare them for rebreeding. For example, a 1250 lb cow giving 25 lb/day of milk would need about 25 lb of fescue hay and 5 lb of concentrate daily to maintain condition. If you need to go from a condition score of 4 to 5, you will need to add about 2 more lb of concentrate. Cows must be in good condition to conceive early in the upcoming breeding season. Watch for calf scours! If scours become a problem, move cows which have not calved to a clean pasture. Be prepared to give fluids to scouring calves that become dehydrated. Consult your veterinarian for advice and send fecal samples to diagnostic lab to determine which drug therapy will be most effective. Try to avoid feeding hay in excessively muddy areas to avoid contamination of the dams udders. Continue grass tetany prevention. Be sure that the mineral mix contains high levels (~15%) of magnesium and that cows consume adequate amounts. You can feed the UK Beef IRM High Magnesium mineral. Plan to vaccinate calves for clostridial diseases (Blackleg, Malignant Edema) as soon as possible. You might choose to do this at the prebreeding working in late April or early May. Obtain yearling measurements on bulls and heifers this month (weight, height, pelvic area, scrotal circumference, ultrasound data, etc.) if needed for special sales. Heifers should be on target to be cycling by the start of the breeding season. Prepare bulls for the breeding season. Increase feed if necessary to have bulls in adequate condition for breeding. Obtain Breeding Soundness Evaluation (BSE) on bulls, even if they were checked last breeding season. Finalize plans for your spring breeding program. Purchase new bulls at least 30 days before the breeding. Order semen now, if using artificial insemination.

9 Fall-Calving Cows Bull(s) should be away from the cows now! Plan to pregnancy check cows soon. You can also blood test for pregnancy as early as 30 days after bull removal. Creep feed calves with grain, by-products or high quality forage. Calves will not make satisfactory gains on the dam s milk alone after about 4 mos. of age since there isn t much pasture in March, fall calves need supplemental nutrition. Consider creep grazing on wheat pasture, if available. Calves can also be early-weaned. At the best least, be sure that feed bunks are low enough that calves can eat with the cows. Calves intended for feeders should be implanted. Consider adding weight and selling your fall calves as heavy feeder calves. Keep them gaining! General Repair fences, equipment and handling facilities. If you have a dry, sunny day, use chain-link harrow to spread manure in areas where cattle have overwintered. This may be done in conjunction with renovation. Renovation and fertilization of pastures should be completed. Start thistle control. They can be a severe problem in Kentucky pastures. Chemical control must be done early to be effective. Watch for lice and treat if needed.

10