OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MONROE COUNTY

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1 OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MONROE COUNTY Ag Update Fall 2016 Dear Farm Manager, Autumn and harvest season is upon us. The beautiful Fall colors are really appearing in trees and shrubs this year. Several factors influence autumn leaf color. Pigments in the leaf, length of night, and weather all have a part, but the timing of color change and leaf drop is primarily regulated by the increasing length of darkness. Other environmental influences such as temperature, rainfall, food supply, and so on vary more than the steadily increasing length of darkness during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature's autumn beauty. Inside this issue: Dates to Remember 2 Lice on Cattle 2 Frost & Forage Toxicity 3 Lime Considerations 4 Fall Nutrient Applications 5 Padocks with Oak Trees 6 A reminder about Safety - This time of year brings a lot of work to finish getting crops harvested and jobs done before winter. Safety during this period is critical to remember. Long hours sometimes tempt us to take shortcuts or hurry trying to finish a little quicker, but many times this is when accidents occur. Keep safety in mind as you and/or your family members or employees work to bring in this year s harvest. Feeder Calf Banquet - The Barnesville Area Feeder Calf Association will hold its annual dinner banquet Thursday, November, 10 th at St. John s Hall near Miltonsburg. Guest speaker will be Dr. Stephen Boyles, Ohio State University Extension, Beef Specialist. The community is invited, for reservations contact Betty Ward at before November 5 th. I hope the information included in this newsletter will help you in your farm operation Financial Tax Planning Hydroponics 6 Insert Sincerely, Mark A. Landefeld Extension Educator, Agriculture & Natural Resources Monroe County, Buckeye Hills EERA Landefeld.6@osu.edu OSU Extension, Monroe County 101 N. Main St., Room 17 Woodsfield, OH Phone: Fax:

2 Dates to Remember Page 2 Nov. 8 Nov. 10 Ohio Valley Cattlemen Cow Sale at Barnesville Livestock Sale Barn Feeder Calf Association Banquet at Miltonsburg Nov. 11 Holiday Veterans Day Office Closed Nov Thanksgiving Office Closed Nov. 28 Ohio Deer Gun Season Begins Nov. 30 Hydroponics Class in Barnesville See enclosed flyer Lice on Cattle By Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension Educator, Wayne County If lice are going to be a problem, winter is the time when they will show up. In Ohio, cattle can become infested with both biting and sucking lice. Both types of lice can build up to very high numbers on cattle during the winter months. In most herds, 1-2% of the animals may be carriers, most often bulls and/or older animals. During the summer months the thin hair coat of the animal permits self-grooming, sunshine, and rain to keep lice populations at low levels. However as hair coats thicken in the late fall into winter period, it becomes easier for the lice to survive and thrive. Winter stress and inadequate nutrition are contributing factors to a lice problem on cattle. Lice are spread between animals by direct contact and lice problems are typically more severe when cattle are in a confinement situation. The lifecycle of the louse is egg, nymph and adult. Depending upon the species and the environmental conditions, a complete life cycle from egg to egg can occur in 21 to 30 days. Once cattle are infested, all 3 life stages will be found on the same animal. Signs that cattle may be suffering from a lice include frequent rubbing and scratching against fences, trees, feed bunks or other objects. In more severe cases, cattle may have patches of bare skin. Cattle can be checked for the presence of lice by parting the hair coat at several strategic locations such as the neck, withers, brisket, mid-back and tail head and looking for eggs, nymphs or adult lice. Common control options for lice include insecticide sprays, pour-ons, spot-ons, injections and dusts. Insecticides generally are not effective on the egg stage, so if there is a lice infestation a second insecticide treatment about 3 weeks after the first treatment should be made to kill newly hatched lice before they mature. There is one consideration that needs to be kept in mind when treating for lice and that is cattle grubs. Check the labels of insecticides. Some systemic insecticides are also labeled as grubicides and will warn of possible harmful host/ parasite reactions which can cause paralysis of the animal when used after the safe cut-off date. In Ohio, the cut-off date to use an insecticide that kills grubs in cattle is November 1. Grubicides should not be used from November 1 through December. After January 1, grub larvae have migrated from the spinal canal, or esophagus, and usually encyst in the back region. At this point, cattle can be treated with a grubicide that will also control lice with a very minimal risk of a host/parasite reaction. If lice need to be treated during the November and December time period, make sure that a non-systemic, non-grubicide type of insecticide is used. Some of the pyrethroid insecticides that contain cyfluthrin, lambdacyhalothrin or permethrin may be labeled for lice control at any time through the autumn and winter periods. Always read and follow label directions.

3 Page 3 Frost and Forage Toxicity By: Marc Sulc, OSU Extension Forage Specialist Fall is in the air and Jack Frost will strike sooner or later. When he does, questions always arise concerning the dangers of feeding frosted forages. A very few forage species can be extremely toxic soon after a frost. The warm-season annual grasses in the sorghum family and other closely related species are capable of becoming toxic to livestock after a frost event. Those species contain compounds called cyanogenic glucosides that convert quickly to prussic acid in freeze-damaged plant tissue. Prussic acid is also known as hydrogen cyanide the very substance of murder mysteries! The potential toxicity after frost varies by species. Sudangrass varieties are low to intermediate in cyanide poisoning potential, sudangrass hybrids are intermediate, sorghum-sudangrass hybrids and forage sorghums are intermediate to high, and grain sorghum is high to very high and is most likely to be toxic after a frost. Piper sudangrass has low prussic acid poisoning potential. Pearl millet and foxtail millet have very low levels of cyanogenic glucosides and rarely cause toxicity. Other species that have potential to have toxic levels of prussic acid after frost are Johnsongrass, chokecherry, black cherry, indiangrass, elderberry, and some varieties of birdsfoot trefoil. Animal Symptoms of Prussic Acid Poisoning Animals can die within minutes if they consume forages such as the sorghum species that contain high concentrations of prussic acid in the plant tissue. The prussic acid is released from the forage and interferes with oxygen transfer in the blood stream of the animal, causing it to die of asphyxiation. Before death, symptoms include excess salivation, difficult breathing, staggering, convulsions, and collapse. Ruminants are more susceptible to prussic acid poisoning than horses or swine because cud chewing and rumen bacteria help release the cyanide from plant tissue. Factors That Increase Prussic Acid Toxicity Plants growing under high nitrogen levels or in soils deficient in phosphorus or potassium will be more likely to have high cyanide poisoning potential. After frost damage, cyanide levels will likely be higher in fresh forage as compared with silage or hay. This is because cyanide is a gas and dissipates as the forage is wilted and dried for making silage or dry hay. Young, rapidly growing plants of species that containing cyanogenic glucosides will have the highest levels of prussic acid. After a frost, cyanide is more concentrated in young leaves than in old leaves or stems. New growth of sorghum species following frost is dangerously high in cyanide. When sorghum species regrow after a drought, the new growth is also dangerously high in cyanide. Pure stands of indiangrass (not common in Ohio and nearby regions) can have lethal levels of cyanide if they are grazed when the plants are less than 8 inches tall. Grazing Precautions The following guidelines will help you avoid danger to your livestock this fall when feeding species with prussic acid poisoning potential: Do not graze on nights when frost is likely. High levels of the toxic compounds are produced within hours after a frost. Do not graze after a killing frost until plants are dry, which usually takes 5 to 7 days. After a non-killing frost, do not allow animals to graze for two weeks because the plants usually Continued, Page 7

4 Lime Considerations Page 4 Ed Lentz, Extension Educator Hancock County Fall is an excellent time to test soil ph and determine whether any lime needs to be applied for future crops. Proper soil ph is important for nutrient availability, herbicide activity, and crop development. For most soils, additional lime is not needed every year. Consider these points before liming your fields: Do I need lime? Each year we hear stories of people adding lime to their fields without a soil test. The grower has a source of free waste-product lime that they pick up and apply to their fields. In many cases their soil ph was fine, but they did not want to pass up a "good deal". Without knowing the soil ph, a grower may inadvertently raise their soil ph to the high 7's. At this elevated ph, certain nutrients may become limited and the productivity of their crop may be reduced and require special management practices. Northwest Ohio has the greatest risk of elevating soil ph from careless applications of lime. A soil analysis is the best step to determine if a field needs lime. What is the ph of my subsoil? Generally a laboratory recommends lime when the soil ph drops two to three units below the desired value. The desired value depends upon the crop and the ph of the subsoil. In parts of Ohio where the subsoil ph is less than 6.0 for mineral soils(eastern Ohio), additional lime is recommended after the soil ph drops to 6.2 for corn and soybean, and 6.5 for alfalfa. In other parts of the state (generally western Ohio), the subsoil ph for mineral soils is greater than 6.0 and lime is not needed until the soil ph drops below 6.0 for corn and soybeans, and 6.2 for alfalfa. Private laboratories may not take in account the subsoil ph and use recommendations based on a subsoil ph less than 6.0 for all parts of the state, possibly recommending lime applications several years earlier than needed for some areas. What is the Effective Neutralizing Power of my lime source? An important item from a lime analysis report is the Effective Neutralizing Power (ENP) value, which is required for material sold as lime for agricultural purposes in Ohio. This value allows a producer to compare the quality among lime sources because ENP considers the purity, neutralizing power (including fine- ness) and moisture content. In other words, the ENP tells you how much of that ton of lime actually neutralizes soil acidity. The unit for ENP is pounds/ton (be careful not to use% ENP, which may also be on a lime analysis report). The ENP allows a producer to compare different lime sources because they can now determine price per pound or ton of actual neutralizing material. Should I use hi cal or dolomitic lime? In most situations it does not matter, so a producer can select the least expensive of the two lime sources. Transportation is often the largest cost of a lime material, so generally the closest lime source (quarry) is often the most economical. Several parts of the state are historically low in soil magnesium (eastern and extreme southern Ohio). Adequate soil magnesium is important to reduce the risk of such problems as grass tetany for grazing Continued, Page 6

5 Page 5 Fall Nutrient Applications By: Mark Landefeld, OSU Extension Educator, Agriculture/Natural Resources, Monroe County Fall is an excellent time to correct soil nutrient deficiencies for grass and legume forage crops. Maintaining high-yielding, profitable hay production over a period of years requires careful attention to fertilizer management. Few crops deplete the soil of available phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and other nutrients faster than high yielding forage crops which are removed from the fields. Generally pounds of P and approximately 50 pounds of K are removed for each ton of forage removed. Therefor fall fertilization is an important part of nutrient management, particularly with alfalfa. Soil testing is the only way to accurately assess nutrients that remain in the soil for crops to utilize. Fall is an ideal time to test soils and make amendments if needed. Soil tests provide information about nutrient levels, ph of the soil and the cation exchange capacity of your soil. Testing fields every 3 to 4 years allow the farm manager to make wise use of purchased nutrients to maximize yield of forage crops. Phosphorus, potassium and soil ph can be managed from a long-term prospective. Building and maintaining appropriate ph, P and K levels should be the farm manager s goal if consistently high yields are expected. When applications to correct ph are necessary, aglime may be applied, but it requires time (4 to 6 months) to react with the soil and neutralize acidity. Different forms of liming material are available so selection should be made depending on the amount of magnesium in your soils. Dolomitic lime is generally 12 to15 percent higher in magnesium than calcitic lime. Soil test results are only as good as the sample taken. It is extremely important to provide representative samples of the area to be tested so reliable recommendations may be made. A good sample consists of a minimum cores or slices. Each core or slice should be the same depth (approximately 6 inches) and take the same volume of soil at each site. Samples should be taken using a random zigzag pattern over the entire area, putting samples into a clean plastic container to make one composite sample. After air drying the composite sample at room temperature, thoroughly mix the cores or slices and take about two cups of this soil to wherever you have your testing done. Most University Extension offices can send soil samples to a laboratory for testing or supply information where testing may be done. During sampling, remove top debris or residue from the soil surface before taking the sample. In row crop fields take samples between rows to avoid fertilizer bands. Make separate samples from fields that have received different fertility programs or those where distinguishable differences are noted. Sampling the same time of year provides the most consistent results for a producer when looking at a long term soil fertility program. So, why doesn t everyone apply fertilizers in the fall? There are some situations where fall applications are not the best practice. Sandy soils have higher potential for leaching loss of nutrients. Complete fertilizers with nitrogen included may not be as efficiently used in fall applications as they are in the spring. Areas with steep or sloping soils, if adequate ground cover is not available, may experience erosion causing loss of nutrients possibly adding contaminates to water supplies. Are you planning to add any nutrients to your fields this fall? Do you have up-to-date soil tests to determine the amount of nutrients needed? Now is the time to make preparations. Making fall applications of needed nutrients should result in higher crop yields the following year because fertility will not be limiting and soil acidity will not reduce the crop s ability to use all available nutrients within the soil.

6 Page 6 Lime Considerations. Continued from Page 4 animals. Soil test magnesium levels need to be greater than 50 ppm (100 lb.) for optimal corn, soybean, wheat, and alfalfa production. Often areas low in magnesium also need lime, which has made the application of dolomitic lime an economic solution for both concerns. The ratio between calcium and magnesium is important. Soils should contain more calcium than magnesium. Extensive research has shown that crops yield the same over a wide range of calcium to magnesium ratios and will not affect crop production as long as the calcium to magnesium ratio is larger than 1. High calcium lime should be used in situations where the soil test calcium to magnesium ratio is less than 1, or in other words, the soil magnesium levels are greater than the soil calcium levels. I have not observed any Ohio soil tests where the magnesium levels are above the calcium levels. Also keep in mind that almost all dolomitic lime sources will contain more calcium than magnesium. Unfortunately, some producers have been led to believe that magnesium levels in dolomitic lime may be undesirable. The level of magnesium is unimportant as long as the calcium level is above magnesium. The focus should be selecting lime on its Effective Neutralizing Power (ENP) rather than its calcium level. In summary, make sure you take a soil test to determine if lime is needed, determine if magnesium is needed, know the historic ph of your subsoil, and then use the ENP to select the most cost effective lime material. A soil test every three to four years will determine the lime requirements for your fields. Paddocks with Oak Trees In years when there is an abundant crop of acorns, consumption and poisoning can become a concern in pastured beef cattle, especially rapidly growing calves in the 400 to 700 pound range that might still be out on pastures which have oaks trees in or around them. For more detail on acorn poisoning, see this fact sheet from West Virginia University s Extension veterinarian Sam Barringer: Financial Tax Planning Long-term planning can mean significant savings when it comes time to file returns. Tax experts are up to date with the tax laws affecting businesses and farms. Specialists can address virtually all your concerns and analyze and discuss year-to-date activities, tax saving strategies and the tax consequences of business decisions. They work with you to ensure you are not paying more than you should and to help forecast your end-of-year tax liabilities. Landowners receiving large amounts of revenue because of oil and gas leasing or royalty payments should consult the proper specialists. If you or your family members are in this situation, I encourage you to seek professional financial planning assistance. Income from oil and gas payments is not considered farm income and many deductions farm clientele normally take cannot be used in the same manner. So, if you have or will receive a large payment before the end the year you should talk with the proper advisor(s) soon.

7 Page 7 Frost and Forage Toxicity. Continued from Page 3 contain high concentrations of toxic compounds. New growth may appear at the base of the plant after a non-killing frost. If this occurs, wait for a hard, killing freeze, then wait another 10 to 14 days before grazing the new growth. Don t allow hungry or stressed animals to graze young growth of species with prussic acid potential. Graze or greenchop sudangrass only after it is 18 inches tall. Sorghum-sudangrass should be 30 inches tall before grazing. Never graze immature growth. Do not graze wilted plants or plants with young tillers. Green-chopping the frost-damaged plants will lower the risk compared with grazing directly, because animals be less likely to selectively graze damaged tissue. However, the forage can still be toxic, so feed greenchop with great caution after a frost. Feed greenchopped forage within a few hours, and don t leave greenchopped forage in wagons or feed bunks overnight. Hay and Silage are Safer Prussic acid content in the plant decreases dramatically during the hay drying process and the forage should be safe once baled as dry hay. The forage can be mowed anytime after a frost if you are making hay. It is very rare for dry hay to contain toxic levels of prussic acid. However, if the hay was not properly cured and dried before baling, it should be tested for prussic acid content before feeding to livestock. Forage with prussic acid potential that has undergone silage fermentation is generally safe to feed. To be extra cautious, wait 5 to 7 days after a frost before chopping for silage. If the plants appear to be drying down quickly after a killing frost, it is safe to ensile within a shorter time period after the frost. Delay feeding silage for 8 weeks after ensiling. If the forage likely contained high levels of cyanide at the time of chopping, hazardous levels of cyanide might remain and the silage should be analyzed before feeding. What About Frosted Alfalfa, Clover, and Grasses? Other common forages such as alfalfa, clovers, and cool-season perennial grasses do NOT produce toxic compounds after a frost. There is different concern, however, when grazing alfalfa or clovers after a frost and that is bloat. One or two days after a hard frost, the risk of bloat is higher for animals grazing legumes. The bloat risk is highest with grazing pure legume stands, and least when grazing stands having mostly grass and only low amounts of legumes present. The safest management is to wait a few days after a killing frost before grazing pure legume stands wait until the forage begins to dry from the frost damage. It is also a good idea to make sure animals have some dry hay before being introduced to lush fall pastures that contain significant amounts of legumes.

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10 Non Profit Org. OSU Extension, Monroe County 101 N. Main St., Room 17 Woodsfield, OH U.S. Postage PAID Woodsfield, OH Permit No. 54 This information was provided for you as a result of a local levy that funds the OSU Extension, Monroe County office. Your support of the 0.7 mill levy provides funding for the Monroe County Extension office through December SNAP-Ed program is funded through USDA. Ohio State University Extension, Monroe County Staff: Cheryl Goodrich, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development Mark Landefeld, Extension Educator, Agriculture & Natural Resources and County Director Mary Jo Westfall, Extension Office Associate, Community Development Catelyn Edgel, Program Assistant, 4-H and Agriculture & Natural Resources Jennie Shaw, Extension Office Associate OSU Extension, Monroe County Phone: N. Main St., Room 17 Fax: Woodsfield, OH CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information: