Attend American Forage and Grassland Council Annual Conference

The American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC) Annual Conference is scheduled for Jan. 11-14 at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac near St. Louis, Mo. The conference brings forage producers, researchers and industry representatives from across the country to share forage related research and information. 

Jan. 11 begins with the AFGC board of directors meeting. However, the main conference begins at 8 a.m., on Monday, Jan. 12 with the keynote speaker, Dr. Temple Grandin, a nationally known consultant to the livestock industry, presenting Tips for Low Stress Cattle Handling. Additional topics on Monday include: Hay Preservatives & Additives: Are they Economical?; Keys to Success When Making Baleage; Can I Afford to Spray for Weeds, and other topics. Tuesday, Jan. 13 the agenda includes several workshops on the following topics: Using Cover Crops to Expand Your Livestock Operation; Recent Improvements in Cool Season Grasses; Baleage Fundamentals and Using NIRS as a Tool for Better Forage Management. The conference concludes on Wednesday, Jan. 14 with several sessions focusing on Plant Breeding and NIRS and Forage Quality & Using NIRS Nutrition Results.

The Conference will also include a commercial exhibit area, poster presentations, Emerging Scientist Competition, numerous networking opportunities and other activities.

A complete program agenda and preregistration information is available at http://www.afgc.org/. Early registration is due by Dec. 31 and one-day registrations are available. The AFGC Conference is co-sponsored by the Missouri Forage and Grassland Council and the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council.

AFGC is an international organization comprised of twenty affiliate councils in the United States and Canada with a total individual membership of about 2,500. Their primary objective is to promote the profitable production and sustainable utilization of quality forage and grasslands. Members represent members the academic community, producers, and private industry. Together, they unite in a common cause to promote and develop the forage industry.

Illinois NRCS Announces EQIP Application Deadlines

Illinois State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Ivan Dozier announced that November 21, 2014 and January 16, 2015 will be the two Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) application deadlines. “Producers can sign-up for EQIP at any time throughout the year, but to compete for the upcoming funding periods, I encourage producers with resource concerns to submit an application by one of the application deadlines.” Dozier explains.

Many applicants have shown interest in the funding pool to address soil erosion and water quality issues on cropland. “There are also funding pools for grazing land operations, confined livestock operations, organic producers, and wildlife habitat improvement, just to name a few,” Dozier said.

In addition to conservation practices, EQIP provides funding for the development of plans, such as Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP), Grazing Plans, Drainage Water Management Plans, and others.

Producers interested in EQIP should submit a signed application (NRCS-CPA-1200 form) to the local NRCS field office. Applications that are submitted by November 21, 2014 and January 16, 2015 will be evaluated by NRCS staff. The staff will work with producers to complete worksheets and rankings in order to compete for funding.

For more information on EQIP, contact the local NRCS field office or visit www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.

Finding More Grazing Days

by Travis Meteer, U of I Beef Extension Specialist

The current cattle market can be distracting. Record high prices, while certainly a good thing, can leave many cattlemen in a state of awe and amazement. Instead of getting caught watching high prices this fall, your time will be better spent monitoring the cost side of your cattle business.

Cow-calf producers can significantly reduce costs by extending the grazing season and delaying feeding of purchased feeds. Common sense and research both tell us cattle are most profitable when they are harvesting their own feed. Allowing cattle to graze into late fall and early winter is crucial to reducing costs. Even with lowering commodity prices, grazing is still the cheapest way to feed cows. Stockpiled forages, cover crop forages, and grazing crop residue are all options for extending the grazing season.

Cool season forages, especially fescue, are excellent candidates for stockpiling. While fescue may garner a bad reputation for endophyte issues and poor production in the summer months, fall is a time to shine for fescue. Cool temperatures in the fall negate complications with elevated body temperatures when cattle are consuming endophyte infected fescue. Re-growth in the fall is primarily green leaf tissue and the plant is not putting on seed heads which are a feared, concentrated source of the endophyte.

The stockpiling process starts with designating pastures that will be used for stockpiling. Cattle need to be removed from the selected pastures in early to mid-August. Applying supplemental nitrogen in August has proven beneficial to yields. When pastures were allowed to stockpile until Dec. 1, applying 50 pounds of actual N per acre in early to mid-August can add approximately 25 pounds of DM per pound of N added or 1,250 pounds of DM per acre.

Grazing management will greatly influence the ability to utilize stockpiled forages. Strip grazing is the common and most recommended practice. Strip grazing will allow close to a 70% utilization of the available forage, a 30% improvement over continuous grazing. Stockpiling fescue for 90-100 days will typically yield approximately 2000 lbs. DM per acre. Assuming a 1400 lb. cow eats 3% her body weight in DM, the cow would eat 42 lbs. DM per day. Using strip grazing, an acre of stockpiled fescue could support a cow for 33 days. Adding 50 lbs. of N can gain an extra 21 days of grazing under the same management and stocking rate.  

Illinois is blessed with very fertile farmland. Higher land prices, soil health benefits, and the ability to grow more feed are incentives to add cover crops to a diversified farming operation. Using cover crops following cash crop production for added forage is one of the best opportunities for Illinois cattlemen to lower production costs. There are numerous options for farmers depending on their crop rotation.

A popular choice after corn silage or in idle wheat ground is seeding a mixture of oats and turnips. Two bushel of oats and 4 pounds of turnips per acre will give a nice stand and offer around three to four tons of DM per acre. Annual Ryegrass is another cover crop that needs to be planted in late summer. Yields can be two to four DM tons per acre. Annual Ryegrass will overwinter and will require good management in the spring to achieve termination of the stand. Oats and turnips will winterkill.

Cereal rye, triticale, and mixes including them are good options for producers looking to provide forage possibilities in the early spring. Many will chop and bag these forages prior to planting beans in the spring. Weather can make this challenging; however yields of up to 4 dry tons per acre can be accomplished. As with any crop there will be variation in success depending on seed choice, weather, and management. Start a discussion with your seed dealer and investigate your options for cover crops.

The cost of grazing cornstalks is low; first because the cows graze and harvest their own feed and second, because all costs to produce the plant for grain production are attributed to the row-crop operation. Even with the cost of a temporary fence (which many farmers already have) and water, grazing cornstalks is more economical than feeding hay.

Cattle eat the more digestible and higher protein portions first. Therefore, a good mineral is probably the only supplementation needed for the first month unless the herd includes fall-calving cows or stocker calves.

Grazing stalks can also have benefits for subsequent crops. Cows grazing cornstalks for 60 days will remove approximately 30 to 40 percent of the residue. Residue buildup has been a well-documented problem in many corn-on-corn fields with new hybrids. Cows deposit nutrients in the form of manure back on the field. As they graze, they reduce volunteer corn, considered a weed and a yield-robber in soybean fields.

Using an equation developed at the University of Nebraska, a field that averages 170 bushels per acre yields 2,430 pounds of leaf and husk. Only 50 percent of the 2,430 pounds is available for the animal; the rest is trampled or lost in weathering. Thus, 1,215 pounds of DM husk and leaf per acre are available as feed.

A 1400-pound cow consumes 1,050 pounds of DM per month. At 170 bushels an acre, approximately 1 acre of cornstalks are needed to feed the cow for 30 days. To feed the same cow on cornstalks for 60 days, 1.5 to 2 acres would be needed.

Producers focused on keeping costs low will be the most profitable in 2014. Those profits could be substantial, allowing for updates and further investment into the cattle operation. Historically, the cow-calf business has been a break-even business. Thus, continuing to monitor the cost side will be important. Illinois cattlemen have the opportunity to use stockpiled forages, cover crops, and crop residues to keep cost low to allow large profits in 2014. 

*Previously printed in Illinois Beef magazine

Disaster Funding Still Available for Illinois Cattlemen

After a dispiriting stretch of months and declining pasture and feed resources, things are finally looking up for cattlemen grazing in Illinois. But, it’s not too late to take advantage of the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). With an ongoing sign up, the program helps producers with livestock forage losses associated with drought conditions that were experienced beginning in 2012.

The 2014 Farm Bill makes the LFP a permanent program and provides retroactive authority to cover eligible losses back to Oct. 1, 2011. The LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock on land used specifically for grazing. The grazing losses must be due to a qualifying drought condition during the normal grazing period for the county.

An eligible livestock producer must own or lease pasture physically located in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) or D3 (extreme drought) – almost all counties in Illinois fall under those categories expect for a few counties in the Chicagoland area. Livestock must have been grazed during a normal grazing period for the region and have been owned, purchased or entered into a contract to purchase during the 60 days prior to the beginning date of a qualifying drought.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging producers who have suffered eligible disaster-related losses to act to secure assistance by Sept. 30, 2014, as congressionally mandated payment reductions will take place for producers who have not acted before that date. Livestock producers that have experienced grazing losses since October 2011 and may be eligible for benefits, but have not yet contacted their local FSA office should do so as soon as possible.

The Budget Control Act passed by Congress in 2011 requires USDA to implement reductions of 7.3 percent to the LFP in the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2014. However, producers seeking LFP support who have scheduled appointments with their local FSA office before Oct. 1, even if the appointment occurs after Oct.1, will not see reductions in the amount of disaster relief they receive.

USDA is encouraging producers to register, request an appointment or begin a Livestock Forage Disaster Program application with their county FSA office before Oct. 1, 2014, to lock in the current zero percent sequestration rate. As an additional aid to qualified producers applying for LFP, the FSA has developed an online registration that enables farmers and ranchers to put their names on an electronic list before the deadline to avoid reductions in their disaster assistance. This is an alternative to visiting or contacting the county office. To place a name on the Livestock Forage Disaster Program list online, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/disaster-register.

Producers who already contacted the county office and have an appointment scheduled need do nothing more.

“Almost every beef producer in Illinois that was grazing cattle weighing more than 500 pounds during the drought should be eligible for the LFP,” said Rick Graden, Illinois FSA Executive Officer. “Thus far, more than $2 billion has been paid to U.S. cattlemen through the LFP and, as a permanent program, there is still a chance for producers to receive assistance by the Jan. 30, 2015, application deadline.”

However, with the USDA's most recent announcement, producers need to act fast to reap the program's full benefits.

Bill Graff of Middletown manages owned and rented pasture ground across two counties and utilizes a mob grazing management system for his cow-calf operation. He started the application process for the LFP earlier this summer and was recently approved for payment. He was initially disappointed with the total amount of payment he received due to the carrying capacity numbers set in his region. However, he estimates that with the few hours he spent reviewing his records to collect the necessary application data and the one or two trips made to his county FSA office, the process to receive payment was virtually “pain free” and did not take a lot of time.

“I encourage any beef producer that thinks he might quality for the LFP to visit his county office and go through the process. The people at FSA are good people and want to make sure things get done right so they can get you the assistance you need,” Graff said.

A visit to your county FSA office with your herd inventory numbers and pasture acreage certified will allow staff to fill out and submit an application for assistance. If pasture has not been certified it’s not a problem – a Late Filed Crop Acreage Certification can be filed free of charge. Pasture certification is crucial in the program to determine an operation’s stocking rate. The grazing carrying capacity for a county is established by the Illinois State FSA Committee with assistance from Natural Resources Conservation Service and U of I Extension grazing information.

“I know there are acres out there that producers’ graze that are not considered part of crop land, but can be used to determine the amount of acreage being grazed. For example, if a producer has 100 head of cows on 40 acres of pasture the LFP payment will most likely be reduced for overgrazing. But, there are probably other areas being grazed like timber edges and creek banks that can add acreage for a higher payment,” Graden said.

Once the application is completed, an FSA county committee reviews the paperwork to verify that acreage and animal units correspond.

Joni Bucher of Marietta manages a cow-calf operation with a rotational grazing system under an EQIP contract and enrolled in LFP in May; shortly after the program was made available on Apr. 15. She was pleased with the results – especially thanks to the work she’s done with EQIP. With her pastures already certified through EQIP, Joni was able to prove that pasture conditions have improved since the drought and her operation’s carrying capacity was already outlined in her contract. Bucher went through calving and vaccination records to determine her herd inventory at the time drought status was declared in her county.

“Most beef producers are doing the right thing – taking care of their cattle and their land – and should take advantage of programs that offer assistance for the feed resources lost during the tough times of the drought. Be honest when filling out the application and the process should go smoothly,” Bucher said.

Graden said producers might have applied for assistance earlier this year and were denied due to baling hay on a pasture before grazing. FSA recognized the issue and eliminated that detail from the submission process, so producers should resubmit their application in this instance.

While the deadline isn’t until the end of January, Graden recommends visiting your county office before the end of September as the FSA work load will start increasing with the ARC PLC program.

“Scherrie Giamanco, Illinois FSA State Executive Director appreciates the patience of livestock producers in Illinois with the LFP and encourages cattlemen to take advantage of assistance,” Graden said.

With specific questions about the program, producers should contact their county FSA office.

Workshop and plot tour will highlight growing prairie plants for forage, bioenergy, and conservation

A workshop and plot tour on July 8 in Decatur will provide an opportunity to learn from the experts about growing native warm season grasses for forage or bioenergy and also for environmental benefits including wildlife habitat, clean water, and soil conservation. The workshop will start at noon and conclude at 5 p.m.; the plot tour will start at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.  Attendees are welcome to come to the workshop, the plot tour, or both.

Workshop speakers include Ed Ballard, retired University of Illinois (U of I) Extension Animal Systems Educator, discussing warm season forages; D. K. Lee, U of I Assistant Professor of Crop Sciences, on research to improve bioenergy grasses; and Cristina Negri, Argonne National Laboratory, on sustainable bioenergy landscapes. Carol Williams, University of Wisconsin, will discuss the newly-formed Midwest Conservation Biomass Alliance. The workshop will also include project updates, additional talks on production and use of biomass crops, and a panel of producers discussing their experience with prairie plants grown for forage.

     

The tour of the Prairie for Bioenergy demonstration plots will allow participants to see a variety of warm season grasses and talk to producers, scientists, and educators about use of prairie plants for forage, bioenergy, and conservation. A soil pit will provide a look at the root system of the plants that helped form the fertile prairie soils of Illinois. The Agricultural Watershed Institute (AWI) established these plots on land owned by Caterpillar Inc. and managed by Soy Capital Ag Services.  

The workshop will be held in the National Sequestration Education Center on the campus of Richland Community College. Sign-in and networking will start at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided.

The starting point for the plot tour is a designated area in Caterpillar’s D Parking Lot, which should be entered through the gate on the south side of Hubbard Avenue just east of 27^th Street.  Caterpillar will provide shuttle service to the tour stops.  This event is sponsored by AWI, U of I Extension, and the Illinois Biomass Working Group.

Both the workshop and the plot tour are free and open to the public. Advance registration for the workshop is required to ensure availability of food and printed materials. To register or for further information, call or e-mail Tim McMahon at AWI by July 3 at 217-877-5640 or email tmcmahon@agwatershed.org.  

Every day is Earth Day on the Farm

Hickory Flat Cattle Co. is nestled in the rolling hills of Madison County near Highland. Ted Krauskopf and his family have been raising cattle on this farm since 1995.

“I worked for the steel mill and when I retired I established a cooperator herd with Andras Stock Farm of Manchester. My operation allows me to graze around 40 cows on 90 acres of pasture,” Ted said.

Hickory Flat Cattle Co. sits just 30 miles from St. Louis, so urban encroachment has become an issue. Several years ago, the Krauskopf family made a long-term commitment to preserve part of their farm by placing it in a permanent conservation easement, which forever protects the land from development.

“We’re in a beautiful part of the state and urban sprawl is getting closer. We’re using a management strategy to ensure this farm remains in the family for generations and that the land base is preserved,” he said. 

Ted worked with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to develop a best management practices plan through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). One key aspect of the plan was to put in place systems to protect surface water from access by livestock. This includes installing fencing and more than a mile of water lines.

“There are several environmental challenges in the area that we operate in,” he said. “Our water here falls into the Kaskasia watershed and it’s our responsibility to keep it clean. Our soil is also highly erodible and we’re mindful to improve soil quality.”

The Krauskopf family added new systems for getting water to cattle in pastures where it wasn’t available before. With the new water systems, Hickory Flat Cattle Co. was able to implement a new pasture management program which includes strip grazing.

The operation has, since 2007, significantly upgraded its fencing infrastructure to enable a strip grazing system. This enabled them to make the farm more productive by increasing the grazable land, while growing healthier grasses with stronger roots and improved soil conditions.

“The cattle are grazed on half an acre per day and they don’t spend much time trampling forage because they get fresh grass every day,” he said. “Most people assume strip grazing is time consuming and labor intensive, but it only takes me 20 to 30 minutes a day to take down the fence, give the cattle a new strip of grass, and put the fence back up. My main piece of equipment is a 4-wheeler.”

Krauskopf also credits strip grazing for making it through the summer of 2012 drought without having to feed hay.

The farm’s EQIP plan includes a winter feeding station. This 100 foot long by 35 foot wide structure can hold 60-head of cattle and was initially constructed as a covered facility to feed hay during the winter. Ted said it now serves several purposes including a cattle handling and weaning facility and providing summer shade for cattle comfort.

Dan Steinmann, USDA NRCS district conservationist said, “The Krauskopf’s farm is an excellent example of conservation systems used on pastureland, cropland and flooded bottom land fields. They planned and implemented conservation practices and management tools that go beyond basic resource management.”

Hickory Flat Cattle Co.’s conservation plan has not only helped increase the environmental integrity of the farm, but it also provided a few unintended animal health improvements.

“By keeping cattle out of the pond and by making water more readily available, the overall health of the cows and calves has improved,” Ted said. “We actually pay a water bill for the cows, but the cost is offset by the improved health and higher weaning weights. They aren’t fighting secondary infections picked up by drinking surface water and with cool, fresh water available they drink more during the summer.”

Implementing a conservation plan benefits Ted by cutting down on his work load, inputs, and machinery costs. The cattle have fresh water, green grass and a fence to hold them in – those are their three main objectives.

“We’re very pleased in what we’ve accomplished in the way of our stewardship initiatives,” he said. “I view environmental stewardship as both a gift and a responsibility. I look at the farm and have a sense of gratitude and at the same time I feel a huge responsibility to continue its upkeep to ensure the quality of the land for our use and for those around us.”

Fertilizing Forages Can Add Value in 2014

Beef cattle feeding and care have always been a critical aspect of cattle production in the Midwest. Meeting the most basic needs of livestock – adequate feed for efficient production and well-being – represents the major cost to and activity of producers.

"That makes hay and forage, the basic cattle feed, more valuable today, whether it is standing in the pasture, rolled into a bale or packed into a bunker," said Doug Hanson, ProHarvest Seeds forage seed lead and Illinois Forage and Grassland Council director. "As such, it may deserve greater attention in valuing its costs, and maximizing its use and value."

It is often said that a properly fertilized pasture or hayfield is the cheapest forage you can buy. With current land values and high input costs (seed, fertilizer, diesel fuel) it is important to get the most out of land that has been dedicated to forage production.

Historically, hay and forage have been abundant and inexpensive, but finding 1,200-pound quality round bales for $25 to $30 per bale is no longer an option. With forage values ranging from $120 to over $200 per ton it is important to manage forage production with the same intensity as corn and soybeans.

Pastures

Pastures will increase production with added fertility. Hanson recommends using use 200 pounds of ammonium sulfate in either spring or fall.  

“Mid to late August is the best time to apply ammonium sulfate in Illinois. Spring fertilizing can be done in late February through mid-March, which is around the same time that wheat is being fertilized. This fertilizer will provide around 40 pounds of nitrogen along with some sulfur,” he said. “Legumes will respond to sulfur like grasses respond to nitrogen.”

Ammonium sulfate is often the cheapest source of nitrogen and can be used in the granular or liquid forms depending on availability from your supplier. According to Hanson, encapsulated Urea (ESN) or comparable types of time released products are another good source of nitrogen. He recommends consulting your supplier if you want sulfur mixed in with your ESN.

To maximize pasture forage performance, try a mixture of legumes and grasses.

“Legumes can make up as much as 35 percent of the pasture, but I caution beef producers if grazing at this level.  With legumes, you can increase tonnage, but also the opportunity for bloat,” he said. “I would recommend more in the 20 to 25 percent range with good management.” 

If a pasture is in need of a legume, Hanson recommends adding white clover or red clover seed at the same time as spring fertilization.

“Three to five pounds of a good white clover (not dutch white clover) is more than enough.  If using red clover I would go with eight to 12 pounds,” he said. “A mix of three pounds white and five pounds red is a good way to hedge your opportunity. I have seen years where one type of clover will do better one year and the other type will do better the next.  Therefore, this reduces risk and provides more variety in the pasture.”

It’s important to plant early, and provide good weed control and fertility to increase yield potential.

Hay Fields

Two hundred pounds of ammonium sulfate applied to a grass alfalfa mix hay field is an excellent way to increase hay tonnage and create more healthy roots. The alfalfa will respond to the sulfur and it will respond to the nitrogen early in the season before nitrogen fixation takes place. The grasses will also respond to the nitrogen.

If a hayfield is under-performing, it is best to add grasses or red clover in the fall. It will compete against the existing plants better and will have minimal weed pressure. 

“If you realize after first cutting that a field suffered a high percentage of winter kill it is going to be too late to help the hay field for the rest of the summer and it will probably be economically wise to terminate the field after the first cutting,” Hanson said. “Terminating the hay field and planting it to a high quality summer annual could yield anywhere from six to 10 tons of good quality feed. If you add your first cutting tonnage to that number you will see why summer annuals can really help meet a farms forage needs.”

He adds that a normal producing hay field will yield three to six tons of hay depending on management, soil type and Mother nature. Approximately 45 percent to 55 percent of the yield is in the first cutting. Therefore, taking one and one-half to two tons of hay and then using a summer annual and getting another six to 10 tons of feed can be a no brainier.

Hanson adds to consider planting a high yielding summer annual that can be grazed or harvested such as Brown Mid-Rib (BMR) Sorghum Sudan Grass, Sudan hybrids and Hybrid Pearl Millet.

Cover Crops

Cover Crops by nature are designed to scavenger nutrients. They can be an excellent tool for doing so, but if you are planning on harvesting a cover crop for forage you may need to add fertility.  

Hanson shares an example of a family in 2013 that planted and harvested 100 acres of winter rye. It was on their poorest ground which also has poor drainage. It was treated like most cover crops and did not receive fertilizer. They made baleage from all 100 acres and harvested 420 bales. He admits that this is a lot of feed, but the family was actually hoping for more tonnage and it could have yielded 50 percent to 75 percent more if it had been fertilized.  Another family planted 10 acres of winter rye in a field next their cattle barn and this field was popular for spreading manure. Their field yielded 80 bales, which is twice the production of the first family. They did not add fertility in 2013, but all the years of spreading manure is better than any source of synthetic fertilizer and this is where cattle producers have a real advantage. Hanson was able to view both fields the day before they were harvested and it was apparent that added fertility is important in producing quality forage and it also has a direct relationship to tonnage.

“In order to increase our chances at profitability, cattle producers must reduce feed costs and this can be done most effectively through aggressive management of our forages. The best returns from pasture fertilization will depend on effective utilization through well-managed livestock and forage programs,” he said. “Fertilization is important in any efficient, highly productive forage program.”