Upcoming Event - Feeding Sheep and Goats Webinar Series

Purdue Extension will present a webinar sereis to educate goat and sheep farmers on feeding practices following the drought, managing forage shortages and the production of commercial versus show goats.

The webinars will run 6:00-8:00 PM (CST) on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 at various Extension county offices in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Goats and sheep are small ruminants, so they rely on forage-heavy diets. Indiana's extreme heat and drought this spring and summer greatly reduced forage supplies. Those challenges, combined with a growing interest in sheep and goat production, are the impetus behind the webinars.

"We'll be talking about what this year's drought did to pastures and the lack of feed for farmers," said Mark Kepler, Purdue Extension educator in Fulton County and webinar organizer. "More and more farmers are starting to raise goats and sheep because they require less space and maintenance than larger farm animals. We're gearing this program toward those who are novice or beginners, but the information is really important to all sheep and goat producers."

The Nov. 28 session will cover dealing with forage shortages and feeding sheep and goats following drought.  

The Dec. 5 session will cover pasture management for 2013 and differences between raising show goats and commercial goats. 

Current Purdue Extension county offices signed up to host the webinars are Brown, Dubois, Elkhart, Fulton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Huntington, Jasper, Jefferson, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Spencer, Switzerland, Vermillion and Warrick.

The Spencer County location will be held at the Spencer County 4-H Fairgrounds in Chrisney, IN. The series is free-of-charge but pre-registration is requested by November 26. To register, contact Purdue Extension-Spencer County at (812) 649-6022 or nheld@purdue.edu. 

More information about the webinar series is available on the Purdue Extension-Spencer County website at www.extension.purdue.edu/spencer.

Upcoming Event - Indiana Certified Livestock Producer Program Instructional Session

Indianapolis - The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) is hosting producer workshops as part of the Certified Livestock Producer Program (CLPP), a voluntary program that recognizes farmers for their commitment to innovative and top industry standards. The workshop will be held on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agricultural Center in Dubois.

Each workshop is free of charge and will include industry experts in the five areas of focus for the CLPP program: commitment to the environment, food safety & animal well-being, emergency planning, biosecurity and being a good neighbor in their community. 

"The Certified Livestock Producer Program gives an opportunity for livestock producers to publicly demonstrate their commitment to their farm, their family and the future," said CLPP Program Manager John Nagle. "The instructional sessions are the first step toward completing the program, and offer valuable insight from experts in the livestock industry that will benefit each producer’s operation and community."

Who:
Livestock producers of all sizes and species

What:
Free CLPP Instructional Sessions

When & Where:
November 7th & 8th

Southern Indiana Purdue Agricultural Center
11371 East Purdue Farm Rd, Dubois, IN 

5:00 pm to 8:30 pm EST both evenings

Cost:
No cost for producers to attend, and dinner will be provided

To register please visit the CLPP page on the ISDA website, http://www.in.gov/isda/2395.htm.

Contact John Nagle at jnagle@isda.in.gov or (317) 232-8770 for questions or more information.

Fall Frost Increases Potential for Prussic Acid Toxicity in Livestock

Fall frost is an annual concern for livestock producers because of the potential for prussic acid poisoning, but the potential for toxicity in livestock is of wider concern this year because of drought, an Ohio State University Extension forage specialist says.

The drought of 2012 has been one of the worst on record, leaving many livestock producers short on hay and silage supplies. The lack of substantial rainfall, extreme heat and dryness left many producers looking for any alternative forages they could plant to make up for the shortages, Mark Sulc said.  <Read More> 

Aspergillus Ear Rot in Corn

Powdery olive-green fungal spores are characteristic of
Aspergillus ear rot

Kenny Eck, Purdue Extension Educator, Dubois County

As many of you have already heard, 2012 heat and drought conditions in our local corn crop have led to the on-set of Aspergillus ear rot and associated aflatoxins concerns for the local livestock industry. Lab tests for the mold locally have detected low levels in most samples, with mold levels expected to rapidly increase with recent rain activity in the area. Local mills and grain buyers will also be utilizing UV or “black lights” at most facilities to quickly detect to possibility of the mold in delivered corn, with some loads possibly to be diverted or stored separately at their facilities.

Recommendations are for local corn producers to harvest the crop as soon as possible at higher moistures before the mold has a chance to become well established, and then dry down the grain well below 15% (recommended 12-13%, depending on source). Drying will reduce the opportunity for additional aflatoxins to be produced, although this will not reduce current levels.  

For silage production, aflatoxins will usually remain at the levels found in the corn at time of ensilaging if the process is done correctly at the right moisture, in air-tight conditions, correctly compacted, etc.. Where corn is not correctly made into silage (too dry or too much air around chopped corn), the mold may continue to develop and raise aflatoxin levels as fermentation is slowed or fails.

Testing can be done through the Purdue Heeke ADDL lab at the Southern Indiana Purdue Ag. Center near Dubois, IN, or through numerous testing labs available through your local feed mills.

A recent AgAnswers news article addresses the topic in more detail and and additional information on the mold, testing and preventative measures can also be found in Purdue Extension Publication BP-83. 

Upcoming Events - Weeds, Cattle, and Grazing

There are a number of Extension-sponsored events in the local area coming up over the next few weeks that may be of interest to you.  Details of a few are listed below.  If you have any questions or need more information on any of them, please contact the person listed under each event.

Weed Watcher Training
September 4 & 11, 6 to 9 PM
September 8, 8 AM to 12 Noon
September 15, 8 AM to 2 PM 
(all times EDT)

Southern Indiana Purdue Ag. Center
11371 E. Purdue Farm Rd.
Dubois, IN

Registration Fee - $40 per person

This program provides hands-on training to help participants identify and survey invasive weeds on their property or in their community and learn what can be done to stop their spread.  The training will culminate in planning and completing a service project that includes surveying invasive weeds in the community.

For more information, contact Purdue Extension-Orange County at (812) 723-7101.


Harrison County Cattlemen's Field Day
The Harrison County Cattlemen’s Association would like to invite you to a field day, September 8th, 2012, at Chad and Paige Baker’s Farm, J-Max Cattle, in Laconia, IN. The field day will begin with registration at 9:00 AM EDT at the Laconia cattle backgrounding operation followed by a tour of the facilities.

There will also be an extensive discussion on mortality composting as an alternative to sending animals to the rendering plant. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Dale Rozeboom from Michigan State University, who works to provide statewide and national leadership in food animal production and environmental sustainability.

Lunch will be served after the morning tour, including beef cooked by the Cattlemen’s Association members. The afternoon session will include presentations that qualify for private applicator license credits as well as CCH credits.

The fee to participate in this day is just $10 and includes your meal and lots of information and contacts about cattle production. If you would like private applicator credits, it’s an additional $10 (don’t forget to bring your license with you!). The deadline to register is August 24th, after this day a late fee of $5 will be added. Contact the Harrison County Purdue Extension Office to register for the event at 812-738-4236 or mulery@purdue.edu . The day is also sponsored by Harrison County Farm Bureau, Harrison County Soil and Water Conservation District, Purdue Extension Services, Jacobi Sales, Chinn’s Equipment, Deere County, and Farm Credit Services. Purdue University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. If you need special assistance to participate in this program, please contact the extension office prior to the program.


Grazing 102
September 14, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
September 15, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
(all times EDT)

Southern Indiana Purdue Ag. Center
11371 E. Purdue Farm Rd.
Dubois, IN

Registration Fee - $65 per person ($30 per person for each additional person from the same operation, share reference materials)

This program is geared towards anyone involved in grazing that wants to understand some of the fundamentally important concepts to make a Management Intensive Grazing program work in their operation. 

A flyer and registration form is available here.  For more information, contact Margie Zoglmann at (812) 547-7084 or mzoglmann@purdue.edu 

Upcoming Events - Livestock and Forage Drought Management Update

The drought of 2012 has presented some unique challenges to livestock producers with regards to forage supplies and pasture condition. Purdue Extension of Dubois, Perry, Spencer, and Warrick Counties is presenting a Livestock and Forage Drought Management Update to discuss these challenges and identify management tips for this year and beyond. Specific topics include Utilizing Alternative Feeds and Forages, Forage Nitrate and Nutrient Testing, Herd Management and Feeding Techniques, and Pasture Renovation. Featured speakers will include Dr. Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension Forage Specialist and Dr. Ron Lemenager, Purdue Extension Beef Specialist.

The update will be held August 16 at 6:30 PM CDT at the St. Meinrad Community Center. The update is free-of-charge but pre-registration is requested by August 13. For more information, or to register, please contact the Spencer County Purdue Extension Office at (812) 649-6022 or nheld@purdue.edu.

Forage Crops Could Provide Opportunities Following Corn

A wide range of forage crops could help grain and livestock producers salvage some value from their fields once the drought-ravaged corn crop has been harvested - if soil moisture returns to a level that can support plant growth.

While damaged corn can be used as forage to feed livestock, it won't be enough to thwart forage shortages. Several forage crops are available for Indiana growers to plant in late summer or early fall, and that could serve as livestock feed in the spring.

"For the August seeding, an excellent consideration would be spring oat that will be harvested by machine, or a combination of spring oat and forage turnip if grazed by livestock," said Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist. "Spring oat will not survive the winter.

"While the expectation is for turnips to winterkill, too, it has been observed that they can survive a mild Indiana winter."

Another possible choice is annual ryegrass, but growers who go this route need to pay close attention to keep the crop from becoming a nuisance. Johnson recommended an early seeding to have both fall and spring harvests.  <Read More>

Heat and Drought Lead to Ear Rot Potential in Corn Grain, Silage

Heat and drought in the Corn Belt have created the perfect conditions for Aspergillus ear rot to develop in corn grain and silage - something Purdue Extension plant pathologists say grain and livestock producers need to prepare for.

The disease is caused by a fungus that produces aflatoxin, a toxic carcinogen for livestock that consume contaminated grain or silage. 

Aspergillus ear rot normally shows up near the end of the corn growing season as the crop reaches the dent phase. Growers can identify the disease by peeling back the husks and looking for stunted ears with an olive-green dusty mold.  <Read More>

Early Weaning as a Drought Strategy

In addition to utilizing alternative forages and feedstuffs, early weaning and other herd management techniques can be effective drought management strategies for livestock producers.  The Purdue Animal Sciences Department recently created a video featuring Dr. Ron Lemenager discussing early weaning in times of drought and short forage supplies.  The video is available here.

Vilsack Opens Emergency Haying and Grazing of CRP Acres for Entire State

Indiana Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Julia A. Wickard today announced additional drought relief for Indiana’s livestock producers. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack authorized the release of emergency haying and grazing for all Indiana counties for certain practices and acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) outside the primary nesting season for wildlife. This decision was based upon the U.S. Drought Monitor.  <Read More>

Purdue Extension Drought Press Conference

On July 5, Purdue Extension held a drought press conference at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  Extension Specialists and Educators addressed a variety of drought-related topics and answered questions from media.  To view the press conference, please see the video link below:

A news release highlighting the topics of discussion at the press conference is also available here.

Determining a Value for Corn Silage

A question that has come up recently in our area as producers look to make use of drought-damaged corn and utilize alternative forage sources, is "What is Corn Silage Worth?".  This is not always an easy question to answer and there are many methods that are used to determine a corn silage value.  A new factsheet written by Tamilee Nennich, Purdue Animal Sciences Assistant Professor, and Kern Hendrix, Animal Sciences Professor Emeritus, helps explain some of these methods and answer producer questions.  Also, as a companion piece to the factsheet, an Excel-based silage value calculator has been developed.  The factsheet and calculator are available at the links below:

Determining a Value for Corn Silage

Silage Value Calculator (Excel Spreadsheet)

Buttercup Bonanza

Buttercup in pasture (The Buttercups of Indiana)

Does your pasture or barn lot look like this?  If so, you likely have an influx of buttercup; and you are not alone.  This weed has been very prevalent in area pastures this spring, due at least in part to a mild winter and early spring. 

The name buttercup is actually a common name associated with approximately 20 different weed species that are found in Indiana.  To complicate matters further, petal number and leaf appearance can vary within the same species, occasionally making exact identification difficult. 

The main concern with buttercup, regardless of species, is its toxicity to livestock.  While the amount required to be consumed to cause poisoning symptoms varies among species, all have the potential to cause drooling, diarrhea, weakness, bleeding, etc.  The good news is livestock rarely consume the weed, especially if there is an adequate supply of desirable forage.  Also, buttercup toxicity does not carry through to hay crops due to the break down of the toxins as the hay dries. 

Control of buttercup can be accomplished through a combination of soil testing/soil amending, mowing, and herbicide applications.  Additional information on buttercup biology and control, including specific herbicide recommendations, can be found in the Purdue Weed Science bulletin, The Buttercups of Indiana.          

Weekly Outlook - Is the Cattle Market Too Cautious?

The beef industry was stung by two negative events in the past two months that have left market traders uncertain about their longer term impacts. For now, market participants are taking a cautious approach until consumers more clearly define if they will reduce beef consumption.

The issue over lean finely textured beef (LFTB) played badly for cattle producers in early March and the fourth BSE cow found in the U.S. was announced on April 24. Finished cattle prices were about $129 per live hundredweight in early March before these news events, but have since declined to about $120. The decline in cash cattle prices has not been as severe as the drop in live cattle futures. At the start of March, June 2012 live cattle futures settled near $128, but declined about $15 to $113 as of April 27. In a similar manner, the December 2012 live cattle futures have declined by about $12 per hundredweight since the first of March. <Read More>

Weekly Outlook - Pork Profit Outlook Gets Trimmed

The nation's pork producers are largely holding back on expansion even though the industry returned to profitability in the spring of 2011. However, higher feed prices in the past few months as a result of crop damage in South America has increased costs and reduced the profit outlook for 2012.

The breeding herd is only 0.6 percent larger than a year ago according to the latest USDA Hogs and Pigs report based on surveys conducted in early March. While sow numbers are basically stable, the market herd was reported to be two percent larger. The greater increase in market hogs versus the breeding herd is the result of continued increases in the number of pigs per litter. Producers also indicate they will modestly reduce the number of sows farrowing in coming months. Farrowing intentions are down about one percent for the spring quarter and down two percent for the summer quarter. If intentions materialize, pork supplies will only increase by about one percent in the fall of 2012 and early 2013.  <Read More>

Will Consumers Come Back to Pork? Yes!

Per capita pork consumption in the U.S. has declined sharply in the past several years due primarily to strong pork export growth. Per capita pork consumption in the U.S. averaged 50.1 pounds in 2006 and 2007 when $2 per bushel corn was still the rule. That dropped to a low of 45.8 pounds by 2011, a nine percent decrease.

Surprisingly, as U.S. per capita consumption was dropping sharply, total U.S. pork production grew by eight percent from 2006/2007 to 2012. How could total pork production grow while domestic per capita consumption was falling sharply? The answer is that U.S. pork exports expanded and now U.S. consumers have new competition from foreign buyers for limited pork supplies. There is a saying, “China is going to eat your lunch,” and that statement has some limited truth. China was the 6th largest buyer of pork from the U.S. in 2006, representing five percent of U.S. exports, but moved to the third largest buyer by 2011 representing 15 percent of U.S. exports. <Read More>

Weekly Outlook - Cattle Producers Show Surprise Interest in Expansion

While beef supplies will be very short for several more years, the USDA’s Cattle report indicated that the very early stages of beef cattle expansion has begun as beef heifer retention has increased a modest one percent. However, the big picture is that beef cow numbers dropped 3 percent last year and this will mean a smaller calf crop in 2012 that will keep cattle slaughter small for 2013 and 2014. If producers follow through with more heifer retention in 2012 and 2013, slaughter supplies will decline over the next two years and increase finished cattle prices even more.

There have been two dominate drivers of cow numbers in recent years. The first was the dramatic increases in feed prices after calendar year 2007. The beef industry could not pass higher feed costs on to consumers in 2008 and 2009, but rather had to suffer negative margins. Poor returns led to liquidation of beef cows that has continued into the current report. The second large driver was the drought in the southern Plains in recent years that caused further liquidation of cows due to lack of pasture and forages. <Read More> 

Proper Nutrition Vital for Livestock in Late Gestation

As livestock managers anticipate the beginning of the spring calving season, it's vital that they make sure their cows and heifers are getting the proper nutrition.

Rory Lewandowski, agricultural and natural resources educator for Ohio State University Extension, discussed the issue in a recent Ohio Beef Cattle newsletter, available online.  

"We have some poor-quality hay out there this year, and that's not what you should be feeding cows in late gestation -- or if you do, you need to supplement it," Lewandowski said.  <Read More> 

Upcoming Events - Raising Poultry for Pleasure and Profit

An upcoming course hosted by Purdue Extension will cover the fundamentals of small scale poultry production for current and prospective poultry producers.  The course, “Raising Poultry for Pleasure and Profit”, will be held on Thursday evenings, February 2-March 1, from 5:30-8:30 PM, at the Spencer County 4-H Fairgrounds in Chrisney.  The course will be presented via Adobe Connect webinar technology. 

Topics will include the basics of poultry production, keeping the flock healthy and productive, developing a forage and production system, making a profit, and creating a customer-ready product. 

The cost of the program is $40 per person for the five-session series or $15 per person per individual session.  Early bird registration deadline is January 26.  After the deadline, registration cost is increased by $10 per person.  In addition to live, on-site viewing, participants have the option of viewing the sessions from home via a high-speed internet connection.  The registration cost and deadline remain the same for at-home viewing.   

For more information, please contact nheld@purdue.edu. Registration brochures are available are available here. 

Weekly Outlook - Hog Producers Follow Prudent Path

Hog production returned to profitability in 2011, but producers remain cautious about the future. This is evidenced by the modest expansion of the breeding herd as reported by USDA at the end of the year.  Limited expansion would seem to be the prudent path until more is known about 2012 crop yields and feed prices. This suggests no expansion of the breeding herd until mid-summer 2012.

Pork production is expected to rise by 2 to 2.5 percent in 2012, but most of that increase is due to more pigs per litter rather than from larger farrowings. Exports are expected to remain strong so that the per capita pork availability in the U.S. will only increase by about one percent. Pork demand will also be supported by smaller per capita supplies of beef and poultry in 2012. As a result, hog prices are expected to be down only modestly from 2011 levels with similar costs. This means another year of profitability is likely. <Read More>