Marion County
Ag Info |
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Northeast
Missouri Agriculture Newsletter serving
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| Alix Carpenter Agronomy Specialist Marion County UOE Center Courthouse Room 201 Palmyra MO 63461 (573) 769-2177 carpenterac@missouri.edu |
Al Kennett Livestock Specialist Ralls County UOE Center P.O. Box 540 New London MO 63459 (573) 985-3911 kennetta@missouri.edu |
Don Smith Farm Management Specialist Clark County UOE Center 115 West Court Kahoka, MO 63445 (660) 727-3339 smithda@missouri.edu |
Bob Wells Farm Management Specialist Pike County UOE Center Courthouse Bowling Green MO 63334 (573) 324-5464 wellsjb@missouri.edu |
John Wheeler Livestock Specialist Monroe County UOE Center 216 Market Street Paris MO 65275 wheelerj@missouri.edu |
| April 9 | NEMO BCIA Annual Dinner, Hannibal |
| July 16 - 21 | Lewis County Fair |
| July 17 - 19 | Ralls County Fair |
| July 23 - 28 | Pike County Fair |
| July 28 - August 3 | Marion County Junior Fair |
| August 8 - 18 | Missouri State Fair |
| August 23 - 24 | Management Intensive Grazing Seminar, Hannibal |
LIVESTOCK NOTES
Bull Sales
Bull sales have been good this spring. Our Northeast Performance Tested Bull Sale at Palmyra was an outstanding sale if you were a seller. The averages follow:
25 Angus $2304
6 Polled Hereford 2390
5 Simmental 2050
1 Gelbvieh 1500
37 Head $2262
If you are still in need of bulls for this breeding season, I work with several breeders who have bulls for sale and would be glad to assist you anyway I can.
Fat Bulls
I've never had a bull buyer tell me they wanted to buy a fat bull either at a sale or by private treaty. However, when the bidding or decision making starts, the buyers end up paying more for the fatter, higher conditioned bulls.
Why do we talk out of both sides of our mouths. I'd say it's the inability to distinguish between fat and muscle plus as they say, "fat has always been a pretty color." It costs the consignor several dollars to put "sale-topper condition" on a bull but they know the $50 to $150 extra feed will more than be returned when the bidding stops.
I don't think there's any question the extra fat is a detriment to the bull down the road, especially older bulls who have been fed hard from 12 to 18 months. Some of our foot problems are accentuated by this extra nutrition. If the fat bulls are turned out on fescue or any other marginal pasture, and asked to breed 25 or 30 cows, their condition and fertility will go down.
Perhaps we need to go back to ultrasound fat measurements of the bulls. Some may feel the ultrasound measurements are helpful from a carcass standpoint, but I've always felt their greatest help was in predicting how much the bull would melt away. I've seen bulls with 0.5 up to 1 inch of backfat top the sales and in 3 months they looked like a wreck. A desirable fat reading at the sale on a bull is around the 0.2 to 0.3 inch range on the Angus and Herefords. On the Charolais, Simmental and other European breeds, 0.15 inch seems about right. Unfortunately, putting 0.2 inch more fat on makes the bull have more friends at the sale.
Your Responsibility
After you get the young bull home, it's your responsibility to keep him in good shape. Since he's been receiving grain, maybe as much as 20 to 25 pounds per day, you need to reduce the grain but don't do it too quickly. Most of the time you can reduce the grain, 1 or 2 lbs. per day until you get him down to 10 or 12 lbs. per day of a 12 to 14% protein feed. Provide plenty of quality pasture or hay depending on the season. Try to avoid putting him on a fescue forage that is high in endophyte/ergovaline.
When you put the bull out for his first breeding season, remember the thumb rule, one female for each month of age of the bull. It's preferred that the bull not have any other bull in the pasture to compete with. This reduces injury chances plus you'll be able to monitor returns to heat that might indicate the bull is not settling the females. Even if the bull passed a breeding soundness exam when you bought him, things can go wrong such as mechanical problems, a high body temperature, excessive weight loss, penile injuries and who knows what else. Watch him closely to see if he is an aggressive and functional breeder.
Continue offering the young bull some grain daily or every other day when he's out in the pasture. He may not eat if he's chasing a cow that day, but at least offer him the chance. His body condition score should stay in the 5-6 range. If you have more females in the pasture than one young bull can cover, our recommendation is to rotate the bulls in and out of the pasture rather than turning them out together. You might leave one out a week then let the other one out a week and so on.
Most of you probably restrict the breeding season to 75 or so days. Whenever it's over, get the young bull in and start his rehabilitation. Hopefully, it won't take a lot of care, but he'll likely need some concentrate feed to bring his condition back. Evaluate the hoof situation and seek professional help if it's justified. A bull is a sizable investment so protect it.
AGRONOMY NOTES
Nitrogen Losses Following A Warm Winter
At Novelty (Knox County) on April 3, bare soil temperatures averaged 43.2 degrees F; average temperatures on residue-covered soil ranged from 38.3 to 40.1 degrees. These temperatures, while cooler than normal for this time of year, indicate that fall-applied N is being lost.
Anhydrous ammonia is the nitrogen form most commonly fall-applied, and it is quickly converted to ammonium in the soil. The ammonium form of nitrogen is relatively stable within the soil. However, it can be converted to nitrate, resulting in a leachable nitrogen form. This conversion to nitrate, nitrification, is mediated by soil-borne microbes. When there is an adequate ammonium supply, warm temperatures, adequate soil aeration, and proper soil pH and temperature, the nitrification process occurs. The largest influence on this process is soil temperature. While the optimum temperature for nitrification to occur is 90E F, it will occur at lower temperatures. Below 50E, the rate slows, but it does not stop until temperatures reach 32EF. In general, later applied nitrogen is best - cold soils reduce nitrification. Nitrification inhibitors are frequently used with fall N applications in an effort to slow the nitrification process. However, the warm soil temperatures which speed nitrification also speed the breakdown of the active ingredient in the nitrification inhibitor products.
The past winter has been the third warmest in Missouri since 1895. Averaging the daily temperatures between November and February, 75% of the days were above normal, 20% below normal, and 5% normal. What does this mean? The normal amounts of remaining fall-applied N are not available after the recent warm winter. Research conducted at the University of Illinois suggests that with nitrogen applications made before November 7, when soil temperatures were above 50E F, and with the use of a nitrification inhibitor, only 28% of ammonium-N remained the following April 2nd. Without the use of a nitrification inhibitor, this number dropped to 19%.
Applying Corn N by Yield Goal
Recent research conducted at MU by John Lory and Peter Scharf suggests that the current "rule of thumb", of a N fertilizer rate of 1.2 pounds per bushel of corn yield, results in the application of more nitrogen than is needed by the crop. This research suggests that too little emphasis is being placed on N-credits within the field, such as those from preceding legume crops, manure applications, and organic matter.
The researchers suggested that if you are interested in testing the accuracy of the N rate you are using, you should withhold N from a small field portion and measure the yield at this site. Then, the difference between the yield of the N-fertilized and -unfertilized sites should be determined. The actual amount of N needed can be determined by the equation:
fertilizer-N needed = 62 + (1.03 * yield difference)
If you applied more than 50 pounds above the "fertilizer-N needed" value, the field you fertilized received more N than it needed.
2002 Northeast Regional Grazing School
On Friday night and Saturday, August 23 and 24, an Intensive Grazing School will be held in Hannibal. The school should be of interest to those with livestock on pastureland. It not only deals with improvement of the pasture but also improvement of grazing livestock’s health and nutrition.
A short list of the topics to be covered includes:
Farm tours of local cattle operations using Management Intensive Grazing are part of the program. Participants will be shown the improvements that have occurred as a result of their pasture management programs, as well as innovative ideas in livestock water development.
For more information or to receive a brochure on this event you can contact your local University of Missouri Extension office or Natural Resources Conservation Service office.
Registration for the grazing school is $65, and limited to the first 40 individuals. The registration fee covers the cost of books and meals.
FARM
MANAGEMENT NOTES
Bob Wells
Farm Safety - A Parenting Task
Spring planting season is upon us and summer work on the farm begins. A major responsibility of parents and adults is the protection of children. The number one threat to the health and life of children is accidental injury. Most accidents that injure, disable, or kill children can be prevented. As children grow older, many are recruited to help with routine work that requires the use of machinery and power equipment. Many youth work on family farms driving tractors or working with lawn mowers, power equipment, and livestock. Parents have the responsibility to protect, train, and guide young people when they work with potentially dangerous equipment. The first step in preventing accidents is being able to recognize hazards and know how to correct them. Nearly four out of five agricultural-related accidents to youth, involve tractors turning over or passengers falling off. The majority of “passenger” victims are under 16. Per hour driven, young people are four times more likely to have an accident than are their parents when driving a tractor on public roads. Youth actually are involved in only a small percentage of accidents occurring in farm work. Yet to the family and community, the loss of a youth has great personal and economic impact, therefore, safety needs to be a major concern. Some ideas that might help reduce these problems are: (1) have a “Tractor Operator Only” policy. Don’t allow riders on tractors. (2) Youth should only drive tractors with a ROP’s equipped cab or frame. (3) Driving on public roads should only be done after considerable field experience and the person is licensed to drive. (4) Assign youths only those jobs they are physically and emotionally equipped to handle (i.e., physically coordinated, able to reach controls, patient, willing to keep their minds on what they are doing, and able to think and react quickly in emergencies). A second type of protection is to provide and require the use of equipment that reduces the amount of physical hazard from agriculture work. This type of protection includes: (1) A ROP’s equipped cab or frame on the tractor, (2) Wearing ear muffs or ear plugs to protect their ears when working on noisy jobs, (3) Wearing respirators to protect lungs from dust and chemicals, (4) Wearing gloves to protect hands from cuts and burns, (5) Wearing safety shoes to protect toes and feet, (6) Wearing a “bump” cap or hard hat to protect their heads, and (7) Wearing goggles and face shields to protect their eyes and face. Young people who become accustomed to using protective equipment at an early age are more likely to use this equipment the rest of their lives. Safety training and education are also important in preventing farm accidents, in fact, they help people learn more quickly than do personal experiences. This is especially important to youth that lack personal experience yet require as much knowledge as an adult to operate farm machinery safely. Informal safety training by a parent or other family member is equally important. Make sure your teen reads and understands the operators manual on any equipment that is used and go over the information with your child. Machinery operators, no matter what their age, need hands-on training. Don’t expect your teens to know how to do something, just because they have watched you, they need the opportunity to practice safe operations. Watching your young operators and supervising their work activities until you are satisfied the equipment will be used correctly and safely is also very important. Helping your child learn the safe use of equipment and machinery will take time and patience. However, the adoption of safe work practices at an early age can result in life long benefits. Young people are at a stage in their lives when permanent attitudes are being formed. They are flexible enough to try new things and can learn new practices quickly. As a parent, you can save yourself time, money, and worry by providing your teens with formal and informal hands-on equipment training, keeping your children away from equipment until they are able to use it safely, and supervising your teens work activities for time to time once they have started to use a piece of equipment. This effort on your part can result in less damage to equipment and other property, and more importantly, it can save your child’s life or prevent a disabling injury. For more information on this or other subjects, visit the Pike County University of Missouri Extension office or call me, Bob Wells, at (573) 324-5464. University of Missouri Extension programs and services are open to all and most are free or at a nominal charge.
G423 Flexible Cash Rental Arrangements
IPM1013 Pesticide Storage
IPM1014 Noxious Weeds of Missouri*
IPM1015 Thistles and Thistle-like Plants of Missouri
M169 A Guide to Common Forages and Weeds of Pastures*
MP735 Using MGA to Shorten the Beef Breeding Season
MP575 Weed Control Guide for Missouri Field Crops*
MP736 USDA Pesticide Record Keeping Requirements
MWPS6 Beef Housing & Equipment Handbook** There is a charge for publications marked with a “*”.
These publications may be obtained from your local University of Missouri Extension Office.
University Outreach & Extension
(UO/E) does not discriminate on the basis of race,
color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam Veteran in employment or
programs.
Revised: May 21, 2004.
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University of Missouri Extension Marion County marionco@missouri.edu Updated 05/21/04 |
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