– Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County. COVID-19 has had profound impacts on our food and livestock production systems here in the U.S. With regards to the beef industry the impact has been felt locally and throughout the country. Locally here in Ohio, with the JBS plant in Souderton closed, and reduced packing capacity in [...]

– Dr. Kenny Burdine, Livestock Marketing Specialist, University of Kentucky It was another light week in terms of marketing in KY and this has largely been the case since the end of March. This really is a trend industry-wide as feedlot placements and cattle slaughter are both running well below expected levels. Several processing plants [...]

– Dr. Andrew Griffith, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee FED CATTLE: Fed cattle traded steady com-pared to last week on a live basis. Prices on a live basis were mainly $105 while dressed prices were not well established. The 5-area weighted average prices thru Thursday were $96.77 live, down [...]

– Matthew Diersen, Risk & Business Management Specialist, Ness School of Management & Economics, South Dakota State University The large price swings of the past two months have added to the difficulty of managing risk. Limit moves in futures prices have meant that out-of-the-money options with little or no open interest one week are suddenly [...]

– Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford County, AgNR Educator (originally published in Progressive Forage) Uneven roll wear can result in poor conditioning across the length of the rolls. Photo provided by Jason Hartschuh. The primary purpose of our haymaking equipment is to dry hay to the optimum moisture for storage, then package densely. This winter, [...]

Author(s): Kelley Tilmon, Aaron Wilson, Mark Sulc, Rory Lewandowski, CCA, Andy Michel Green alfalfa weevil larvae (the main feeding stage) at various growth stages, and brown adults. Photo by Julie Peterson, University of Nebraska. Though it seems like spring has been slow to come this year, we have actually accumulated enough degree days to see [...]

Authors: Mark Sulc, Bill Weiss, Jason Hartschuh, CCA, Rory Lewandowski, CCA Rye swaths. Photo credit: Rory Lewandowski Winter cereal forage crop development is advancing with the early warm weather this spring. These crops include winter rye, winter wheat, winter triticale, and barley. Italian ryegrass planted late last summer to early autumn is another forage crop that [...]

According to Ted Wiseman, Ohio State University Extension Educator in Perry County, “If you have high ash content in your forages, you’re feeding dirt.” And, the feed conversion on dirt is not good! During the second session of the 2020 Ohio Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management School that was hosted by the Ohio State University [...]

– Dr. Kenny Burdine, Livestock Marketing Specialist, University of Kentucky It seems like we are in phase 3 of the cattle markets trying to price in the impacts of COVID-19. In February, the markets were primarily pricing in the potential impact on beef exports. In March, they were trying to price in the impact on [...]

– Clifton Martin, OSU Extension Educator, Muskingum County Rental rates and hay prices are two questions quickly asked with potential lengthy answers.  Many factors will affect market prices both over time and regionally. This is a quick discussion to look at some ballpark ranges on how pasture rental rates can be determined. Published in 1998, [...]