MoosNews
Volume
16, No. 2 – February 2013
Treat
your sweetheart to dinner at the monthly meeting, scheduled for Valentine’s Day
– Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. Cost of a meal is $5; the program is tentatively
scheduled to be presented by the South Granville High School FFA.
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News, Views, and Mostly
Other Matters
By Paul Westfall, Extension Livestock Agent
Good news! The current
turn-around time for soil samples is only 7 weeks. Now, that may seem like a long time to wait
for sample results, but compared to this time last year, samples are being
analyzed and the reports ready about 2 weeks earlier. That’s a pretty good improvement, though it
won’t help when you need to get the fertilizer and lime order in tomorrow so
they can be applied when the ground gets dry enough. In seven weeks, it will be the end of March
or early April, just in time to fertilize the warm season grasses or plant the
summer annuals. Since it is time to get
any needed lime and fertilizer onto pastures and hay fields to promote fescue
growth, go ahead and apply 40 to 60 units of nitrogen just to get grass growth
off to a good start. Apply the phosphorus and potassium along with some
additional nitrogen once the results are received so the right amount of
fertilizer gets applied. Lime can be
applied at any time of the year, so waiting for the results is a good idea for
lime application, too. You may want to
apply the lime and the rest of the fertilizer during pasture rest periods or
after taking the first hay cutting.
Now is also a good time to get some legumes into the pasture and/or hay
mix. I think clovers are best planted in
the fall, but spring seedings can do well, also. The reason for getting legumes into the
pasture mix are 1) to improve the nutritional value of the forage available to
the cows, and 2) to allow the nitrogen-fixing bacteria on the roots of the
clover to add nitrogen into the soil, returning some of that atmospheric
nitrogen to the soil for plant use, which cuts the fertilizer bill. Adding
clover to the pasture mix is something to think about. The Granville County Soil and Water
Conservation District has a no-till drill that will get clover seed into the
ground just right for seed germination.
Now for the management tips. In
general, provide clean, adequate water for your herd and free access to a high-quality
mineral supplement. Make sure you use a high magnesium supplement when there is
potential for grass tetany – like when grass is growing fast in the
spring. Check cattle for health
disorders including pinkeye, foot rot, etc. Treat at the first sign of these
disorders. Check fences and facilities
and make any needed repairs. Check
forage availability. If limited, consider feeding hay in a confined area. Consider unrolling round bales to gain better
utilization. Body condition score all
cattle.
Those with spring calving herds are getting pretty busy about now. Be
sure to move the bred heifers to the calving area 10 days before calving is
expected. Check mature cows two to four
times a day and heifers more frequently during calving season. Check heifers every 3 to 4 hours after
calving starts. Assist with delivery if no progress is seen no more than 1 hour
after the water bag is visible. Dip
navels in iodine or chlorhexidine and tag calves at birth. Record birth dates,
calf tag numbers, and the cow ID.
Remember, the job is not over until the paperwork is done. Help the newborn calf nurse, if needed. Castrate and implant bull calves at birth if
possible. Observe calves for scours and
respiratory problems. Observe cows for
uterine prolapse and
retained placenta. Move pairs to
clean pastures as soon as possible after calving. Drench calves dehydrated by scours with
electrolytes, and treat with sulfa or antibiotics as recommended by your veterinarian. Mark cows having calving difficulty or udder
problems for early culling.
Don’t get so caught up in the calving needs that you forget to get ready
for next year’s calf crop. Make sure
bulls are in good condition for breeding. Trim feet, conduct breeding soundness
exams, and provide additional feed if needed to improve body condition to
6.0. Purchase additional bulls if needed
so that you have a bull:cow ratio of 1:25.
Fall calving herd managers are still pretty busy, too. They need to vaccinate calves over 3 months
old with clostridial vaccines (blackleg). Check with your local veterinarian
about other disease problems in your area.
Castrate bull calves if they weren’t castrated at birth, and dehorn as
needed. Implant calves if that is a management
tool used on your farm. Steers that were
implanted at birth can be re-implanted at 3 to 6 months of age. Keep an eye on the condition of the bulls
during breeding season, and provide supplemental feed as needed. Breed the
yearling heifers beginning 3 weeks before the cows. Remove bulls from heifers after a 45- to
60-day breeding season. Spot check to
make sure the cows are settling.
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Dates for the Calendar
Feb. 14 – monthly
dinner meeting of the GCCA 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 – Planning board
meeting at the Expo Center 7 p.
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From the President’s Pen
Hello,
fellow cattlemen!
Hope
everyone’s hay is holding up. My rye is really growing – should be good grazing
by March 1. I really like sod, planting it in my pasture. I think it helps get
fescue started early.
The
last concession at E.B.’s sale went really well. Special thanks to all the good
help on that cold day. The next sale should be sometime in April if the change
in zoning goes through. Everyone put February 21 on your calendar, please. If
we farmers and cattlemen want to see sales continue at this facility, we need
your support. E.B. wants to see the 4-H clubs and FFA clubs to be able to have by at the site. And he wants the Granville County
Cattlemen’s Association to have by a home. We can count
on having our Earth Roast at the arena, and doing the concessions at the sales.
The Earth Roast and the concession sales help keep up our scholarships and
promote the cattlemen in Granville and surrounding counties. It’s also nice to
be able to sell your cattle in Granville County instead of having to carry them
to Virginia or 90 miles down in Carolina. Instead of selling old equipment for
metal pricing you could get a good price for your farm antiques at sales E.B.
may conduct. If any of this is of
interest to you, please give us your support by showing the zoning board and
our county commissioners that we still need agriculture in our county.
This
support for them will help us support education and also help support local merchants.
Thanks!
And, see you at the meeting on Thursday.
Kay
**********
January Meeting Minutes
The Granville
County Cattlemen’s Association met in the Cooperative Extension Board Room on
January 10, 2013, at 7 p.m. Following dinner, Kay Stark, President, presided
over the business session. Minutes of the December meeting were approved and
the Treasurer’s report was accepted. Profit was reported from Concessions at
the recent E.B. Harris auction. The next auction is set for Jan. 26. Members
were encouraged to help with concessions.
Members
approved purchase of a printer for use in printing MoosNews. Members were
encouraged to attend the Granville County Planning Board meeting on Feb. 21 at
7 p.m., in support of rezoning the Cattle Sales Arena on Cannady Mill Road.
Members were
encouraged to pay 2013 dues now. It was recommended that all cattle producers
in the county be invited to join GCCA.
Due to the
resignation of Larry Medlin, Vice President, nominations are in order to
complete the unexpired term.
Paul Westfall
led a discussion of calf vaccinations. He emphasized that vaccinations for
calves in a closed herd may be different from those needed in an open herd.
Blackleg immunization at 4-6 months old is the most important vaccine for
calves. Mr. Westfall reminded cattlemen that certain sales have their
particular required vaccinations. Vaccinations for rabies may be needed.
Cattlemen were encouraged to read labels on vaccines carefully before
administering.
The meeting
was adjourned.
Respectfully
submitted,
Jean Y. Gill,
Secretary
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Thank
You!!!
After
researching and shopping around, I purchased, with your approval, a printer
that I hope will serve the association for a good while. It’s supposed to be an
ink “sipper,” and the best part of all is that I can make the copies I need for
the MoosNews to be mailed out in a more timely manner. Thank you again for
approving this expenditure!
Sincerely,
Laura
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MoosNews Flash!!!
Welcome to
the latest LIFETIME members of the
Granville County Cattlemen’s Association!
·
Kay
and Phyllis Stark
·
Kyle
Ezelle (grandson of Madison and Linda Currin)
·
Wayne
Elliott
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Officers Directors
President,
Kay Stark 2013:
Sherby Slaughter, Steve Walker
Past
President, Joy Morgan Marshall 2014:
Linda Currin, Wendy Lane
Vice
President, Larry Medlin 2015:
James Gooch, Eddie Denny
Treasurer,
Sandy Gabel
Secretary,
Jean Gill
Newsletter,
Laura S. Gabel
