Volume
16, No. 9
|
A reminder
that we’re taking the September meeting on the road! Phyllis and Kay Stark
have opened their farm up for the monthly meeting. Dinner’s at 7 p.m. See you
there!
|
News, Views and Mostly
Other Matters
Paul Westfall, Livestock Extension Agent
According to some folks,
summer is over when we celebrate Labor Day.
I’m more of the opinion that summer is over a bit later – say maybe when
we get a frost or when the leaves start turning color and falling off the
trees. Even the calendar says that
summer sticks around until near the end of September! There is still some summer to go out and
enjoy.
We should start thinking
about some fall and winter things, though.
For instance, I recently wrote a piece on body condition scoring and its
influence on reproduction in horses for the North Carolina Horse Blog. Then I thought that if body condition scoring
(BCS) is important for horses, it certainly applies to cattle. I know, BCS is not a new tool for cattlemen,
and that we’ve discussed BCS in other places, but perhaps we need to go out and
take a look at our cows and make an assessment of their body condition. In the other article, I referenced the BCS
scale as ranging from 1 to 9. A score of
1 is a walking sack of bones, and a score of 9 is a roly-poly, extremely fat
cow that can roll down a hill faster than she can run down it. Animals ranking on the extreme ends of the
scale have a lot of other problems, including abnormal endocrine function and
hormonal imbalances. Thin cows and fat
cows don’t rebreed well, either.
Most cows should score 5,
6, or 7, depending on the stage of gestation.
A score of 5 at breeding is ideal, with a slow weight gain during
gestation, and maybe scoring a 6.5 or 7 when the calf is born. The cow then has enough energy reserves to
meet the demand for milk and to repair the tissue damage. That has to be done before she will rebreed,
so the sooner a cow can get back into shape, the better. A thin cow without any energy reserves stored
has to pull energy from somewhere, and they usually get even thinner for a
while before the demand for milk lessens and she can eat enough grass and other
feeds to begin meeting the lactation demand, body maintenance, and growth needs
to repair tissues and get back into shape to rebreed. Remember, a cow cannot ingest enough energy
to meet the early demands for lactation to start feeding the calf, so having
some energy stores already on hand is a good thing as long as we don’t get the
cows too fat.
September is a good time
to take a walk through the cowherd and check the overall condition of the cows
as we start thinking about winter feed.
If they are thin, some higher quality hay and/or some supplements may be
needed. If they are in good condition
(BCS = 5 – 7), probably some decent hay will be all that is needed until
calving. If they are on the high side of
the scale, then that poorer quality hay will do just fine for a while. Then you
can start feeding the good hay right after they calve.
Speaking of hay – take a
look at what hay is stored, how many cows are in the herd, and make an
assessment of how much hay will be needed this winter. Don’t cut more hay unless it is really
needed. Also, take a look at the hay
field and ask yourself: “Is that really
what I want to feed my cows?” I’ve seen
some very, very mature hay being baled up in the last couple of weeks. I believe that some of that hay would provide
less nutrition than a snowball. If you
need more hay, but the hayfield is very mature with seed heads and discolored
grass showing up all over, then maybe a better strategy would be to go ahead
and bush hog the mature stuff down, apply some nitrogen, let it grow a few
weeks, then cut some good fall regrowth that would contain some decent protein
and energy levels. Cutting hay just
because it is out there does not make sense to me, especially if it is low in
protein, sugars, and starches and high in lignin content.
Now to the management tips. If additional
forage needs are anticipated, consider getting some winter annuals
planted. That needs to be done soon,
though, for best results. Take stock of
your hay supply so additional cuttings or purchases can be made. Send samples of the forage to the lab for
analysis. Keep a close check on
supplemental feed prices. Corn and byproduct feeds such as cottonseed can
usually be bought cheaper in the fall. (Keep
in mind that corn is more than $8 a bushel right now). Plan where winter grazing will be over-seeded
into pastures. Graze these areas close or clip prior to planting.
Managers of spring-calving herds should wean
calves according to pasture conditions and marketing plans. Wean all the heifers and select replacements
based on weaning weights and other data you may have. Use weight data to project needed gain
between now and breeding (March).
Consider options for selling weaned calves, including backgrounding or
maintaining ownership through the feedlot.
Deworm calves at weaning. It’s
also a good idea to separate cull cows from the herd at weaning and get them
ready to move down the road. For late
calves (weaning in late October or November), consider creep feeding and
vaccination for respiratory diseases 45 days prior to weaning.
Managers of fall-calving herds need to move
heavy-springing heifers to clean pastures where they can be checked 2-3 times
daily. Establish an ID system and tag
the calves at birth. Gather and clean
your calving supplies. Be ready to
assist with calving difficulties and to castrate, implant and deworm calves at
birth. Feed requirements of late
gestation cows increase 10-15% during the last 30-45 days prior to calving
(i.e., about 1 lb. of extra TDN per day). On fall pastures, cows may need a
small amount of supplemental feed.
**********
Classified Ads
Remember that
GCCA members can advertise items in the MoosNews – if you have an item you’d
like to sell, or if you’re looking for something that you need on the farm,
consider placing an ad right here. $5 for 3 lines each month. Just send Laura
an email – lssantos@mindspring.com with the
information and she’ll get it in the next issue.
**********
From the President
Hello
Cattlemen,
I
hope you all had a wonderful summer. Talked
to Steve Walker, said all his fall hay was cut and on the ground. With
the weather forecast calling for no rain for the next several days, he should
have had it all baled by last weekend. I'm not sure how other people
are doing with their hay, but it's a good time to check your inventory.
It’s a good thing to have plenty of hay around. This winter could be as different
as this summer has been -- we may have to get out our snowshoes.
Our
monthly meeting is this Thursday and Phyllis and I are looking forward to
seeing everyone out at our farm. The address is 6635 Horner Siding Rd.
Come down the asphalt drive and head down to the shop. If you have any
problems finding us, call 919. 603.4806 or 603.4809 or check with Paul at the extension
office.
We
plan to have a short board meeting around 6:10 with fellowship starts at 6:30
at dinner at 7:00. I will have our rental equipment on display for
all. Come and bring a friend hope to see all.
Kay
**********
Minutes of the August Meeting
The August 8,
2013 meeting of the Granville County Cattlemen's Association was held on the
farm of Sandy and Laura Gabel on Sam Young Road. Following a beef meal at 7:00 p.m., Kay
Stark, President, presided over the business meeting. Minutes of the July meeting were approved as
printed in the MoosNews. The Treasurer's Report was accepted as
reported. Thanks were expressed to
Charlie Easton for coordinating the Earth Roast in June.
Wayne Hicks
agreed to represent GCCA in the upcoming session of Leadership Granville.
Members voted
to sponsor the meal for Ag Day on October 3.
Paul Westfall
presented a brochure on Enhanced Farmland for North Carolina Landowners,
describing the importance of protecting our farming heritage and rural
economy. Discussion followed and
Volunteers were solicited to serve on a committee to organize an area VAD and
to formulate a resolution of support from GCCA.
Members voiced
support for providing ag-related in-service training for Granville County law
enforcement.
Members were
encouraged to call President Kay if interested in the August 16 program on mob
grazing.
The September
meeting of the GCCA will be held on the farm of Kay and Phyllis Stark.
The meeting was
adjourned.
Respectfully
submitted,
Jean Y. Gill,
secretary
**********
Field Trip notes…
On Friday, August 16,
Martha Mobley of the Franklin County Extension Office hosted a farm tour of Dr.
Charles Sydnor’s farm in Snow Camp, NC.
The main interest of the tour was the concept of mob grazing, and how
Dr. Sydnor had fared with the mob grazing technique.
According to Hay &
Forage Grower magazine, which featured a cover story on mob grazing entitled
“Mob Grazing As A Tool” in its August 2013 edition, “…Pastures divided into
paddocks and subdivided with temporary fencing can concentrate livestock and
provide for high stock densities from 30,000 to 60,000 pounds of animal live
weight per acre…”. For my simple math,
this translates to about 30 to 60 cows per acre moved on a daily basis.
Dr. Sydnor was gracious
and very forthcoming with what he is not only doing but also what his goals
are. He sells his own beef with the
philosophy “I want to set the price, not be told the price” and successfully
sells out his herd of roughly 400, mostly Red Devons. His preference is to sell the whole animal,
which he does to retail butchers such as Rose Meats in Durham, and several restaurants,
but he does have an on-site store that he will sell from---this store is shared
with his neighbor, who sells pork and goat meat.
Dr. Sydnor has ties to
Montana and Wyoming, and has incorporated a lot of that thinking in his
approach. He sold all of his haying
equipment about 10 years ago, so that he could not fall back on his hay, taking
a sort of “do or die” stance. He has not
fertilized in eight years and has not limed in six years but does take annual
soil samples --his samples consistently run 6.0 or above. Dr. Sydnor does move the herds every day
(moms and young beef prospects) using polywire to section off the day’s
grazing. He did admit to some
manipulations in order to have both shade and water in each paddock.
The basic premise is that
the “perfect” grazing environment is like the old Great Plains-herds of buffalo
come in, eat an area, then move on, not to return for an extended period of
time--giving the grass time to regenerate.
Dr. Sydnor likes his pastures at least 18” high, so that the cows can
eat 2-3” of grass and leave this long “solar panel” to collect solar energy,
photosynthesize, and feed the roots as well as the rest of the plant. He likes that the cows trample grass when it
is this long because this becomes the green fertilizer which replaces
commercial fertilizers in his scheme.
He does not disturb the soil, no dragging, no drilling, no mowing
(though he is doing some bushhogging this year for gum trees). He does not believe in special types of
grass, saying the natural diversity of seed banked in the soil is what nature
intended, and Dr. Sydnor definitely believes in nature knowing more than we do.
He also believes that
cows know more of what is best for them, so his mineral cart is a smorgasbord
of 16 individual minerals, moved paddock to paddock daily, with the cows eating
just the minerals they want that day.
I’m in contact with Dr.
Sydnor on several questions I’ve conjured up since the outing and will keep you
posted.
--Sandy Gabel
**********
Do you have a special interest that
fellow GCCA members may find informative or useful? Have you been on a tour or
a meeting that you’d like to share in the MoosNews? The newsletter is a good
spot to share tips, suggestions and experiences with others. Let us hear from
you!
**********
5 County Beef Tour
Granville
County will host the 5-County Beef Tour will be held on Wednesday, September
25, 2013. I've attached a description of the tour and the tentative
schedule. Please preregister so we know how much food to have available
at lunch.
This is a "drive
yourself" tour, but please car-pool when possible. I can get a 15-passenger
van, so I can take a few folks along. Let me know if you want to ride
along.
Here’s the schedule for
the day:
8:30 a.m. Assemble at the Butner Beef Unit, Butner,
NC
9:00 a.m. Dean Askew will give highlights of the
bull testing program/Q&A
10:00 a.m. Leave for Jim Smith farm, Stem, NC
10:15 a.m. Arrive at Jim’s farm. Mr. Smith will share
his thoughts on storing hay
11:00 a.m. Leave for Granville County Livestock
Arena, Oxford, NC
11:20 a.m. Arrive
livestock arena; GCCA representatives will discuss how the special-use permit
that the arena operates under was changed to allow for more events to be held
at the facility
12 noon Leave for SGS Angus Farm, Oxford, NC
12:20 p.m. Overview
of SGS Angus and ways to reduce farm costs. Lunch served at this stop
2:00 p.m. Leave for little Grassy Creek Farm,
Stovall, NC
2:20 p.m. Arrive
at little Grassy Creek Farm. Presentation/Q&A on forage management
3:15 p.m. Tour concludes
– Paul Westfall
**********
Officers and Board Members
President,
Kay Stark Directors:
Past
President, Joy Morgan Marshall 2013:
Kent Currin, Steve WalkerVice President, Sherby Slaughter 2014: Linda Currin, Wendy Lane
Treasurer, Sandy Gabel 2015: James Gooch, Eddie Denny
Secretary,
Jean Y. Gill
Newsletter,
Laura S. Gabel
