The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) will be holding their annual conference on December 13-16 in Reno, Nevada.  For more information about the conference, including agenda and registration information, visit http://www.glci.org.

To survive the current feed economy livestock producers need to graze their livestock as long as they can.  Every day livestock are meeting their nutritional needs through grazing they are being fed as economically as possible.  Typically cattle producers utilize corn residue as a feed source but, in Ohio, sheep producers need to consider grazing corn residue as well.  When corn stalks become available for grazing livestock producers need to move to take advantage of this resource.

Because the feed is in contact with the ground and deteriorating in the field you should start grazing corn residue as soon as the combine pulls out of the field. The nutrient value of residue declines the longer it is exposed to weathering. Sixty days after harvest is the window for maximum feed value. After 60 days it may not meet the needs of your livestock and you will need to provide supplemental feed. Grazing residue right away will provide a better feed.

Wind damaged fields can have more grain left in the field after harvest than normal.  Check fields for excess grain before grazing. Too much corn left in the field can cause acidosis and founder. In these cases cattle need to be adapted to a higher grain ration before grazing. They should initially be turned into residue with their rumens full if a problem is expected.

Strip grazing will also force the animals to eat leaves, cobs, and stalks instead of just gleaning the grain.  Giving animals only a few days or weeks worth of corn residue at a time utilizes the forage more efficiently.  Strip grazing provides a more uniform diet.  Leaving cattle in the entire field for a couple months or longer means the livestock will initially pick the grain and some of the leaves. Eventually they will only have the stalks, or the least nutritious plant part, left and will need to be supplemented.

Typically fence and water are the excuses used for not grazing corn residue.  There are several inexpensive, temporary options for both. Check out Rory’s article for fencing and “Watering Systems for Grazing Livestock”

(http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/content/WateringSystemsForGrazingLivestockPub.pdf )

“Pumps and Watering Systems for Managed Beef Grazing”

(http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/envqual/eq0380.htm) for ideas on the water.

As you looked across your pasture and hay fields this past September you may have noticed not only were the surrounding trees turning fall colors but your red clover and alfalfa were also showing colors of fall? But this is not a color of fall we like to see especially in our red clover and alfalfa.

Yellow or orange threadlike stems were reported in red clover and alfalfa fields in several western Ohio counties in September. The stems are stringlike, twining, smooth and branching to form dense masses in some fields.

Purdue’s Glen Nice says that dodder is a parasitic plant without any leaves or any chlorophyll to produce its own food. It lives by attaching to a host with small appendages (called “haustoria”) and extracting the host plant’s carbohydrates.

Dodder can weaken host plants enough to reduce yield, quality, and stand. If infestations are severe enough, dodder may kill host plants. When looking at broadleaf plants, single dodder plants may be missed if you don’t look close enough. They appear as yellow strings winding up the stems or over the leaves of other plants.

Dodders are annuals that spread by seed. Having a hard seed coat, it is suspected that gas and water levels control seed dormancy. Although neither toxic nor unpalatable to sheep, dodder is not readily eaten but to reduce the spread, contaminated hay and feeds should not be used and grazing infested pastures should be avoided. The seed is spread readily in water by natural streams or by irrigation. Sheep can also spread the seed in feces and in mud on their hooves. Dodder seed can remain viable after ingestion and it is known to grow in the feces of sheep. This information was taken from the State of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia which deals with 14 different species of dodder and as you know they deal with 100 million head of sheep potentially spreading dodder seed.

CONTROLLING AND ERADICATING DODDER

Dodder seed may be able to survive in the soil over 20 years. Some have speculated this summer’s cooler conditions have enhanced the growth of dodder. Short-term control of dodder with herbicides depends on the crop in which you wish to control it. Some herbicides may affect dodder, but also may affect the crop, or not be labeled for use in that crop. Always read and follow herbicide labels.

In many cases, dodder control may be more effective if herbicide applications are made before the plant attaches to the host. PRE applications of Kerb^® have provided good control of dodder in ornamentals and turf (Anonymous). Treflan^® and Prowl^® have also been reported to suppress dodder germination (Mueller, 2006). However, in most cases that Nice has experienced, PRE applications often do not retain enough residual activity to provide control for the rest of the season.

Glyphosate has been reported to control dodder POST and can be applied as a spot treatment of a 1-2 percent solution to alfalfa. However, be aware that the alfalfa will be damaged where glyphosate is applied. Others suggest little or no control with glyphosate.

Raptor^® can suppress dodder at 5 fl oz/A when applied after dodder emergence and applied before it is three inches tall. Pursuit DG^® also can suppress dodder after emergence, but as soon as dodder attaches to the host plant, suppression drops. The Pursuit^® label recommends using it with COC or methylated seed oil to suppress dodder.

For long term control if you have heavily infested pasture and/or hay fields NSW Department of Primary Industries recommends the following…

Prevention is best. Dodder is not readily eaten by livestock but to reduce the spread, contaminated hay and feeds should not be used and grazing infested pastures should be avoided.

Sow clean seed. Pasture seed infested with golden dodder is an important source of new infestations. Because of their similar size, dodder seed is very difficult to remove from lucerne and small clover seeds. It is essential, therefore, to use certified seed.

Buy clean fodder. Contaminated hay and grain can introduce dodder to a clean property. Hay containing dodder should be destroyed as mature seed is often present.

Mark and quarantine areas of infestation. Stock grazing on areas known to be infested with golden dodder should be kept in ‘quarantine’ for at least 2 days before they are moved to dodder-free pastures. Stock can transport seed and even pieces of plant. Wherever infestations are found they should be marked and the area quarantined from activities such as hay-cutting and grazing. Care should also be taken to avoid spreading seed in soil, on machinery or boots.

Overall weed control. The control of weeds that are the preferred hosts for golden dodder will reduce its chance of spreading and prevent them becoming sources of infestation. Since dodder can be spread by seed and by its extending tendrils, it is important to always treat outside the obvious areas of infestation. A buffer zone of at least one metre diameter outside the initial infestation should be treated or burnt to prevent this occurring.

Cutting or burning. Dodder can be controlled by cutting the host plant as close as possible to ground level and burning it. Burning can be carried out after cutting and drying. Use flame throwers or other combustible material such as old hay or distillate. Burning is more effective following application of a desiccant herbicide, or diesel. The hotter the burn the better the kill of dodder, but the greater the risk of killing the host plant.

Crop rotation. Clover stands which are severely infested should be cultivated and replaced with less susceptible crops or pastures. Cereal crops such as wheat, barley, oats, triticale and cereal rye are poor hosts to dodder. Summer grain crops such as maize and sorghum are resistant to dodder. Deep ploughing can help reduce the seed burden by burying dodder seed. Most golden dodder seed will not germinate from a depth of greater than 7.5 cm. When re-sowing susceptible clovers, late summer to autumn sowings are less likely to be infected by dodder during the establishment period.

Follow-up control. Under ideal conditions, the seed of dodder can survive in the soil for up to 20 years and some plants could still reinfest paddocks several years after a successful control program. It is essential that a follow-up control program be implemented.

For more on dodder, please refer to the following websites www.btny.purdue.edu/weedscience/2005/Dodder05.pdf, www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/dodder.html, and http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/weeds/profiles/golden-dodder/agfact.

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County

The biggest enemy of pasture based sheep and goat production has got to be internal parasites and especially, Haemonchus contortus, or barber pole worm.  Its incredible reproductive capacity, an adult female can lay up to 5000 eggs/day, combined with the fact that the infective third stage (L3) larvae can survive 60 to 90 days or more on pasture during the growing season, make it almost impossible to avoid production robbing and/or life threatening infection levels in grazing kids and lambs.  In previous editions of this newsletter I have covered some of the strategies and tools small ruminant livestock owners need to use to manage parasite infection levels through the dangerous summer period.

As we get in to the fall of the year and temperatures begin to cool down and are less favorable for rapid progress through the parasite’s life-cycle, many small ruminant owners give a sigh of relief that they have survived another year.  Especially in the late fall, most of the pasture larvae L3’s that become stage 4 (L4) larvae in the sheep’s abomasum (true stomach) do not continue to molt into the adult stage, but rather enter period of arrested development or dormancy that is termed hypobiosis.  These L4 larvae will remain inactive in this state and not cause any harm to their host until emerging from hypobiosis in early spring.  Surely now the small ruminant owner can take a break from thinking about parasite management and concentrate on some other management issues.  As you can probably surmise from the title of this article, I don’t believe fall is the time to let parasite control fade from your management efforts, and here is why.

There is at least anecdotal evidence that infective L3 larvae can survive our winters and provide a source of early spring infection that can serve to jump start serious parasite burdens in sheep and goats in the coming season.  A Purdue Extension fact sheet entitled “Managing Internal Parasitism in Sheep and Goats” says that L3 larvae can survive on pasture “…up to 180 days in the fall or winter.”  Some on-farm research that was done here in Athens County in 2008 and 2009 that utilized short duration pasture rotations support the concept of surviving overwintered larvae as a source of some significant spring and early summer lamb parasite infections. However I am not aware of any research studies that have focused specifically on how long Haemonchus contortus L3 larvae from the fall of the preceding year might remain viable into a new grazing season, although there is published research that shows other parasite species do survive over the winter to infect lambs and ewes.

Responding to a question posed to him in May of this year (2009) regarding how “safe” a pasture might be that was last grazed in September of 2008, Dr. Shulaw, OSU Extension Veterinarian, replied that “I think there will be some surviving larvae on those pastures, but the number depends upon how many eggs were deposited there last fall when there was still moisture and temperature conditions favorable to development to the L3 stage.”  Dr. Shulaw continues, “The number today (May 21) is much less than there was April 1 and the number June 15 will be considerably less than now.  L3 larvae rely on stored energy.  Every day it warms up to where they try to migrate in a moisture film on a grass blade, they use some of that stored energy.  Eventually they “run out of gas.”  However, it is likely that the number of L3 larvae available on April 1 was fairly low.”  This reply was based on Dr. Shulaw knowing that the producer asking the question had tried to manage for low parasite numbers on fall pasture.  Other management schemes could certainly result in higher numbers of overwintered L3 larvae on an April pasture.

There are a couple of points I want to emphasize here.  One is that it matters where you are grazing in September and October, especially if those are pastures that will be used for early spring grazing.  Second, the population level of surviving, overwintered L3 larvae is related to how heavy a worm burden your animals have in this late summer and fall period.  If the worm burden is heavy, then a lot of eggs are being deposited on that fall grazed pasture.

A practical application of all this is to have a plan in place to protect those pastures you want to use early next spring from potentially high numbers of surviving overwintered L3 larvae.  Avoid creating an early season worm infection.  This might be done by not using those pastures grazed by lambs in September and October for April/May grazing or ewes and their lambs.  The longer fall grazed pastures can be delayed from use in the grazing rotation the next year; the lower will be the potential number of infective L3 larvae.  If the flock or herd has been managed throughout the entire grazing season with strategies to keep parasite infection levels low, then even the fall grazed pastures will not have large numbers of potentially surviving overwintered larvae.  This, of course still leaves the producer with having to manage the periparturient rise in the early spring as the L4 larvae come out of hypobiosis, but that is the subject of yet another article.

The bottom line is that small ruminant owners that want to be pasture focused as a production system can’t take a season off from parasite management.  Pasture management is parasite management within an integrated system.

An Athens area grazing council meeting/pasture walk is scheduled for Thursday, July 23 beginning at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be hosted by Curt Cline at a Meigs County property he plans to develop into a grazing system. The land currently has no fence or water and has been used for hay production. Curt is working with the Meigs County NRCS and SWCD office on an EQIP contract to help him develop the grazing system.

This is a good opportunity to learn about the planning process of developing a grazing system, including fence and water options. Other topics that will be covered at the meeting include: Making Management Decisions Based on Goals, Soil Fertility, Preparing Pastures for Winter Stockpiling, Use of Hay, Pasture Management and Internal Parasite Control in Small Ruminants.

Resource people include: Cathy Bobo, Athens SWCD, Jason Crislip and Steve Jenkins from the Meigs County NRCS/SWCD office, Daryl Clark, retired OSU Noble County Extension Educator and Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension Athens County. Dr. Bill Shulaw, OSU Extension Veterinarian will conduct the session on pasture management and parasite control.

Curt is planning to provide grilled lamb samples and some light refreshments for the meeting. In order to help him plan the amount needed, please RSVP by contacting the Athens County Extension office at (740) 593-8555 by Monday July 20 if you plan to attend. Participants may want to consider bringing a lawn chair to sit in during the sampling following the meeting.

Directions to the farm: (Doug Lowther property)
From Albany OH ….Take RT 32 west to St RT 143. Turn left on St RT 143, go approximately. 4-5 miles to Salem-School Lot Rd. Salem School Lot Rd. is just past the Columbia Township Fire Dept. Turn right on Salem-School Lot Rd. and go approximately 2 miles. Farm is on the left. Watch for “Grazing” signs.

Most know that for the past seven years, we’ve spent much time in Fairfield County investigating the virtues of oats as an annual forage when they are planted during mid to late summer, or even into early fall. While we’ve harvested from 2 to 5 tons, and consistently realized average yields of 3+ tons of dry matter from oats planted in July and August after a harvested wheat crop, it’s also apparent that yield and quality can vary greatly as planting date, nitrogen fertilization, and perhaps even oat varieties differ from each field planted.

For those looking to grow a cost-effective alternative forage crop yet this summer, and who have wheat stubble available, we offer these observations and recommendations based on experiences since 2002:

Optimum planting date for oats from the perspective of yield is the first week of August. Early August plantings also result in the highest total amount of TDN produced per acre. Later plantings will be slightly higher in quality, but not enough to offset the yield advantage of early August planting. While being more conducive to a mechanical harvest in early Fall, planting in early July reduces both yield and quality. The earlier oat plantings also exhibit more susceptibility to rust.

Regardless the planting date, or variety, no-tilled seeding rates of from 80 to 100 pounds of oats have consistently resulted in optimum forage yields.

Optimum nitrogen application rate is 40 to 50 pounds per acre. This application not only produces the highest yields, but at current values of nitrogen, it’s also the most cost effective rate. Higher rates of nitrogen actually appear to depress yields based on our 2008 plot results.

Bin run oats originating in Canada out perform, but possess similar quality at harvest as certified Armor oats.

The optimum combination of productivity and quality of August planted oats arrives 60 to 75 days after planting. Oats planted in July mature more quickly and thus, rapidly decline in quality beginning 50 to 60 days after planting.

Oats harvested 50-60 days after planting and while still in the boot stage of maturity will offer regrowth that may be grazed or sometimes even mechanically harvested a second time.

A weed control application of glyphosate is a necessary and cost effective practice prior to oat planting.

An additional advantage observed when using oats for an annual forage crop is the opportunity to capture the total tonnage produced with a single harvest cutting if grazing is not an option. It’s also important to note that the 3+ ton yields resulting from oats planted in early August after wheat and straw harvest, which have been experienced consistently in Fairfield County, exceed the average yields of the perennial hay crops produced in Fairfield County and also Ohio, on average, over the same time period.
If you’ve yet to attend any of our field days to see for yourself the results of summer seeded oats, this web link has photos and data of several of the past years’ efforts at the alternatives described above: http://beef.osu.edu/beef/graze/wntrgraz.htm.

In Ohio it is possible to graze year round. Of course grazing in winter does take planning. Summer is the best time to plan for fall and winter grazing. Why? Because many of our options have tasks associated with them in summer. By planning ahead it is possible in Ohio to have adequate quality, grazable forage for most of the winter. Depending on the class of livestock and their stage of production it is possible to need to feed for weeks in winter as opposed to months.

The cheapest option for fall grazing is crop residue, specifically corn residue. Corn residue can be an excellent grazable feed for about sixty days after the combine leaves the field. Fence and water are usually the biggest challenge to utilizing this feed resource. The variety of temporary fence and water options available can overcome that challenge. Grazing corn residue in fall can also take pressure off of your pasture fields and allow you to stockpile more forage for winter grazing. Check out the Factsheet “Grazing Corn Residue”, ANR 10-02, http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0010.html for more information.

Stockpiling tall fescue is a relatively inexpensive option and can be done with existing pastures. To start stockpiling make the last clip or grazing anytime from the end of July through September. Generally, the earlier start the more you will have, but the lower the quality. The opposite is also true: the later you start, the higher the quality, but lower yield. After the last cut/graze add 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre. The addition of the nitrogen will add from 1000-2000 pounds of forage. If you have a large amount of clover, over 40%, then research shows little additional response to N applications for stockpiling.

After applying the nitrogen then delay grazing those fields until November through February. Quality will start to decline after Thanksgiving, but it is a slow decline. Usually the quality of stockpiled tall fescue will be still good enough for a ewe in good condition into February. Check out the Factsheet “Stockpiling Tall Fescue for Winter Grazing”, AGF-023 http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0023.html for more information.

Orchardgrass can also be stockpiled. Research conducted at OARDC Jackson Branch showed that orchardgrass will have protein around 12% into February. Orchardgrass will weather rapidly after prolonged cold temperatures, so yields will be reduced the longer you wait to graze.

Brassicas are also options to extend the grazing season. Turnips are the most common brassica used in Ohio. Turnips can be planted from mid July through early August. Most cultivars will reach maximum yield in 90 days. To get a good crop of turnips, you need two pounds of seed and fifty pounds of nitrogen per acre. Either no-till or conventional seeding will work. The hardest part is the low seeding rate and a small seed. Mixing the seed with the fertilizer helps. Tops and bulbs can both be grazed, with the tops being the higher quality feed component. Brassicas are very low in fiber, feed low quality hay to help slow its passage through your livestock. The crop should remain available to livestock until temperatures fall below 15 degrees. Check out the Factsheet “Brassicas for Forage”, AGF-020-92 http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0020.html for more information.

Winter rye is an option that can produce a high quality crop for grazing in December and March. It is very high in quality and will be the first to green up in the spring. This is a good option for livestock with high nutritional needs. For early spring grazing do not over-graze rye in December. Winter rye can be planted from the middle of August through the middle of September at 90-100 pounds of seed per acre. When rye is 2-4 inches tall, 50-75 pounds of nitrogen will stimulate growth and additional applications in early March will increase production. Check out the Factsheet “Winter Rye for Extending the Grazing Season”, AGF-026-00 http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0026.html for more information.

Spring oats planted from July through September will grow more feed in the fall than winter rye but won’t have the spring growth. Optimum planting is the first week of August and you can grow an average of 6,000 pounds of dry matter per acre. Plant bin run oats originating in Canada at a rate of 80 to 100 pounds per acre. Fifty pounds of nitrogen will be beneficial. Like stockpiling tall fescue earlier planting will increase yield but quality will be lower than a later planting. The next article in this newsletter dives deeper into this option.

Standing corn can also be a viable option for winter grazing. Yes, in Ohio most people would consider this crazy. The profile of the plant and the fact that a lot of its nutritional quality will be in the grain make it an attractive option. It will be less likely to be ungrazable because of excessive snow and or ice. Of course you will need to get your ewes started on grain before grazing this crop. Research at OARDC has shown an acre of standing corn can feed 20 ewes for 70 days. Check out the Factsheet “Using Corn for Livestock Grazing”, ANR-11-02 http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0011.html for more information.

For all of these forages the grazing management needs to include strip grazing. Strip grazing or limiting access with temporary fencing will increase utilization of the crop and decrease the amount wasted.

As a supplement to the OSU Extension fact sheets mentioned above there is also a new publication “Extending Grazing and Reducing Stored Feed Needs”, a Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative Publication 8-01, available at http://forages.osu.edu/Library/ExtendingGrazing.pdf . All of the above resources are also available from your local OSU Extension offices.

Fall is one of the most crucial time periods for our cool season pastures. The most important activity a livestock producer should be doing to help the pastures survive winter and remain productive next year is to avoid over-grazing.

Why is fall a critical time for our cool season perennial forages? The grass plants in your pasture are perennial plants. They survive from year to year. One way perennial plants survive is to develop buds located at the crown of the plant and store energy in the form of carbohydrates to be used by those buds when they start growing.

Leaf tissue that grows in the fall will die over winter. Next years growth comes from the buds developed the previous fall. The buds and roots of the plant are the parts that remain as living tissues over the winter. While not growing they are respiring and burning energy. If carbohydrate reserves are not adequate then the plant can die before spring. If the plant survives but carbohydrate reserves are low, then initial spring growth is slow and the overall vigor of the plant is reduced.

In the fall, we have short day, long night periods with temperatures above freezing to about 70 degrees F. It is that combination that triggers buds to be initiated and formed on the crown of the plant. In the cooler temperatures leaf growth is slower while photosynthesis does not slow down. This increases the reserve carbohydrates in the plant, which is then used for bud and root development. In the spring new growth comes from these buds. Initial spring growth draws upon carbohydrate reserves stored in the roots and or crowns of the plants. Those buds and stored carbohydrates start next year’s growth.

Healthy leaf tissue is needed for this to happen. Overgrazing removes too much leaf tissue. A grass plant with too little leaf area after grazing has to use carbohydrate reserves from the roots to re-grow. If the plant does not grow enough leaf tissue to gain carbohydrates before it is grazed again then the plant will continue to deplete its carbohydrate reserves. In fall the growing season will eventually come to an end and the plant will not have a chance to recover. Plants struggling to grow leaves will not develop buds. Overgrazed pastures that go into the winter with low carbohydrate reserves are very slow to green up in the spring and exhibit slow growth rates once they do green up.

Overgrazing is not caused by having too many animals in a field. It occurs when you keep animals in a field too long or bring the animals back before the forages have recovered. The length of time is determined by plant growth and how much is there at the start of grazing. The animals should be removed before plants they initially grazed start to re-grow. They also should be removed before they eat all of the leaves. Viable leaves need to remain after the plants are grazed. Plants should also be given enough rest between grazing events. This will allow enough leaf area to be re-grown before the animals are allowed to graze that field again.

Overgrazing can be avoided by paying attention to forage residual, grazing time and rest. You should leave at least 1200-1500 lbs. of DM per acre or 2-3″ of green forage when you pull animals from a field. You should remove the animals before the forage starts to re-grow. The pasture should recover to above 2400 lbs. of DM acre or 6-8″ before turning the animals into a field.

We invite you to join us for the Sheep Grazing tour on July 10, 2009 in Noble County. For the past two years, Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council have sponsored a pre-Sheep Day tour with Small Farm Institute, OSU Extension, OSU Sheep and Forage Teams, NRCS and Ohio Sheep Improvement Association. The cost for the day tour will be $30.00 for OFGC members and $35.00 for non members. It includes the bus, lunch and other refreshments. Reservations are needed by July 2, 2009. Send your check and reservations to Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council, P.O. Box 488, Coshocton, OH 43812. You can download a registration form off www.smallfarminstitute.org website. If you have questions, please call 740.545.6349 or email leah@smallfarminstitute.org.

The tour starts at Caldwell Elementary school by boarding the bus at 9:00 a.m. The elementary school’s address is 44350 Fairground Rd., Caldwell, Ohio. Parking will be available at the school. The tour is all day. The hosts for our tour are Chuck and Lisa Rodenfels, Shawn and Kim Ray, and Wayne Shriver Family. The following is a description of each farm:

Somerhill Farm- This farm is owned and operated by Chuck and Lisa Rodenfels. The Rodenfels have been shepherds for more than 20 years. One of the interesting sights on this tour will be a rare breed of sheep, the Bluefaced Leicester. The Rodenfels were one of the first people in the US to raise this breed of sheep. While still quite rare here, the BFL is the maternal sire of the “mule”, the backbone of the British commercial sheep industry. Over the years, the Rodenfels have used semen from several imported sires, and have had laparoscopic artificial insemination performed at their farm. Besides the BFLs, there is also a flock of Katahdins, a breed of hairsheep. These sheep are pasture lambed in May. Both breeds of sheep are rotationally grazed on a year round basis using electric netting. The Rodenfels direct market their wool products by a website, internet sales, as well at local fiber events. They have also sold lamb meat at a farm market

The Ray Family Farm – Shawn and Kim, along with their children Etta, William, and Hannah; and his parents Gene and Carole, raise sheep and goats on two farms in Noble County totaling 179 acres. The sheep flock consists of ~100 Dorset cross commercial ewes and their lambs. The goat herd includes ~30 Boer/Spanish cross commercial does and their kids. The goats are barn lambed in March and then rotationally grazed until weaning and direct sale in late fall, timed for ethnic holiday. The sheep are pasture lambed April 20th through ~May 20th; jugged, then rotationally grazed and never seeing feed after the jug. Lambs are usually weaned mid to late July and continue to be rotationally grazed. Ideally like to begin grazing turnips in late September and begin marketing lambs directly off of turnips from late October through mid December. (Drought last two falls have changed that approach). The Ray’s have participated in some USDA programs and have done several practices including subdivision fencing, spring development, controlled stream crossings, stream exclusion fencing, woodland exclusion fencing, extensive waterline, automatic waterers and/or frost-free hydrants, heavy use feeding pads and farm lane construction.

Shriver Farms – The farm is diversified livestock and forage operation. The farm combines commercial cattle enterprises and commercial sheep on a large scale. The farming operations are spread over several areas with the commercial ewe operation near the home farm in Buffalo and the majority of cattle located near Summerfield. The primary forage utilized for grazing is fescue. Reclaimed strip-mine ground represents the all of the pasture utilized at the Summerfield operation. Various sections of the farms have utilized EQIP funds to develop water systems, fencing and stream crossings.