CRP acres are open to haying or grazing after July 15

On Tuesday (5/27/08) Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced that USDA has authorized Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage be made available for haying and/or grazing after the primary nesting season ends for grass-nesting birds. In Ohio, this means these acres may become feed for livestock after July 15 and until November 10, 2008.

According to the USDA press release, this action has been taken to provide additional feed and forage to livestock producers due to the significant increases in the values of most field crops which have in turn created competition for acres. The release goes on to say more than 24 million acres of land enrolled in CRP will be eligible for this feed use program. USDA estimates this program will make available up to 18 million tons of forage worth $1.2 billion.

The CRP lands deemed the most environmentally-sensitive will not be eligible, and acres which are eligible will be subject to a site inspection to ensure compliance with a modified conservation plan which must be obtained from NRCS or a Technical Service Provider (TSP). No rental payment reduction will be assessed on contracts being utilized for this use, however, a $75 fee will be charged to process the required contract modification through the Farm Service Agency (FSA). In addition, participants agree to:

* Re-establish at their cost any CRP cover destroyed.
* Limit haying to one cutting.
* Not hay and graze the same acreage.
* If haying, leave at least 50% of each field unhayed.
* If grazing, leave at least 25% of each field ungrazed, or graze all of the CRP acreage at no more than 75% of the stocking rate as determined under the modified conservation plan for the field.

For Ohio cattlemen and sheep producers with CRP acres planted to cool season grasses, forages harvested under the guidelines of this program can most likely be utilized similar to other low protein, high lignin feeds we worked with during last year's drought. As described in Francis Fluharty's article Protein and Energy Supplementation of Crop Residues for Breeding Cattle published last fall in the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter, low quality forages become 30% more digestible when processed or ground, and must be supplemented with appropriate amounts of protein. Distillers grains may be an excellent protein source for balancing the cool season, high lignin forages which result. Review the article from last August Ohio BEEF Cattle letter entitled Distillers Grains With Solubles by Steve Boyles or the OSU Extension fact sheet Distillers Grains for more information on utilizing distillers.

Ohio cattlemen or sheep producers with CRP acres planted to warm season grasses may have less feed quality issues than those with the cool season grasses. Review Bob Hendershot's July of 2008 Ohio BEEF Cattle letter article entitled Potential of CRP Wram Season Grasses for Hay for more detail on utilizing warm season forages planted on CRP acres.

Signup for the opportunity to hay or graze CRP acres under this new program begins June 2 at local FSA offices and is only available for 2008. All haying or grazing on the enrolled acres must be completed no later than November 10, 2008. Additional details including the Secretary's announcement press release, a fact sheet, and maps indicating the primary nesting dates for all states are available at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation.

Contact your local FSA office for assistance regarding enrollment in this program.

Champaign County Pasture Walk May 29

OSU Extension Champaign County has a late spring pasture walk planned for May 29th, from 6-9PM. The location is 4145 E. SR 296 - at Cable Acres Farm, home of the Daggers. This meeting follows up on the interest from the Hay & Pasture Night program that was held in March.

We will have Bob Hendershot, USDA-NRCS Grazing Specialist speak to the group about grazing management. With the problems of last year for forages, many should benefit from Bobs discussion on pasture species, planning for grazing, fencing, water availability and animal management. Bob has a world of experience and together we will walk through the Daggers pasture areas discussing what works, what can be improved and how to be manage the pastures for best animal gain.

The Daggers have in addition to the pastures at the farm, a heavy use pad, a manure storage area and a winter stockpiling setting all for beef animals. Just because we have beef animals the night of the walk doesnt mean we wont talk about other species. Bob is a sheep producer himself, but is also knowledgeable about horse, goat and beef needs.

There will be several other pasture walks throughout the summer with neighboring counties in conjunction with OSU Extension, too. While you may learn a lot about pasture management at one of the walks it is even better if you can plan to attend several of the walks throughout the summer on the third Thursday of each month.

All local grazers should plan to attend, no reservations needed, May 29th from 6-9PM at 4145 E. SR 296 hosted by all the Dagger Families watch for the OSU Extension Field Day direction signs leading to the site. Directions: travel north from Urbana on US 68, go east on SR 296, cross Ludlow Road continuing east on SR 296, don't go up the hill - go left following SR 296, then the farm is on the right at 4145.

May Issue of Amazing Graze Posted

The May issue of the Amazing Graze Newsletter is now posted on the Ohio Forage Network website. Follow the newsletter link. In this issue you will find articles entitled: Nitrogen Management For Pasture, Economy Of Lime and Major Cost Items On Ohio Grazing Dairy Farms.

There are over 30 grazing, pasture or forage related events planned this summer. Be sure to check out the Events Page for grazing/forage related events in the next few months.

Pasture Growth by May 19

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2008

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
April 6	4	18	109	53
April 13	3	18	118	59
April 20	5	26	138	73
April 27	19	20	197	72
May 4	28	28	211	113
May 11	17	13	220	95

Pasture Growth by May 12

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2008

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
April 6	4	18	109	53
April 13	3	18	118	59
April 20	5	26	138	73
April 27	19	20	197	72
May 4	28	28	211	113

Pasture Growth from April 6 - May 3.

Daily growth of measured pastures.
Reported in pounds of dry matter per day.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2008

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
April 6	3	21.4	108.6	65.2
April 13	2	40.7	117.6	79.1
April 20	4	25.7	138.1	73.8
April 27	15	20.6	196.7	77.0