Air November 19, 2003

Thank you Gary, and good morning everyone. A little rain is always a great way to start the week regardless of how much or little it was. If you have not got wheat planted yet, I think it's time to consider putting the drill away - we've just got too much working against the crop and maybe we need to consider something else in the way of a spring crop, maybe even oats.

I've had a few calls about grazing drought stunted sorghum fields that aren't even harvested. Many of these fields may have a potential for 15 to 20 bushels per acre of grain yield. It is perfectly fine to graze these fields, just a few things to keep in mind. We've had enough cold weather now that prussic acid should not be a concern. And all the nitrate tests that have been taken on these fields have come back very low. Anytime we turn cattle into a new grazing regime, it's always a good idea to send them in with a full stomach. In other words, bring them in to a holding facility, feed them good first thing in the morning and then turn them out with full stomachs. Then you have all the rest of that first day just to keep an eye on them. Make sure you have an adequate supply of high quality water as well. In some known cases of potential problems make sure you have the right supplements in place such as bloat guard if grazing alfalfa or the proper mineralized salt to prevent grass tetany on wheat pasture in the spring. There is some logic that if you are utilizing unharvested sorghum fields that do have grain, you may want to supplement the cattle for 7 to 10 days with a couple pounds of grain a day just to get the bugs in their rumen ready for some grain. But keep in mind that those sorghum leaves are pretty high protein too, in fact higher protein than corn stalk leaves in many cases, so just because the grain is gone, don't think that the good grazing is over. Usually, once you get through the first 4 to 5 days of introducing cattle to a new forage, they should all be well accustomed to it and the potential risk really drops down. So keep an eagle eye on them for that first week. Then get out and check not only the cattle periodically, but check the quality of the resource. As we get into early 2004, those spring calving cows are going to need a little more nutrition than they do now and you don't want to wait too long to start supplementing them!

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2003.