A website from UGA Cooperative Extension

News, events, and happenings in Colquitt County agriculture.

In This Issue
The US Drought Outlook
Beef Management Calendar for October
Hay Supplies and Feed Costs this Fall
Southern Regional Land Value Report

The US Drought Outlook
The US Drought Outlook was released on September 21st and it indicates a chance for the development of drought in Alabama and points west but does not indicate a chance of drought developing in the next three months in the rest of the Southeast.

Beef Management Calendar for October

General
Quality of bermudagrass and bahia declines rapidly from now to frost. Growers need to watch body condition of their cattle because supplemental  feed may be needed.
Stockpiling forages
stockpiling berudagrass

• Finish planting winter grazing in prepared seed beds and begin over seeding winter annuals into pastures.
Time to Start Thinking About Overseeding Your Pastures
Tips on Overseeding Pastures and Hayfields

• Cattle producers need watch feed conditions closely when grazing cotton stalks and other crop residue. Cows will eat the best of the crop residues quickly. If you would like to see more information on grazing cotton stalks and residue then go to the link below.
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c5314b7406ec484e5681477af/files/9961b491-7cde-44f1-a6c4-1c9a17a6bd9a/Grazing_Cotton_Stalk_Residue.pdf

• Remove cattle from sorghum crops after a light frost due to the danger of prussic acid poisoning.

• Continue to monitor supplemental feed prices. Corn and by-product feeds like cottonseed are usually cheaper in the fall.

Spring Calving (Based off January to March calving Dates)

Finish weaning late calves.

• Heifers need to weigh about ⅔ of their mature weight at breeding time in March. They usually need to gain about 1.5 lbs per day after weaning.

• Watch the body condition of bred heifers. Separate them from the cows and provide supplemental feed as quality of fall grazing declines.
https://caes2.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/events/GS09/notebookitems/11%20Grazing%20Herd%20Management%20Issues%20for%20beef%20cattle/Body%20Condition%20Scoring%20Beef%20Cows.pdf

• Identify thin cows and supplement them at a rate where they will reach moderate body condition at calving.

Fall Calving ((Based off October to December calving Dates)
Cows due to calve should be put into clean pastures and checked frequently.

• Tag calves at birth. Record birth date, tag number and cow ID.

• Castrate, dehorn and implant bull calves at birth.

• Bulls will be turned in with heifers in December and cows in January. It is time to evaluate bulls, trim feet, line up a breeding soundness exam or decide on buying a new bull.
Herd Bull Management: Pre Breeding

• Check with your veterinarian about suggested pre-calving and pre-breeding vaccinations for cows.
Vacinations for the Beef Herd
Source: UGA Beef Management Calendar

Hay Supplies and Feed Costs this Fall
by Levi Russell
Producers are likely to have some issues securing adequate hay at affordable prices thanks to a continued deficit in Georgia and the southeast generally. As of the May hay report, stocks were down 15% in Georgia, 9% in Alabama, 13% in Tennessee, and 27% in Florida. Stocks were 7% higher in South Carolina relative to 2016. The percentage drop in Florida and increase in South Carolina are less important since those states contribute relatively little to hay stocks in the region generally.

The recent drought has reduced hay acreage here in Georgia and acres are down across the southeast. This points to the potential for a slow recovery in hay stocks into next year as well.

Fortunately, corn and soybean prices are not likely to rise dramatically nationwide in the next several months, which will help keep prices of typical feed ingredients relatively low.
For those considering winter forages this year, please feel free to check out my Winter Annuals Budgets on this page: https://www.caes.uga.edu/departments/ag-econ/extension/budgets.html

Southern Regional Land Value Report
Below is a link to the Southern Regional Land Value and Rent Report published by USDA.
Southern Regional Value Report