Caswell County Center
126 Court Square
Post Office Box 220
Yanceyville, NC 27379-0220
(PHONE) 336-694-4158
(FAX) 336-694-5930
CASWELL AMAZING GRAZING EXTENSION NOTES
LATE SUMMER 2006
Hello,
The summer is half way through and soon it will
be fall. The spring was dry, but we are catching
up on the rainfall this summer. It has been
good for crops and pastures. Here is some
latest information I hope will help you in your
farming enterprise.
NEW CASWELL COUNTY FARMERS MARKET?
Only fresh, locally grown produce will be
featured at the Caswell County Farmers Market
in the Pavilion Building behind the Bartlett
Yancey Historic House Restaurant if opened.
The
Caswell
Development
Corporation
Executive Committee has projected a one-year
completion time frame for developing a new
Farmers Market in Caswell. I have discussed
this idea with Mike Willis at the Bartlett Yancey
Historic House Restaurant and he has agreed
to let us open on Saturday mornings from 7 to
12 noon. This is a start!
I need farmers who will
commit to selling at the
market.
Also, I need an
advisory board to help guide
the Farmers Market in the
right direction. Growers will be certified by their
local Extension Offices in their respective
counties.
At the new Farmers Market, you will be able to
purchase the freshest fruits, vegetables and
specialty foods in Caswell County! No shipped
in produce will be allowed.
At our market, vendors from a several county
area will offer the finest in homegrown, natural
produce raised on their farms and delivered
fresh to the market in season.
on the Farmers Market Advisory Board, please
give me a call at 336-694-4158. We would like
to open sometime in August.
REDUCING HEAT STRESS ON DAIRY COWS
During the summer heat stress on dairy cattle,
as well as other livestock, causes a tremendous
amount of economical loss from low milk
producing herds. Some things to remember
when trying to prevent heat
stress in dairy cows are as
follows:
2.
3.
4.
5.
1. The optimum temperature
for dairy cattle ranges from
25 to 65º F. When temperatures rise above
80º F., a decrease in feed intake by 8 to 12%
occurs. When temperatures reach 90º F. or
above, then breeding performance is poor.
Cattle sweat only 10% as much as man;
therefore, evaporative cooling such as body
sprinkling or fans for good air movement is
essential.
Use high quality forages to reduce heat
produced in digesting and assimilating feed.
Make certain the neutral fiber (NDFO level)
is at least 26 to 28%. Increase levels of
certain minerals to compensate for higher
losses from the body during hot, humid
weather.
Research in Texas has illustrated that chilled
water at 50º F. will allow the cows to produce
approximately five lbs. more milk per day per
cow verses drinking water temperatures at
86º F.
Increase sanitation during hot, humid
weather because the risk of mastitis and
other infections increases. A need for more
bedding, cleaning and disease control is
essential.
CREEP GRAZE CALVES
If you are interested in selling at the new
proposed Farmers Market in Caswell or serving
Creep grazing is the practice of allowing
suckling calves to graze the highest quality
forage available while restricting cows to
pastures that are lower in quality or less
abundant.
Research at Virginia Tech has
shown an increase of 25 to 50 lbs. in calf
weaning weight where creep grazing is used.
Creep grazing is a simple practice to start. An
area of the pasture needs to be selected that
parallels the area where cows will be grazing.
Creep holes for calves should be generally 18”
wide and 40” high. In general, four calves can
be creep grazed per acre of permanent pasture.
Up to ten calves can be grazed per acre of
summer annuals. For example, a herd with 60
calves, you will need to fence off about 15 acres
for creep grazing. Those added pounds could
help the profit of your cattle operation.
DEWORM
AUGUST
SPRING
CALVES
IN
EARLY
If you fail to get spring born nursing calves
dewormed in July, early August will do. Use any
one of a number of good dewormng materials
on spring born calves 75 to 90 days prior to
weaning, which will be in most instances in July.
The weight gain advantage has proven midseason deworming adds weight and makes
money. There is usually no need to deworm
cows at this time, only calves.
FALL FEEDER CALF SALES
Carolina Stockyards at Siler City will conduct
two Graded Feeder Calf Sales this year. The
dates are August 23 and September 27. To be
sold at graded sales, all calves must be less
than one year old, males must be castrated and
healed, and all must be dehorned. In addition,
the calves must be vaccinated against blackleg.
There are other graded sales in Statesville,
Norwood, Clinton, Oxford and Wilkesboro if
these two dates do not fit your schedule.
If you need consignment forms to designate
feeder cattle to one of these sale barns, then
feel free to contact me.
AUGUST:
TIME TO STOCKPILE FESCUE
Extending the grazing season using cool
season grasses and legumes can be one of the
most cost effective practices available to
farmers. In NC, this practice is most often
accomplished by stockpiling tall fescue in the
late summer and early fall. Stockpiling fescue
can help reduce feed cost by 50 to 60%.
Standard recommendations in NC are to apply
60 to 80 lbs. of nitrogen around August 15.
Typically the quality of the stockpiled forage is
as good as or better than the “good hay” in your
barn.
To further enhance the utilization of stockpiled
forage use strip grazing to limit access. Strip
grazing reduces the loss of forage to trampling,
bedding on grass, manure, etc. Strip grazing
can be accomplished by using temporary
electric fencing, which can be moved easily as
needed. In work done in NC in 1995, savings of
$20 per head was gained by using strip grazing
of 47 yearling heifers and 22 first calf cows on
35 acres of unfertilized pasture/hay field –
fescue, blue grass, orchard grass, red and
white clover.
AUGUST BEEF MANAGEMENT CALENDAR
Spring Calving Herds
 End breeding season early in month if
not already stopped, pull bulls
 Feed first calf heifers separately; give
them best forage and supplement if
needed
 Plan marketing of calves at Fall Special
Graded Sales
 Continue fly control program
 Continue feeding high Selenium trace
mineral salt
 Continue creep grazing and grazing
warm season grasses
 Fertilize pastures that will be stockpiled
for fall-winter grazing
 Move cattle to some hay fields to give
pastures a rest
Fall Calving Herds
 Body condition score cows
 Separate thin cows from supplement
until calving rest of the herd, and feed
them best pasture or a grain
 Prepare for calving season; make sure
you have all equipment and supplies
 Continue fly control program
 Continue high Selenium trace mineral
salt
 Move cattle to some hay fields to give
pastures a rest
 Fertilize pastures that will be stockpiled
for fall-winter grazing
2

Market calves early in the month if not
already
done
or
continue
backgrounding program
HELPFUL HINTS IN MAKING CORN SILAGE
Some helpful recommendations when cutting
corn for silage are:
1. Kernel milk-line is a measure used when
determining the right time to harvest corn
for silage. Around ½ milk-line stage of
maturity is best. Do not harvest at blacklayer stage because silage will tend to be
too dry and cows will not utilize the silage
as well.
2. Corn silage should be harvested when
there is 65 to 70% whole-plant moisture.
Harvesting whole-plant corn with more
than 70% moisture will increase acidity
and seepage; therefore, leading to lower
dry matter intake.
3. A 3/8” chopping length is recommended,
but may vary from ¼” to ½” because of
whole-plant and kernel moisture, forage
harvester and hybrid type.
4. Silage cutter roll clearance ranges should
be set at 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. If kernel
and cob breakage is not complete,
tighten the rolls until kernel damage is
complete.
5. Estimated milk production goes up when
the chopper head is raised from 6 to 18”
because of more fibrous feed and
increased TDN (total digestible nutrients).
In conclusion, harvesting corn for silage
at the right moisture and particle size is
crucial to achieve high quality livestock
feed.
competitive in the market place. FACT will
make computers available free for farmers
unable to purchase them. The classes will be
held at PCC, Caswell Campus.
Anyone
interested in attending should call our office at
336-694-4158. We need ten people for the
class to be offered.
BEEF
(BQA)
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
RESULTS
Great job! Everyone who turned in his or her
test passed.
If you still want to become
certified, give me a call and bring your money
along with the test to my office. We had 50
people attend the June BQA Meeting and about
half of those folks paid and became certified.
NO-TILL DRILL PURCHASE
Several livestock folks have mentioned an
interest in having the Caswell Cattlemen’s
Association or our office purchase a no-till drill
for rent to livestock producers to help improve
pastures and forage production.
Anyone
interested and willing to commit $200, which will
go toward the first 20 acres seeded ($10 per
acre will be the rent fee) on their farm, should
let me know. We need at least 20 people to
commit to the project to help with financing.
This is an ideal project for the small producer
who cannot afford to buy a $20,000 no-till drill to
use once or twice a year.
Sincerely,
Joey E. Knight, III
Joey E. Knight, III
County Extension Director
JEK/psm
FARMERS ADOPTING COMPUTER TRAINING
PROGRAM (FACT)
The NC Cooperative Extension Program at NC
A&T State University and Piedmont Community
College (PCC) want to offer free computer
classes. The project is
designed to train farm
families on how to use
computers for their
farming operations in
order for them to
become
more
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