Don't Guess, Soil Test!
Check out our new soil testing fact sheet from OSU Extension. Click Here
Soil tests are like a “blood test” for soil, offering valuable insights into its health. They are an affordable way to maintain plant health in urban areas and optimize productivity in nurseries, gardens, and fruit crops. Based on test results, recommendations can save time and money while preventing excessive fertilizer use, protecting the environment. Soil tests also aid in plant selection and contribute to diagnostics. Don't Guess Soil Test!
Wet Spring increases slug population!
If you're like me, you may have noticed unusual holes in the leaves of your hostas or your garden vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach, this spring. What you're observing may be slug damage.
This cool, wet spring has significantly contributed to the slug population here in Gallia County. Here are some facts and resources that can help you deal with those pesky mollusks!
Slugs can be found in our yards, fields, and gardens, feeding on a variety of plants; both mature and young plants are at risk for damage. They are active from spring through fall until the first freeze. Depending on the species, slugs can range in size from ¼ inch to 5 inches, with the gray garden slug being the most common in Ohio.
The life cycle of a slug includes three stages: the egg stage, the juvenile phase, and the adult stage. Mating occurs between August and October, with eggs hatching in early spring when temperatures reach 32-42 degrees Fahrenheit.
To trap slugs, you can place wet newspaper, cardboard, or a damp cloth in your garden at night to provide them with shelter. In the morning, simply flip these materials over and remove the slugs to dispose of them. Early morning scouting before the dew dries or nighttime searches with flashlights can also help you locate slugs.
Slugs prefer moist soil and cool, humid environments. To deter them, consider opening your garden landscape to allow more sunlight and air circulation. Keep mulch to no more than 3 inches thick and promptly remove dead leaves and any wilted or decaying plant material.
Additionally, you can trap slugs using containers filled with beer or other fermented foods, such as a mixture of sugar, yeast, and water, as they are attracted to these liquids and will drown in them. While there are commercially available slug baits, it's important to use them with caution, as they may be toxic to humans and pets. Always follow the label recommendations when using these products. Remember that slugs are not insects, so insecticides will not be effective against them.
For additional information on slug identification and management, please refer to the following link:
"Slugs and Their Management in Landscapes" by Timothy McDermott.
Looking for more information on slugs in your field crops?
Slugs are often linked to conservation practices like reduced tillage, no-till farming, and cover crops. In Ohio, including Gallia County, OSU Extension professionals are researching slug populations in no-till soybean fields to assess their impact on crop yields.
For additional information on slugs concerning field crops, please visit the following link: "Slugs on Field Crops" by Rachel Cochran and Kelley Tilmon.
OSU Extension Offering Hay Testing Program
In response to these challenges, OSU Extension is offering a forage testing program to provide timely education for winter supplementation and, if enough samples are submitted, create an eBarns county hay quality summary.
Dry hay or baleage samples are due at your local OSU Extension office by July 31, 2025. The first sample analysis will cost $15, with subsequent samples costing $20. Near Infrared (NIR) Analysis will be completed. Producers will get values for Dry Matter Content, Total Digestible Nutrients, Crude Protein, ADF, NDF, Ash, Fat, C, P, and K.
Below is an article by Mark Landefeld, Retired Monroe County ANR Extension Educator, detailing the challenges of making hay during a wet May and June.
Making timely first-cutting dry hay in Ohio always has challenges with weather, it seems, but this year it definitely has been more than usual. Extremely good, high-quality hay is made from young leafy forage at boot stage, not fully mature long brown stems with dried up seed heads like we have been seeing everywhere now in July. The combination of maximum yield and highly digestible dry matter is usually obtained at the late boot, to early head stage of maturity for grasses and in the mid-to-late bud stage of maturity for our legumes. Forages that can be harvested at that time, most often meet the nutrient requirements of beef cattle, but accomplishing that this year has been the exception, not the rule, for most producers.
Beef cows do not require the same level of nutrition as dairy cows do to maximize production. However, this year is going to be challenging to have enough nutrients in most beef producers' first-cutting hay to maintain the cow’s minimum requirements without grain supplementation, mixing in high-quality stockpiled forage, or adding good-quality second-cutting hay into the feeding scheme this winter. Forage testing should be done so producers know what their hay quality actually is and if adjustments need to be made.
Just because there is hay in the bale rings for the cows to eat does not mean she can eat enough, or that there are enough nutrients in the hay, for her to function properly. Extended periods of poor nutrition can lead to calving problems, weak newborns, poor quality milk, rebreeding problems, and many other costly complications. The multiple costs associated with feeding poor-quality hay for an extended period of time are hard to put a dollar amount on, but they certainly are there!
Forage test results may be extra valuable this year. With forage test results, we usually look at total digestible nutrients (TDN) and crude protein (CP) to determine the forage quality and use this information to calculate if there are enough nutrients to meet the livestock’s requirements in various stages of production. We may need to take a closer look at other information on the lab results this year as well.
I expect neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content to be higher than normal in many producers’ hay bales because of the over-mature condition of the hay. As forage plants mature, cell wall production in the plants increases, and NDF content will increase, see Figure 1. As NDF content in a forage increases, dry matter intake decreases because it cannot pass through the cow’s system as fast. Therefore, with NDF percentages, we can accurately predict forage intake as it relates to bulk, or we could say, how much an animal will eat before its stomach gets full and stops eating. The higher the NDF value, the less the livestock can physically eat of that forage/day.
Most mixed grass hay, after heading out, will have NDF values of 65% or greater. Beef cows can only consume about 1-1.2% of their body weight in NDF/day. So, a 1300 lb. beef cow could consume up to 15.6 lbs. of NDF/day on a dry matter (DM) basis. If our hay is 65% NDF, a 1300 lb. cow can only eat 24 lbs. of this hay on a DM basis or approximately 27 lbs./day as fed. Without showing all the calculations in this article, this hay would cause more than a 2.2 lb. (±14%) deficiency in TDN/day for a superior milking, early lactating cow’s needs. This is why a cow can have a full stomach, but still lose weight.
Ash levels in this year’s hay may be a concern, too. As ash percentage increases, digestible dry matter decreases. So far this year, I have seen virtually no hay fields around my area this year without tracks left from equipment and areas of hay left unraked in the fields because the producer realized it was too wet to get through without excessively tearing up the field. Running equipment over hay, on ground that is wetter than usual, and around these wet spots for mowing, tedding, and raking has undoubtedly caused dirt/mud to adhere, or splash in some cases, onto the forage that would not normally be there.
Dan Undersander, Forage Agronomist from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, provides the following information and table. “Ash in forage comes from two sources: internal, e.g., minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, and external, e.g., dirt, bedding, sand, etc. The average internal ash content of alfalfa is about 8%, and of grasses is about 6%. Additional ash in a hay or silage sample is contamination with dirt, sand, etc. As shown in Table 1, a summary of ash content of forage samples submitted to the University of Wisconsin Soil and Forage Analysis Laboratory, the average ash content of haylage is 12.3% and of hay is 10.3%. Assuming the silage is mainly alfalfa and the hay has a higher percentage of grass, forage samples are averaging about 4% ash contamination from external sources. Note that some samples have been as high as 18%. This means this farmer had fed almost 1 pound of dirt with each 5 pounds of hay or haylage!”
Ash content is only one item listed in a forage analysis, but I am interested to see what our analyses will show this year compared to others in the past. Studies have shown that cutting height and type of rake used in the haymaking process are big factors that can increase ash content, above what is considered normal in forages. Some studies indicate that leaving a stubble height of about 3” provides the best results for reducing additional ash content while maximizing the quantity of forage for harvest. The lower a producer cuts their forage to the soil surface, the more ash ends up in the forage. Studies have also shown ground-driven wheel rakes generally add a few percentage points to ash when compared to other types of rotary or power take-off driven rakes.
Another point to consider this year is going to be heat damage to the forage. Many producers probably have hay that was baled wetter than optimum. In a previous issue of the Ohio Beef Cattle Newsletter, Chris Penrose and Dan Lima provided information about dry matter percentages that are suggested for a variety of hay bale types when baling: Small squares to be 20% or less, large round, 18% or less and large squares, 16% when baling. Small bales dissipate heat faster than large round bales, so small bales are less susceptible to longer periods of heating than large round bales. The goal for long-term storage and stability is a moisture content of <15%. The larger and denser a bale is, the less likely it is to lose moisture in storage and reach the desired stability, so the moisture at harvest becomes more critical.
Penrose and Lima also provided information about what can happen when baling hay if it is too wet. Excessive microbial action causes hay to heat, and if internal temperatures get above 150-160 degrees F, a call to the fire department may soon be needed because hay may ignite if exposed to air.
Aside from hay bales that catch on fire, the potential heat damage I’m referring to is what can be measured, using a laboratory forage test, if crude protein is lost due to heat damage. This amount shows up in the adjusted crude protein percentage in the analysis numbers. This reduced number reflects what happens to bales that were baled wetter than optimum, but not wet enough to cause the fire problem. Once temperatures reach 115-120°F a chemical reaction occurs between the protein and carbohydrates present in the forage. This reaction, called the Maillard reaction (often referred to as the browning reaction), is responsible for the characteristic, sweet-smelling cured tobacco odor you may notice around your hay bales. While cows seem to like the taste of this type of hay, the process denatures proteins, making part of them unavailable for digestion by our livestock. Laboratory testing can show if an adjustment has been made for excessive heat damage. All rations should be balanced using the “Adjusted Crude Protein” rather than the other protein values listed on your forage analysis.
So, what is the quality of the hay you made? As we have discussed, several factors affect quality and intake, but a forage test is the best starting point to know how to feed the hay you produced. Sampling multiple lots of hay would provide the best picture of your overall situation and provide information for you to make the best use of the forages. Different production dates, variation in the amount of grass vs. the amount of legume composition in the fields, or different rates of fertilizer you applied this spring could all be reasons for sampling multiple lots of hay.
One thing to remember, forage analysis results are only as good as the samples taken. Core samples should be taken with a forage sampler from 12-15 bales for each lot of hay being sampled. Place all of the core samples in a sealable plastic bag, taking care that fine material in the sample is not lost, which can skew the results.
Due to the nature of this effort being part of a data collection project, sample results will take longer than a conventional lab to return. Analysis will be returned to your local Extension office as well as emailed to the provided address. Any members of the OSU Extension Forage Team or Beef Team are willing to help you interpret your results, or contact your local ANR Educator for assistance. Producers can then start planning for the winter feeding program to provide sufficient nutrients to all classes of livestock so that maximum performance can be achieved.