WASHINGTON —  Purdue University Cooperative Extension specialists and educators came to southern Daviess County Wednesday evening to answer questions and suggest ways local cattle farmers can weather the storm of problems that have plagued them this year.

“This year could easily go down in beef history as the ‘perfect storm,’” said Extension Beef Specialist Ron Lemenager. “Short forage supplies; high feed prices; extremely hot, dry weather; hail; spider mites; nitrates; and now the possibility of aflatoxin. What more could Mother Nature throw at us?”

Despite the challenges, Lemenager told the crowd of about 30 people gathered at Flint Farms, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel if they can weather the storm.

“If you can hang on and get your cattle fed, I think cattle prices are gonna be awesome,” he said.

The beef specialist explained that 72 percent of the U.S. cattle herd is in an area of moderate drought or worse. With feed supplies short and low conception rates expected from the heat stress, many producers are liquidating their herds.

“If you’ve never done a preg check, this is probably the year to do that,” Lemenager said.

“I don’t think we can afford to feed cows that aren’t gonna clip us a coupon this year.”

He said there may be some late-season calves, and cows coming out of the drought may calve sooner and quicker, so farmers should be prepared.

According to Lemenager, the drought could affect farmers’ bottom line for three years. In the first year, he said, feed costs increase and calf weaning weights are decreased. In the second year, calf vigor, colostrum quality, milk production, calf weaning weight, cow reproductive performance and forage production suffer. In the third year, the calf crop weaned and forage production are still impacted.

“Unfortunately, there are no cheap, easy fixes for beef producers who have experienced both short pastures and limited hay supplies this year,” he said.

He discussed several management strategies farmers can employ and emphasized having a plan in place before the last blade of grass or bale of hay is gone. Some of his suggestions included rotational grazing, weaning calves early to take pressure off both cows and pastures, creep feeding calves to create near-normal weaning weights, establishing summer annuals for late-season forage, using alternative feeds, and limiting hay access time to stretch hay supplies.

Following Lemenager’s session, there was an ammoniation demonstration. Daviess County Extension Ag and Natural Resources Educator Scott Monroe explained ammoniation is an old technique developed in the late ’70s or early ’80s that takes low-quality hay and makes it medium-quality hay.

“In a normal year, the cost of hay versus the cost of ammonia doesn’t make it economical,” he said. “This year hay costs make it economical. Basically, we’re reaching back into the archives to find another tool we can use to help cows survive the winter.”

The ammoniation process involves covering and sealing low-quality hay — Conservation Reserve Program hay, wheat stubble, corn stalks — and treating it with anhydrous ammonia, according to Monroe.

“It’s very reactive and seeks water,” he explained. “It gets into and penetrates clear through round bales. That breaks down a lot of the fiber, increases protein content and makes the hay more digestible.”

Dubois County ANR Extension Educator Ken Eck spoke on pasture and forage issues, answering questions on how best to measure pastures and pasture conditions.

Eck also tested corn stalks for nitrate, demonstrating how the test can show producers where the highest nitrate concentrations are in corn. Knowing that is important when using the stalks as feed, because elevated levels of nitrate in drought-stressed corn can be toxic to cattle. The test can give growers an idea of how high or low to cut corn to avoid high nitrate concentrations.

“The Animal Science Department at Purdue made quick test kits available to Extension offices to take individual corn stalks and test for nitrate levels,” Monroe said. “It’s a qualitative test, so it’s not the most accurate in the world, but it’s a good way to test initially to see if there are particular concerns using a field for feed.”

Growers can bring stalks to their local Extension office for testing or request an Extension staff member come to their farm to do the test. Samples can be sent through the Extension office for quantitative testing at a lab that will indicate the amount of nitrate present.

There also was some discussion at Wednesday’s workshop about another problem beginning to affect area farmers — aspergillus ear rot, a fungus that produces aflatoxin inside diseased ear kernels. Commonly found during hot, dry years on stressed plants, aflatoxin impacts grain quality and marketability. It also will affect livestock health if it’s consumed.

Handouts were available on aflatoxin, utilization of drought-stressed corn, and beef management. Anyone unable to attend the workshop can contact their county Extension office for copies of the handouts.