'Agriculture is Everyone's Business' event Jan. 18 at SSCC

By David Dugan
OSU Extension Educator
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Adams/Brown/Highland Counties

I would like to bring your attention to an upcoming event in Hillsboro on Jan. 18, 2013.  

There are several sponsors for the event titled, "Agriculture is Everyone's Business."  

The event will be held at the Southern State Community College's Patriot Center beginning with breakfast at 8 a.m.  

The Highland County Chamber of Commerce has secured outstanding and well-known speakers for this event, including Orion Samuelson of RFD-TV, and Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David Daniels.  

Tickets are limited for this event. More details are available from the Chamber of Commerce at (937) 393-1111. I will have more details in the coming weeks in this paper, too.

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Beef School set to begin

The 2013 Beef School will be held on Jan. 29, Feb. 26 and March 13 this year. The class will begin at 7 p.m. each night and the plan is to end around 9 p.m.

The program is offered at no charge to the public so plan to attend. The only thing I need is a call to let me know how many to plan for. Please call either of the local extension offices so I have a count. All I need is your name and how many are coming. Call 937-544-2339, 937-378-6716 or 937 393-1918 to register for the 2013 Beef School that will be held at North Adams High School, in Seaman.

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Proper storing and using colostrum

Colostrum is a something that I get several calls about during calving season. The typical answer normally includes something about consulting with your local veterinarian.  

There are several things to know about this very important part of raising healthy animals that nurse their mothers.

The hope is the mother provides high-quality colostrum for the newborn, and that the newborn does its share by getting up and nursing in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Difficult births can stress the newborn that may delay the ability to get up and nurse. The digestive system changes rapidly in the first few hours, so it is critical that consumption be sooner rather than later.  

There also those cases when a new mother seems to be clueless about what just happened and what that newborn is. Times like this, and in some other cases, there is a need to be able to step in and assist that newborn by supplying it with colostrum within the first few hours of life.

Timing is very important, so having colostrum readily available is important. This can also be a case of seizing the opportunity and making the most of bad situation. There are times when calves are born dead, or are too weak to nurse and do not survive. There are other instances when the mother's colostrum is not utilized for one reason or another.  

In a more positive situation, maybe the cow is just a heavy milk producer and has more milk that one calf needs. With safety in mind, if you can milk the mother, take advantage of it. Label the milk (colostrum) with the ID of the mother and the date collected.

The following is an article that appeared in the Beef Blog (Posted in Cow/Calf Corner) recently. The article was "Storing Natural Colostrum for Optimum Passive Immunity" from Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist. This article will provide more details about storing colostrum and the importance of providing it to the newborn.

A previous article about commercially available colostrum substitutes has prompted questions about natural colostrum from a cow that lost a calf or from a dairy cow.  

An important factor that influences colostrum quality (immu­noglobulin concentration) is the age of the cow. Heifers have poorer quality colostrum while older cows have the best quality colostrum. Another very important factor is milking stage. In general, colostral immunoglobulin concentration is halved with each successive milking, therefore, the first milking colostrum has twice the immunoglobulin content of the second milking colostrum.

Colostrum leakage and pre-milking both adversely influence colostrum quality. Purchasing colostrum from other farms should be done with caution. Diseases such as Johne's Disease may be transmitted from one operation to another via colostrum.

Cow calf producers are aware that natural colostrum must be ingested by baby calves within 6 hours of birth to acquire satisfactory passive immunity. However, some calves do not have ample opportunity to receive colostrum.

Perhaps the mother is a thin two-year-old that does not give enough milk or the baby calf was stressed by a long delivery process and is too sluggish to get up and nurse in time to get adequate colostrum. These calves need to be hand-fed stored colostrum in order to have the best opportunity to survive scours infections and/or respiratory diseases.

Colostrum can be refrigerated for only about 1 week before quality (immunoglobulin or antibody concentration) declines. If you store colostrum, unfrozen be sure that the refrigerator is cold (33-35°F, 1-2°C) to reduce the onset of bacterial growth. If the colostrum begins to show signs of souring, the quality of the colostrum is reduced.  

The immunoglobulin (very large protein) molecules in colostrum that bring passive immunity to the calf will be broken down by the bacteria, reducing the amount of immunity that the colostrum can provide. Thus, it is important that colostrum be stored in the refrigerator for only a week or less.

How long can the frozen colostrum be stored? We often answer this question flippantly by saying, "just as long as you would store frozen fish to eat!"

Colostrum may be frozen for up to a year without significant breakdown of the immunoglobulins. However, this is one example where improved technology is not in our favor. Frost-free freezers are not the best for long-term colostrum storage. They go through cycles of freezing and thawing that can allow the colostrum to partially thaw. This can greatly shorten colostrum storage life.  

Freezing colostrum in 1 quart in 1 or 2 gallon zip-closure storage bags is an excellent method of storing colostrum. Many producers have had great success using the zip-closure bags. Use two bags to minimize the chance of leaking, and lay them flat in the freezer.  By laying the bags flat, the rate of thawing can be increased, thereby reducing the delay between time of calving and feeding.  The freezer should be cold (-20°C, -5°F) ­ it's a good idea to check your freezer occasionally.  Much more information about colostrum use and transfer of passive immunity is available from the OSU Fact Sheet F-3358 Disease Protection of Baby Calves <http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1937/ANSI-33… b.pdf>

Dates to Remember

• Small Farm College – The program starts in January with two locations to choose from. The Wednesday night program will be held in Pickaway Co. at the Circleville Fire Department and the Thursday night program will be in the Clermont Co. Extension Office in Owensville. Classes begin on January 9 and 10. Registration is available at http://adams.osu.edu or insert Brown or Highland.

• Private Applicator Re-cert – Pesticide re-certification will be offered at Southern State Community College's South Campus in Fincastle on Monday, February 4 at 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, February 13 at noon, and again on Monday, February 25 at noon. All three programs will offer a light meal and materials. The class will cost $35.  Pre-registration is required.  Space is absolutely limited this year.  Contact Cindy at the Brown County Extension Office at (937) 378-6716.  These classes will fill-up and be closed when full.

• Pesticide License Testing – Private and commercial testing for applicator license will be offered on February 11, March 11 and April 8 at the Old Y Restaurant. You are required to pre-register by calling the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 800-282-1955 or online at http://pested.osu.edu. Space is limited so register soon. Study materials are also available at the same address or phone number.

• Ohio River Valley Agronomy Day – Mason Co. Extension Office in Maysville, K. on February 6 at 9:00 a.m. Call to register at (606) 564-6808.

• Annual Tobacco Grower Meeting – North Adams H.S. in Seaman on Wednesday, February 6 in the evening. Details about registration for this free program will be available soon.

• Master Gardener Class – Class begins to train volunteers on February 20 at the Brown Co. Extension Office.  Contact the Adams Co. Extension Office to register at 544-2339 or my cell at (937) 515-2314. The cost is $150 for the 13 week class that will be from 10 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.

• Small Farm Conference – Wilmington College on March 8 and 9, 2013. Go to http://adams.osu.edu,  http://brown.osu.edu or http://highland.osu.edu for the printable flier or call for details.

• Farm and Family Night – Maysville Community and Technical College on Tuesday, March 12.