This winter the OSU Beef Team is offering a variety of educational programs online, beginning with Making Hay for Beef Cattle on Jan. 18.

In total, six programs are presently scheduled focusing on everything from feed and forage management to managing the breeding season. These sessions are each being offered free of charge, but pre-registration is required.

More details with registration information can be found at go.osu.edu/2021beefschool. Join us for one program or the whole series Monday evenings 6-8 p.m. each session.

Below highlights the six programs in this series:

• Jan. 18: Getting Started — Making Hay for Beef Cattle

Reviewing Forage Fertility – Jason Hartsuch

New Seeding Species Selection – Christine Gelley

• Jan. 25: Addressing Hay Shortfalls

Annual Forage Options – Allen Gahler

Baleage Do’s and Don’ts – Jason Hartschuh

• Feb. 1: Hay! Now What?

Forage Analysis – Ted Wiseman

Forage Storage 101 – Garth Ruff

Cow-Calf Management

• Feb. 8: Breeding Season Considerations

Managing the Breeding Season – Alvaro Garcia-Guerra

EPD Update: Breeding for Cow Longevity – John Grimes

• Feb. 15: Managing Reproduction

Semen Handling – Dean Kreager

Pregnancy Checking – Allen Gahler

• Feb. 22: Improving Profits

Making Cow Culling Decisions – Dean Kreager

Maximizing Feeder Calf Value – Garth Ruff

In addition to these six programs, there will be two other programs.

• The first will be the Cow-Calf Outlook scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 26, 6:30 p.m. presented by Dr. Kenny Burdine, Livestock Marketing Specialist University of Kentucky Extension.

This program will look at the cattle markets and how management decisions influence marketing outcomes, including calf value in the marketplace.

• The second program will be the Ohio Cattle Feeding Webinar scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 6-8 p.m.

This program will look at the Risk Management Livestock Risk Protection and Livestock Gross Margin Insurance presented by Justin White, Hudson Insurance and Feedlot Ventilation Requirements, presented by Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford County.

Free registration for both programs is available at go.osu.edu/2021beefschool .

Another livestock related program slated for this winter will be the “Pastures for Profit” virtual course. One live webinar will be offered per month along with “work at your own pace” videos and exercises that accompany each webinar.

The Pastures for Profit program is a collaboration between Ohio State University Extension, Central State University, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council.

Each webinar will be offered live on Zoom at 7 p.m. and feature three presentations in a 90-minute span. Attendees will be able to interact with the speakers and ask questions in real time.

Once registered, attendees will be granted access to the online course including the webinars and complementary resources. Participants that attend all three webinars will have the opportunity to earn a certificate of completion.

Registered participants will also receive their choice of a curriculum binder or USB drive of the traditional course by mail.

The webinar schedule and topics are:

Webinar One

Core Grazing Education: Wed., Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.

Evaluating Resources and Goal Setting – Getting Started Grazing – Soil Fertility

Webinar Two

The Science of Grazing: Wed., Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

Understanding Plant Growth — Fencing and Water Systems — Meeting Animal Requirements on Pasture

Webinar Three

Meeting Grazing Goals: Wed., March 3 at 7 p.m.

Pasture Weed Control — Economics of Grazing — Creating and Implementing Grazing Plans

A series of additional videos that complement each webinar will be accessible to registered participants that include topics such as: Soil Health & Fertility; Species Specific Tips; Stocking Densities; Forage Sampling and Analysis; Winter Feeding Strategies; Conservation Practices; Genetic Traits of Forages; Pasture Layouts; Farm Economics; and Pasture Walks/Virtual Tours.

These videos will focus on more specific pasture management topics at the beginner and experienced manager levels.

The Pastures for Profit course utilizes Scarlet Canvas. For best performance, Canvas should be used on the current or first previous major release of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. Canvas runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, or any other device with a modern web browser.

Cost of the course is $50, which includes the Pastures for Profit manual. Current and new members of the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council are eligible for a $10 discount on registration.

Register for the course by visiting https://afgc.org/ofgcwebinar .

Tony Nye is the state coordinator for the Ohio State University Extension Small Farm Program and has been an OSU Extension Educator for agriculture and natural resources for over 30 years, currently serving Clinton County and the Miami Valley EERA.