Roots & Ridge Report

As the days get shorter and the nights start to cool off, many of you are probably gearing up for harvest — or maybe you’ve already hit the fields. Wishing you all a safe and smooth harvest season in the weeks ahead!

For those of you with livestock, I hope your summer to-do list is finally winding down and your animals are making their way home from pasture. If your place is anything like mine, the evening sounds of freshly weaned calves are probably filling the air , a sure sign that fall is here

In this September Roots to Ridge Newsletter, we’re shining a spotlight on some local experts in crop and veterinary sciences. You’ll hear from Aaron Prunty at Chandler Co-op in Edgerton, Dr. Rachel Wiling from Windy Ridge Vet Clinic in Pipestone, and Dr. Adri Tilstra from the Edgerton Vet Clinic.

Big thanks to each of them for sharing their time and insight . Their articles are packed with helpful information for making fertilizer choices this falls, ensuring calf health during weaning, and some great insight on scrapie tags with resources to go with.

There will be a Land/Rent workshop for Pipestone and Murray County coming up on Tuesday, November 25th at 1:30 PM. This year, it’ll be on Zoom instead of in person. You can join from wherever you are, or come join us at a watch party! More information will come.

Matti Boomgaarden- Extension Educator

boomg022@umn.edu

MC:507-836-1143

PC::507-825-1193

Higher fertilizer prices have unfortunately been a topic of conversation this fall. The reasons why would warrant a whole article in itself, but at the end of the day, current commodity prices and current fertilizer prices don’t paint a rosy picture. Fortunately, there are options for fine tuning fertilizer planning to maximize efficiency. Soil sampling is one vehicle for doing that. There are three main classifications for soil sampling, and we’ll look at the pros and cons of each.

The lowest priced but least useful for efficiency is commonly called a composite sample. Typically you’ll do one sample per 30-50 acres and tailor a plan to those acres. The biggest benefit is the cost. These can be done for around $1/ac, and if done correctly, can give you a good average for the fertility of your fields. It can be a good snapshot of what’s happening. That being said, it’s only an average and a snapshot. Some parts of the field may require more fertilizer, and some may require less. This means that although applying an average amount can be effective, there are always going to be

parts of the field that will get much more than the crop needs and other areas will get starved.

The most thorough method of soil sampling is grid sampling. This method divides a field into several 1-5 acre squares, and samples each for fertility. Using variable rate spreading, each grid then gets nearly the exact amount of fertilizer needed to produce a crop. For fertilizer and lime, this method gives the most opportunity for efficiency, but there can be drawbacks as well. First, the soil sampling costs are significantly higher on the front end. Depending on how large the grids are, it can cost from $9-20/ac. The application costs are also higher. Having that technology built into a spreader adds significant cost to the machine that has to be taken into account. There can also be issues where a grid shows extremely high amounts of a nutrient, and unless carefully

planned for, can end up starving that grid over the course of a few years because nothing will be added to it. Also, there can be issues when the maps are generated without enough feathering between grids to allow for accurate changes as the floaters are going through the field. These are things that are usually handled in the background by precision ag agronomists and is usually accounted for, but it can cause issues.

There is a happy medium between composite and grids called zone sampling. Using historical satellite imagery and even incorporating yield maps, productivity zones can be developed and sampled accordingly. Three to five zones per field is pretty standard. You still have a lot of the same benefits and drawbacks of grid sampling, but your soil sampling costs are considerably lower. This sampling can be done for $3-9/ac depending on how complicated you want to make it and how large the field is. Of the three methods, I find zone sampling to be the best bang for the buck. I’m encouraging most of the growers I work with who have done composite sampling in the past to use this method to fine tune their fertilizer needs this year. Between not overapplying fertilizer in areas with good fertility on the front end, and not underapplying

in areas that need more groceries and costing you yield on the back end, you can easily come out money ahead in the first year.

Aaron Prunty

Chandler Co-op

Edgerton Agronomist /Sales

It’s getting to be the time of year where local beef producers are getting ready to wean calves. With beef prices being a record high, we’ve had many producers asking us more questions about what to vaccinate their calves with at time of processing to ensure they stay healthy. One sick animal, whether it be an underlying pneumonia or sudden death, can lead to a substantial monetary loss. Below are our recommendations for vaccinations/processing for beef calves at time of weaning.

1. Intranasal respiratory vaccination

2. 5 way respiratory injectable vaccination

3. 7 way Clostridial vaccination

4. Deworm/pour-on

5. Dehorning

6. Banding/Castration of bulls

a. Performed either by knife castration or banding with a tetanus vaccination

7. Minimizing stress

There’s a wide range of vaccinations available made by different pharmaceutical companies that can be used for the respiratory vaccinations and clostridial vaccinations. You may be asking why we recommend two vaccinations to prevent pneumonia but only one shot for clostridium? The intranasal respiratory vaccine and injectable respiratory vaccine both help to prevent pneumonia but they stimulate the calf’s immune system in

a different way to provide a broader range of coverage. With these weather fluctuations the last few weeks, we’ve had several farms fighting pneumonia in their calves. While no vaccine is 100% effective, vaccines can certainly help prevent disease spread and minimize the number of sick calves that require treatment. Many producers have their own preferences of what works best for them but listed above are the procedures we typically recommend for our beef producers when processing calves at weaning. If you have any questions about what products to use when weaning calves or if you have concerns about your vaccination protocol, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask us questions! We’d be happy to help you.

Dr. Rachel Wilking

Windy Ridge Veterinary Clinic, PLLC

P. O. Box #367

1309 7th Street, S. E.

Pipestone, MN 56164

507-825-3336

507-825-5252 - Emergency

What is Scrapie? Scrapie is a progressive neurological disorder—similar to Mad Cow disease—that leads to weight loss, unsteady movement, compulsive scratching (hence the name “scrapie”), and eventually, death. The disease spreads through contaminated environments or from mother to offspring via the placenta or milk.

What does official identification have to do with eradicating scrapie? Great question! The U.S. has a nationwide scrapie elimination program. Their main tools for eliminating this disease in sheep and goats are tracking infected animals to their flock of origin, identifying infected animals at slaughter, quarantining, and voluntary genetic testing.

In this program, all sheep and goats must be officially identified upon movement from one flock/herd to another and before they are commingled with sheep and goats from other flocks and herds. Fortunately, the U.S. is close to being declared scrapie-free which means having no new cases for seven consecutive years. This status could be reached as soon as 2028!

Where do I register my flock? Producers may register their herd/flock by contacting the Board at (651) 201-6809 or by submitting the online form at: https://www.bah.state.mn.us/official-id-tags-sheep-goats

Where do I request official Sheep and Goat Tags? A first-time participant can request up to 100 no-charge plastic tags by calling 1-866-USDA-Tag (866-873-2824). At this number, a sheep or goat owner can request a flock ID number. Those that have already received free tags must purchase tags from USDA-Approved official Scrapie Tag Manufacturers. Allflex USA and Premier 1 Supplies have plastic tags and National Band and Tag Company and Shearwell North America have metal clips. A flock ID must be provided when requesting new tags.

What is a group or flock ID? This is an identification number provided by the state when registering with the state scrapie program. This ID is required for ordering scrapie tags and owner/hauler statements.

What is an owner/hauler statement? This is a newly required form for any sheep or goats (excluding wethers under 18 months) moving in slaughter channels or in transport for buying and selling within the state. More information about moving sheep and goats in and out of the state can be found at: https://www.interstatelivestock.com/

Where can I get more information? A great resource for the state of Minnesota is: https://www.bah.state.mn.us/sheep-goats

This flowchart explains the USDA’s regulations on official identification of sheep and goats with the updates created in 2019

Dr. Adri Tilstra

Edgerton Vet Clinic

1001 Main Street

P.O Box 240

Edgerton, MN 56128

Phone (507) 442-VETS

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