Water Is A Bird Magnet

Here in the southeastern U.S, we're all feeling the effects of the drought, but we can spare a little bit to make our birds happy. Here are some ideas for attracting birds without running up the water bill.

There is no better way to get birds flocking to your yard than a good source of fresh water. A bird's need for water through every season of the year is so strong that even species you never expected will be attracted to a strategically placed water source.

Having a birdbath is an advantage to anyone who enjoys observing nature in general and bird behavior in particular.

Location, Location, Location. The most natural spot for a bath is close to the ground, but water at higher levels not only appeals to some species, it reduces the bird's exposure to cat attacks. Soaking wet birds are no match for feline agility. Putting a birdbath near trees improves security against raptors. Plus, branches are an easily reached perch from which to preen in safety.

Locate your bath in a shady part of your yard. This will keep the water at a cooler, more refreshing temperature in hot weather.

To get birds accustomed to the bath, try placing a feeder within five feet of the bath. Birds will notice the water as they go to the feeder.

Birdbath water should be changed every few days to insure a fresh, clear supply. Birds - excluding pelicans - do not like deep water. One inch to 1.25 inches deep is about the maximum. This depth allows the bird to stand in the water and splash around - and not tread water!

Add motion. Motion on the water's surface or the noise of falling water is like a magnet to the birds. Drippers, misters, and small pump-driven fountains that keep the water moving have the added benefit of preventing mosquito eggs from hatching. Hummingbirds love to zip through the mist created by a mister. Besides hummers zipping through the mist you can attract warblers (who don't normally visit feeders) and many other birds to stop by for a refreshing "leaf bath." Watch how they use the wet leaves as a "wash cloth."

How do birds drink? Most birds, like Cardinals, dip their bills and then tip their heads back to let the water run down their throats. Doves and Pigeons drink by immersing their bills and sucking up the water. Not all birds need to drink water. Hummingbirds, for example, have a largely liquid diet anyway, so they don't drink from birdbaths. But they do enjoy "playing" in the water. Birds that normally inhabit areas with arid conditions can go for long periods of time without drinking.

Water in Winter. Birds need water all year round, particularly in winter, when many of their regular sources are frozen. About 70% of a bird's non-fat body tissue is water that needs to be maintained to avoid dehydration. Birds find some water in natural food sources: insects, berries, and even snow, but when those supplies dwindle, the water YOU supply is even more vital.

Open water in freezing weather will attract as many or more birds as a well-stocked feeder. Birds also use water to keep themselves warmer in winter. By cleaning their feathers and grooming them with natural oils, birds are able to help insulate their bodies for the cold.

You can keep water thawed with a submersible heater placed directly in the water. It's economical and safe, as long as you use a high-quality, outdoor extension cord to plug the heater into an electrical source. The best submersible heaters are thermostatically controlled, so they only operate when the water is near freezing.

In winter, use a rough-surfaced, plastic pan or saucer for a birdbath because ceramic and concrete one, though fine for summer use, will crack easily in frigid weather.

Keeping a birdbath supplied with fresh water is one of the simplest and most effective way of attracting many varieties of birds to your yard - year round!

About the Author

Janet Winter loves her wild birds and delights in providing helpful resources and unique products for feathered friends at WildBirdGoodies.com. She is a web designer, travel agent and writer on many topics including wild birds, babies and pampered dogs.

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Rev Your “N-gine” And Shift Your Corn Into Gear

Some corn has shifted up into road gear, and it looks pretty good. Other corn fields are stuck in idle as the days of summer are now getting shorter. In some years corn has reached pollination by this point, but this year much of it is less than waist high and not ready to show silks and tassels, and may still look yellow because all of the expensive nitrogen you applied last fall has disappeared. If you have more ducks and white caps in your field than corn plants, there may not be much hope; but if there is a chance to help it along, let’s see what can be done.

The 2008 corn crop throughout the Cornbelt is uneven, growth rates vary widely, and the lack of nutrients have resulted in yellowing and stunted growth, says Iowa State University agronomist John Sawyer. He has produced a pair of fact sheets on Yellow Corn, Wet Soils, and N Loss.

In the first of the series, Sawyer says the initial problems of corn resulted from wet soils, and not so much the lack of nitrogen, since N requirements are low in young corn. But he said crop rotation had a significant role in the performance of corn this year. Sawyer said corn following beans outperformed corn following corn, even when nitrogen had been applied at a 240 lb/A rate.

But what was the reason for the yellow color? Sawyer says his analysis is that nitrogen was either lost from the fall application or has moved deeper into the soil and not yet become available to the corn roots. He says there has been a more positive reaction to the spring application, but only time will tell about the impact of the heavy rains on total nitrogen available for the corn.

What can be done now? Sidedress, says Sawyer, and inject it to root depth, not put it on top of the soil hoping for rain. He says the corn needs the nitrogen more than the moisture. He adds that corn will soon be in its rapid growth phase and will need the nitrogen.

In the second fact sheet of the series, Sawyer says corn on higher ground will respond to the nitrogen quicker than corn on low ground, where wet soils suppressed the response. But after the soils drain, all of the corn will show a positive response, however the response it better to the spring applied nitrogen, even at the lower rates of application.

Sawyer’s research was directed at depth of nitrogen injection, and he found that in low areas, the corn responded better to the more shallow depth of injection and on the higher ground the corn responded better to the deeper injection.

Find Purdue’s fact sheet on estimating nitrogen loss.

Find Illinois’ fact sheet on deciding whether to apply more nitrogen.

Summary:
If you are trying to grow corn, and it does not want to cooperate this year, nitrogen may be one of the barricades to success. Fall applied nitrogen may have been lost or corn roots may not have found it yet. Spring nitrogen, applied in the root zone, may get a good response. The nitrogen issue is also complicated by whether corn followed corn or soybeans.

Extension Update

Extension Update is a weekly summary of news from Extension, government, and other attributable sources, focused on marketing, farm management, and other issues that are of interest to Midwestern farm owners and operators.

“No one in the grain trade believes the USDA numbers are accurate,” says Kansas State’s Mike Woolverton about the acreage and yield estimates in the June Supply Demand report. USDA’s projection is 86 mil. acres of corn and 74.8 mil. acres of beans, but those numbers will be adjusted with a flood update Monday, June 30th when USDA releases its Planted Acreage Report. You can read more from Woolverton’s newsletter.

“Yield is even more difficult to forecast this year than acreage,” says Woolverton. He adds, “Corn and most soybeans were planted late into cold, wet, compacted soils. All those factors will drag the national average yield down, but no one knows by how much.” He projects corn to be pollinating in the heat of the summer, and he says it is too early to be concerned about a national average soybean yield, but he’s concerned about frost.

Woolverton’s description of wheat is widely varying yields, reduced test weights, reduced protein content, and higher elevator prices than producers expected to see at harvest time. Kansas City cash wheat is over $9, since wheat has benefited from higher oil prices that have been pulling up corn and soybean prices with the crude oil price.

Near normal rain and heat are expected over the next month by Ohio State meteorologist Jim Noel. He says there is still a risk for heavier rainfall, but the risk for hot and dry weather is low through the month of July. Read more.

But near term heat is expected by Iowa State meteorologist Elwynn Taylor. “Well-established crops are likely to benefit, but heat can stress poorly rooted plants. Generally, temperatures slightly warmer than normal before the 4th of July are of benefit to yield and detrimental to crops thereafter. Rain prospects have declined from the multi-year peak of the past few weeks to near normal. The National Weather Service outlook for July slightly favors temperatures in the coolest 1/3 of all years; which is desirable.” He is still forecasting a 148 bu. national average corn crop and a 37 bu. soybean crop.

Bad spring weather was not limited to your neck of the woods, says NE climatologist Al Dutcher in the NE Cropwatch. He says weather models are drying out, compared to weather trends that caused problems across the Cornbelt:
1) 83 of the 99 counties in Iowa have been declared disaster areas due to flooding.
2) In NE an estimated 500-600 center pivot irrigation systems received tornado damage.
3) Iowa has lost 1.3 mil. acres of corn from flooding, and up to 3.3 mil. Cornbelt wide.

Hard to believe, but it is farm program sign-up time. In addition to signing up for direct and counter-cyclical payments, USDA will also take your name for the new 2009 ACRE program. That program reduces your direct and marketing loan benefits by 20% and 30% respectively, but provides an additional payment that averages the 2008 and 2009 marketing years and if the weather market is active, the payment could be high.

The prevented planting period has arrived for most Cornbelt locations. NE Extension’s Paul Burgener says anything planted now is uninsurable. “For those producers carrying APH, CRC, or RA contracts, prevented planting is an option if the crop cannot be planted due to excess moisture or flooding. The rules for prevented planting are complex, and a visit with your insurance professional is recommended. Those producers who are carrying GRP or GRIP insurance are not eligible for prevented planting payments.”

Late replanting can still generate income. Regardless of hybrid maturity, July 1 planting may yield around 30%. Earlier maturities resulted in drier grain at all planting dates, but they also yielded less than full season hybrids. Iowa St. research indicates an early fall frost can destroy or dramatically reduce seed yields. Read much more.

3 mil. acres of corn and beans in Iowa have been flood damaged, with 11% of corn to be replanted and 8% was flooded. Although mid-June is behind us, corn prices are causing many producers to consider replanting despite the yield loss. At this point, research show a 52% relative yield potential is possible with a population of 32,000.

Soybean survival after a flood depends on the type of soil present in the field. When flooding occurs at the V-4 stage, MN researchers report yield loss of 1.8 bu/A per day of flooding on clay soil, but only 0.8 bu/A per day of flooding on silt loam soils.

While the Cornbelt is wet, the Gulf states are dry and that means soybean rust is not spreading at this point. Ohio State’s Anne Dorrance says only one Texas kudzu patch has Asian rust, and while it was found on soybeans in the Florida panhandle, it was only one pustule in 150 soybean leaves, which was “not much to get excited about.”

The data comes from Illinois, but the entire Cornbelt may be in need of an initiative to establish grass waterways. IL Extension specialist Bob Frazee says the latest cropland survey indicates 25% of the IL acreage is now incurring major damage from concentrated water flow and ephemeral erosion, certainly exacerbated by this spring’s heavy rains.

If your wheat looks sick it could be attributed to a variety of fungal diseases resulting from the cold, wet spring. Wheat generally outgrows such maladies as pythium root rot, bacterial leaf blight, and wheat streak mosaic virus, but this year has given it a challenge. None of the pathogens can be controlled by foliar fungicides, so don’t waste the money. Next fall, ask your seed dealer for wheat varieties that are less susceptible to the fungi.

Crazy top may be prevalent in the Cornbelt, because of the saturated soils and rains that kept whorls of corn plants full of water says MO Extension’s Laura Sweets. That is the environment for a downy mildew fungus that causes the misshapen plants. It may be throughout the field, or in just a circle around a pond. Since losses are minimal, there are no control measures that are warranted, unless it is improved soil drainage in the field.

Heavy weed infestation could have resulted from heavy rains that neutralized some herbicides or hurt canopy development. Weeds that emerge after the V3 stage in corn are at a disadvantage, and their impact may be minimal unless they completely cover the soil. Iowa State’s Bob Hartzler says 3-4 in. weeds in 30 in. corn do not warrant a spray.

This may be one year when you have weedy fields at harvest time, but Hartzler says that may be something you just have to ignore for now. He says late emerging weeds will have minimal impact, but may produce a lot of seed, and create a dense weed mass next year. If you are aware of such a potential problem, create a 2009 weed management plan.

If you had no chance to apply pre-emergent weed control, short corn should be treated as soon as possible to avoid further yield loss from weed competition. Your weeds may be 5-6 in. tall, and a 5-10% yield loss on 150 bu. corn is worth $90 on $6 corn, and that cost estimate is increasing says IL Extension weed specialist Aaron Hager.

Environmental factors have caused a thin cuticle on corn leaves, and that may be the reason corn is showing crop injury from post emergent herbicides. With wet soils causing stress, crop injury becomes more common, particularly if crop oil was used.

Hager warns about potential problems with applications of post emergent herbicides to corn that may be older than the product label allows. Its height may be short, but it may be physiologically older, and he says do not apply the product if the corn is too old. Hager says if any tank-mixed products are used; follow the most restrictive product label.

If soybeans were planted into a mass of winter annuals, and summer weeds are now coming on strong, Hager suggests delaying any burndown herbicide for several days after the soybeans are planted. He says the planting activity may have disturbed the winter annuals enough for them to shut down their metabolism and halt any herbicide uptake.

Weather may have delayed your hay cutting and large stems did not dry normally, carrying moisture back to your hay storage, and now you have hot hay. While spontaneous combustion is rare, it can happen, unless you monitor the temperature, as recommended by Iowa State:
1) 125 F. is a normal temperature, but too hot to hold your arm in the hay very long.
2) 150 F. is when spoilage fungi are working and protein digestibility decreases.
3) 175 F. is the point when spreading out the hay should be considered to avoid fire.
4) 190 F. is the point when the fire department should be alerted. Very low feed value.
5) 210 F. is the point of spontaneous combustion and firefighters should be present.

A Salvage Checklist For Flooded Farmsteads

In addition to fields, floodwaters have claimed homes, farm buildings and grain bins this spring, creating permanent damage to improvements on thousands of Cornbelt farms and destroying millions of bushels of stored grain. Owners of many farmsteads are returning home to inventory the damage, but also wonder what can be salvaged. Let’s develop a checklist and action plan to address those questionable issues.

A good checklist is provided by Iowa State grain quality specialist Charles Hurburgh and colleague Dan Loy in the Animal Science Department. Their factsheet on flooding and stored grain will provide guidance to many Cornbelt farms.

• Flood damaged grain is considered contaminated because of the unknown toxins in the floodwaters. It cannot be used for anything and is destined only for disposal. Health officials may have preferences for where it goes.
• Consider tile and pit water to be contaminated with animal waste and chemicals, along with any storm sewers, which become contaminated in floods.
• In a grain bin that was partially submerged, the grain that remained several inches or more above the high water mark should be in good condition. However, it must be removed from the top, since it will be compromised by the contaminated grain through regular bin emptying methods.
• Grain that is wet will provide a haven for toxins, and with warm temperatures mold will grow fast. Clean grain that is wet will spoil within hours in the summer.
• If grain is wet only from rain water because of a leak in a bin, the grain can be dried and clean, tested for mycotoxins, and then used without delay.
• Grain that comes in contact with muddy soil should also be considered as contaminated, even if the grain was initially dry, but became scattered on the ground during subsequent salvage.
• The Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines on grain handling allows for washing and high temperature drying, as long as it did not remain in floodwaters for any length of time, and the water was clean. If the grain is reconditioned, the FDA must give written consent before it is sold. The grain can be dried and either immediately feed to livestock or ensiled for later feed use.
• Livestock can be fed wet corn, but the ration should be recalculated to account for the high moisture content. Whole, wet soybeans can also be fed as the protein portion in a livestock ration, but the ration should be recalculated to accommodate the change.
• If livestock are being fed DDGS, the addition of whole soybeans that might be wet could create problems with excess fat content in the ration. Raw soybeans can be fed to sows, but they need to be heat treated to be fed to younger pigs.
• Submerged grain bins that were full of grain may be at the end of their useful life. The soaked grain will be expanding and bin seams will split, bolt holes could enlarge, and caulked seals will be compromised. Doors may no longer shut. Other structures, such as stirring devices may no longer work properly. Bin foundations may have deteriorated. Bin design engineers may be needed to assess the damage to grain bins.
• On bins and other farm structures, electrical wiring may also have been compromised. Controllers, motors, fans, and other powered equipment may be ruined, but should not be energized when still wet.
• Wooden structures may be totally ruined, because of drywall and insulation deterioration and the introduction of molds to structural areas.

Summary:
Farm structures may have been substantially damaged during the flood, which includes electrical components and foundation damage. Grain bins that were submerged may be holding grain that is swelling and will cause bin failure. Grain that was submerged in the flood cannot be used for feed or food and should be destroyed. If grain became wet from the rain, and has not yet spoiled, it can be washed and reconditioned, then used with written consent of the FDA. And, yes, grain elevator managers face the same issues as farm operators.

Truex contract negotiations still ongoing with DEI

Martin Truex Jr. was on the weekly NASCAR teleconference and spoke about his contract situation:

Q. Your name has been thrown up a lot in the garage as far as your future goes – can you give us any indication right now what you’re thinking about for the future?

MARTIN TRUEX, JR.: Way to start it off. You know, I’m not sure. Right now we’re working hard with DEI to put some things together for next year. Really it’s just a lot of – it’s taken a little bit longer than expected for both of us, both sides - on my side and on DEI’s side. We’re just trying to get through the details. For me, it’s just trying to get comfortable and be comfortable in the position I’m in . what they’re doing and the direction they’re headed for the future, so I can make sure that we can be together for a long time.

Q. What are you looking for as far as comfort? Is it the fact that you want race victories? What else are you looking for?

MARTIN TRUEX, JR.: Well, a lot of things. You know, good direction for the future of a championship. I think obviously there are some things going on with our race cars and other teams that I’m not quite sure what’s happened with them. So just a lot of things here and there. The performance hasn’t been as good as it’s been this year for whatever reason. We’ve had an okay season. We’ve run really well at times and we’ve run not so well at times. So we’ve had a lot of bad luck spread throughout the season, especially the beginning part of the year which has got us in this position right now. We really just need to dig deep for now and try to get a win or two before the Chase starts. We really just need to get some points and try to make the Chase and battle for that championship like we did last year.

Q. Do you have a timetable for that decision?

MARTIN TRUEX, JR.: No. But we’re working on it every day, really, so just as soon as we can get it all ironed out.

[NASCAR]

What Are The Prospects For Profits In Cattle?

There is no secret that cattle bids have not covered the feed budget for quite some time, but many cowboys are holding on for better days ahead. (If only everyone else would get out of the business there might be money to be made!) Times have not been friendly for the feedlot operator or the cow/calf operator, but there may be some ideas that will either raise additional revenue or at least limit the loss.

First of all, please don’t get your hopes too high. As Ohio State Extension Specialist Stan Smith says, “There aren't enough cost saving feed alternatives anywhere in this State of Ohio which will allow us to put together a cattle finishing budget for the next year which shows a profit. At least not at the feeder cattle prices we presently see and the feed costs we can anticipate today.” Pound for pound, beef will not cover the price of corn, when you add in the cost of the animal and all of the other deductions that have to be taken off the sale price.

Smith and other Extension specialists have all heard the response that feeding retained calves somehow clears that hurdle of profitability, but he adds, “Unfortunately, that dog won't hunt.” If you are a full meal deal operator, you are either shorting yourself on the profit of selling feeder calves, or buying your calves for your feedlot that are not properly priced. If you need help with budgeting, Smith offers the 2008 OSU Enterprise Beef Budgets.

Smith says it is reasonable to expect the value of feeder calves to match the cost of feed and the projected value of fed cattle, plus a profit; but he says that is not happening at current economics because someone is willing to pay more for the calves than that formula allows. He suggests leaving feedlots empty this year and next, or finding an alternative use such as backgrounding, re-packaging cattle, or storing such things as grain, fertilizer or machinery in empty barns.

Higher feed costs are reality, says livestock economist John Lawrence at Iowa State University in his latest newsletter. He says they are not a passing fad, and livestock prices will eventually rise in response to the higher feed costs and find equilibrium. That point will also see more land producing crops, increased yields, reduced demand for feed, and commercially viable cellulosic ethanol, all of which will moderate corn prices. In the meantime, Lawrence says corn prices will be somewhere between bumper crop levels of $4 and drought levels of $8.

Until that point of equilibrium, Lawrence says livestock production will have to decline to return to profitability, including liquidation of both cattle and swine herds. Producers remaining will have to manage risk with a variety of tools, but also to learn how to manage margin, not just price.

Margins have been positive only for processors and retailers in the first five months of the year say Missouri livestock economists Glenn Grimes and Ron Plain. Their margin was up 9.5% from last year, and packers’ margin was down nearly 11% for the five months and prices for fed steers were down 2.4%. They add, “Most of the increase in prices that will result from the higher feed grain prices are still in the future.” The liquidation that Lawrence says is necessary is happening faster than the market anticipated. Grimes and Plain report, “The cattle on feed report for June 1 came in a little more positive than the trade reports. The number on feed June 1 was down 4.1%, the trade estimates average was for a 2.8% decline. Placements on feed during May were down 11%, the trade estimate were for a 9.6% decline. Fed marketings were up 2.6% and trade expected the number marketed would be up 1.7%.”

There are a number of realities in today’s cattle market that can either benefit or hurt a cowboy, says Utah State livestock economist Dillon Feuz, and you just can’t manage around them:
1) Heifers were discounted just under $9 per cwt. from steers and they found that heavier calves received a lower price per pound than lighter calves (the well known weight price slide).
2) Angus, black or red, calves received the highest price and that Charolais-Angus cross calves were about $1 per cwt. less.
3) Angus-other English breed cross calves were priced on average about $2 per cwt. less than Angus and calves with Brahma or "ear" influence were priced $5 per cwt. lower than Angus.
4) Small frame calves were priced $10 per cwt. lower than medium-large frame calves.

However, Feuz says there are some management items that can be controlled:
1) Calves with horns were discounted a little more than $1.50 per cwt. So, it would pay you to dehorn any calves with horns.
2) The greater the weight variation within a sale lot, the lower the market price. It might therefore pay you to sort cattle into more uniform sale lots.
3) However, there is also a premium for larger lots, 300 head or more receiving the highest price. Lots of less than a semi-trailer load are discounted sharply.
4) Pencil shrink varied between 0-3 percent. Calves that were offered with greater pencil shrink did bring a higher price per pound. However, that higher price did not fully offset the revenue that was lost by selling less weight. The moral of this story might be that if you want coffee shop bragging rights for topping the sale, offer more pencil shrink, but if you want more dollars in your bank account offer less pencil shrink or perhaps none.

Summary:
Today’s cattle prices are not going to be profitable, no matter how you calculate it, but profitability will return as beef prices rise to meet the value of feed. In the meantime, there are budget calculators that will help minimize the losses, as well as a variety of marketing tips. Cattlemen need to be patient, or in the alternative, vacate feedlots for a year or two and find alternative income for those facilities.

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