The 25th Annual New Jersey Sheep and Fiber Festival will be held on September 7 – 8, 2019.  The event will take place at the Hunterdon County, New Jersey  Fairgrounds.

Plan to attend the New Jersey Annual Sheep & Fiber festival sponsored by the Garden State Sheep Breeders.  There are breed demonstrations and competitions, showmanship classes and teaching, and sheep dog herding demonstrations just to name a few.  There will be a fleece show, spinning, crocheting, weaving, and felting demonstrations as well as sheep shearing and numerous other educational opportunities.  This event offers plenty to entertain you and your family.

Address:
Hunterdon County Fairgrounds
1207 Route 179, Lambertville, NJ 08530

This two date program will run from 9 AM – 5 PM on Saturday and 9 AM – 4 PM on Sunday.

New Jersey Sheep and Fiber Festival Brochure

Fairgrounds Directions

For more information please contact the Garden State Sheep Breeders.

This auction sells: lambs, sheep, goats, calves, beef cattle, pigs, rabbits, and all types of heavy fowl. Auctions are held every Tuesday with the first sale beginning at 10:30 am and ending at the last sale 5:30 pm. Hay, straw, grain, and firewood are also for sale.

Farm Fresh Eggs available for purchase by the case (30 doz.) or by the flat (2&1/2 doz.) in the main office Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Also available some Monday’s and Friday’s but please call office first (908)-852-0444.

Click on link for July 2 sale results:

Hackettstown July-2-19

This spring’s inclement New Jersey (NJ) weather has brought large amounts of precipitation in the form of rain, and concern about crop and forage losses. Rainfall, particularly during forage harvest season, can result in the production of low-quality hay and forages. This can result in lower forage intake by animals, decreased forage digestibility, and reduced animal performance. Table 1 describes crop progress this year. Rain has postponed some hay harvesting, however, according to USDA-NASS, NJ crop progress is similar to last year, but significantly less than a five-year average.

Table 1. Crop Progress as of June 16, 2019 (in percent)

USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, NJ

It is important to remember that the amount of rain New Jersey has had this spring is no guarantee that there will not be a drought that lasts into the fall.

When summer temperatures rise as they often do in New Jersey, the first sign of heat stress may be declining feed intake followed by declining milk production, decreases in weight gain, and decreased overall performance. All livestock producers may observe decreased rates of gain and feed efficiency in growing animals, declining reproductive efficiency and performance, and possibly health and disease related problems.

Anyone who has entered a dairy barn on a cold winter day knows how much heat cows can produce. In the summer, though, this extra heat, which comes from digesting feed and producing milk, causes a cow’s heat load to increase. When a cow can’t get rid of excess heat, she will stop eating and milk production will decline. Table 2 lists the typical thermoneutral zones for several domestic livestock species. Below these temperature values (Lower Critical Temperature), an animal will have to expend extra energy to maintain body temperature.

Providing extra feed or shelter or other protection from the elements are good ways to help animals stay warm. Above these temperatures (Upper Critical Temperature) animals will have to get rid of extra heat. An animal’s first response when atmospheric temperatures are elevated may be to stop eating. This will lower the heat load, but growth, reproduction, and milk production will all be affected. Please remember that the values in Table 2 are not adjusted for the effects of humidity, wind or wind chill, or inclement weather. These will also vary by species, breed (beef vs. dairy), length of hair coat, shorn vs. unshorn, etc.

Table 2.  Typical Thermoneutral Zones (Upper and Lower Critical Temperatures in Fahrenheit)

NRC. 1981.  Effect of environment on nutrient requirements of domestic animals. National Research Council. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Since animal production is a farmer’s livelihood, what are some strategies to keep animals cool? First, it is important to remember that most domestic livestock animals, excluding horses, have few sweat glands. This means that they will not lose heat by evaporative heat losses through sweating. The first strategy should be to provide abundant supplies of cool water for drinking. Water will help to cool animals and help maintain feed intake. This is especially important in the case of lactating dairy cows that may need 30-40 gallons of water a day to maintain milk production. Second, shade from shelters or trees in pastures will reduce the effects of radiant heat from the direct rays of the sun. Keeping animals sheltered in the day and turning them out on pasture at night will limit the effects of radiant heat and allow animals to cool. Third, water sprinklers or misters will help cool animals and relieve some of the effects of heat. Animals, particularly cows or pigs, will seek out water if available for cooling. It is common in certain parts of the country for cows to stand in ponds or streams. This is not recommended because of concerns about contamination of water supplies, and in the case of lactating cows there are concerns about mastitis disease infections. In modern confinement systems, pigs are often housed in climate-controlled barns. Pigs will wallow in mud if given the opportunity; this can be a good means for cooling if no other options are available and provided environmental concerns are adjusted for. In addition to protecting from the heat of the sun, shade will also protect pigs from direct rays of the sun that can cause sunburn for a light skinned pig. Fourth, fans are also useful for cooling; air currents over an animal’s body will disperse excess body heat. Fans, when used along with shade, and sprinklers or misters, will promote evaporative cooling, an excellent means of reducing an animal’s heat load.

There are some feeding strategies that may help to manage heat stress. First, consider increasing the energy density of the diet. This can be accomplished by decreasing forage and fiber levels (consult a nutritionist before dietary forage or fiber levels are reduced for ruminant animals) or by adding an energy source such as extra grain, or fat, or perhaps oilseed products in the diet. Since much of an animal’s heat production comes from digestive heat, increasing energy density will increase energy relative to digestive heat production; this is particularly true when feeding ruminants. For dairy cows fine-tuning the diet through the addition of bypass proteins, yeast or minerals may also be helpful. Before making any dietary changes in response to concerns about heat stress, consult with your feed company’s nutritionist.

There are effective means of dealing with heat stress during the summer. Provision of abundant supplies of cool water, the use of shades, fans, sprinklers or misters, and properly managed diet modifications can all be effective approaches for dealing with summer heat stress.

This article was written by Michael L. Westendorf, Ph.D. Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Department of Animal Science. It appeared previously in the June 15 issue of the New Jersey Farmer.

This auction sells: lambs, sheep, goats, calves, beef cattle, pigs, rabbits, and all types of heavy fowl. Auctions are held every Tuesday with the first sale beginning at 10:30 am and ending at the last sale 5:30 pm. Hay, straw, grain, and firewood are also for sale.

Farm Fresh Eggs available for purchase by the case (30 doz.) or by the flat (2&1/2 doz.) in the main office Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Also available some Monday’s and Friday’s but please call office first (908)-852-0444.

Click on link for June 18 sale results:
Hackettstown June 18, 2019

The wet spring that New Jersey has experienced this year has brought challenges for many farms in the state. However, this has resulted in a lot of lush early spring grass growth in the State’s pastures and grazing lands. Most pastures look good and no doubt these forage resources can provide a lot of nutrients for livestock.

Most of the pastures in New Jersey are cool-season grass pastures. (Some cool-season grass species are Orchardgrass, Bluegrass, Tall Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass, Timothy, and Reed Canarygrass.) Cool-season grasses get their greatest growth in the early seasons of the year when nights are cool, days are warm, and daylight hours are getting longer. Growth in cool-season pastures will be the greatest during this time and provide the most digestible nutrients for animals to graze. Stocking rates and animal densities can be the greatest during the spring when pastures have their greatest growth; carrying capacity will also be the greatest. If you consider the annual growth of a pasture to be illustrated by a curve, this curve will show the greatest production in the spring and early summer months and the least production during hotter summer months; there will be a rebound in growth in the fall months of September and October, in December through March cool-season pastures will go mostly dormant.

Just before and following birth beef cattle have an increased requirement for energy, protein, and dry matter intake. When calving in the spring, this increase in nutrient requirements coincides with the increased availability of digestible forages during the spring and early summer months.

Managing spring calving beef cattle in the spring and summer months is a bit of a balancing act. The cattle farmer will try to balance the needs of his lactating beef cows and growing calves with the growing and available forage on his spring pastures. As summer approaches, growth of available forages will decline, and animals will receive fewer of their nutrients from growing pastures.

Sometimes early spring grass growth in cool-season pastures is faster than animals can keep up with. When the intake of grazing animals falls behind the rate of growth of pastures then grass is going to be wasted. This grass will grow taller, become stemmy, and provide fewer digestible nutrients. So, a system that matches early spring pasture growth with the needs of animals needs to make sure that the rate of grazing and removal of grasses on pasture keeps up with pasture growth rate. When this is done then the removal of pastures and the growth of animals and maintenance of cows and calves will be optimal. Good pasture management during such periods will include regular clipping and dragging to ensure that high quality grass growth continues. Setting up a rotational pasturing system can also help to maintain optimal pasture quality and availability. Contact your local Cooperative Extension Office for assistance in setting up a rotational pasturing system.

Practically speaking, what does this mean? Early in the spring, pastures can be stocked heavier than later in the summer. Stocking rate could be as many as three or four animals per acre in the early spring when grass is lush, but only one or two when growth is slower in the summer.

Please remember that there will be a second growth spurt of cool-season grass in the fall months. Beginning in September as day length shortens and nights become cooler there will be increased new growth in pastures. The total amount of cool-season grass production will be less than in the spring but greater than the summer months. For a fall calving beef cow herd, this increase in fall forage availability can help to balance increased nutrient requirements of a fall calving cow.

Understanding the manner in which pastures grow and the needs of animals is essential to best balance forage resources with animal requirements.

What about those summer months when there is less available forage? Several strategies may be helpful. First as was mentioned above, pasture stocking rates can be reduced, good pasture management and a rotational grazing system can be implemented, extra hay or feed grain can be fed, or other available crops or forages can be used. It is possible to utilize summer grasses such as Sudan grass or Sudan and Sorghum crosses as a summer forage supplement. These grasses grow best in hotter, summer months and can help supplement livestock needs over the summer months. Usually these grasses are planted in the month of June and will provide abundant growth during July and August. With these summer annual grasses, because of nitrate or prussic acid toxicity during droughts or when frost comes in the fall, it is important not to graze them below 18-24 inches of height and never graze after the first frost in the fall. Please see the following Rutgers fact sheet with information about risks when grazing summer grasses: Risks when grazing summer annual grasses

New Jersey is a small state, but available forage resources can be balanced with the livestock herd’s requirements. If you have questions, please contact your local Cooperative Extension Office to get guidance in setting up a grazing system or in developing a system for grazing animals in hot summer months.

This article was written by Michael L. Westendorf, Ph.D. Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Department of Animal Science. It appeared previously in the May 15 issue of the New Jersey Farmer.

This auction sells: lambs, sheep, goats, calves, beef cattle, pigs, rabbits, and all types of heavy fowl. Auctions are held every Tuesday with the first sale beginning at 10:30 am and ending at the last sale 5:30 pm. Hay, straw, grain, and firewood are also for sale.

Farm Fresh Eggs available for purchase by the case (30 doz.) or by the flat (2&1/2 doz.) in the main office Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Also available some Monday’s and Friday’s but please call office first (908)-852-0444.

Click on link for June 11 sale results:
Hackettstown June 11, 2019