Despite storms, area remains dry

By DAVID DUGAN
OSU Extension

Most of the three county area did receive some rain over the weekend. I have heard as little as a tenth of an inch to maybe an inch in some places, but it came with a price. The storms impacted much of Ohio and many states extending to the Atlantic Coast. Many people were without electric for several hours, some several days, and some still were without power when I wrote this.

The wind damage took down several trees and damaged some buildings and other property.

As electric is repaired and things slowly come back to normal, there are other things that are stressed in addition to us. Livestock, in some cases may have gone without water for an extended time. That is not a good thing anytime, but it is even more stressful when we experience temperatures at or near a hundred degrees.

Water is the most important nutrient for us or livestock. The restriction of water will impact performance more than any other nutrient. As we provide water to livestock, one word of caution right up front. DO NOT allow free access to unlimited water if they have been without water for an extended time. They don’t know when to stop and this can be fatal.

The amount of water needed is impacted by the temperatures, but there are some basic amounts of water by species that are listed in an OSU Extension Factsheet that discusses how water impacts performance:

The following are links to factsheets from Ohio State University and other universities discussing watering livestock and how important water is to performance and survival.

From Ohio State University, titled Water Effect on Livestock Performance http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/pdf/0013.pdf

From North Dakota State University, titled Livestock and Water http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/livestoc/as954w.htm

From Ontario, this one includes pigs, poultry, rabbits and some other species. Warning, this one will take you to the metric system. It is in liters instead of gallons, and kilograms instead of pounds.

A liter is just a little more than a quart, so there are just shy of 4 liters in a gallon
and there are roughly 2.2 pounds in a kg.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/07-023.htm

If you do not have the Internet and would like a copy of these
factsheets, stop by the OSU Extension office in Adams, Brown, or Highland
County for a free copy.

Remember, do not give free access to unlimited water to animals that have been without water for an extended time.

Dates to remember

SOACDF meetings – Program changes for the Southern Ohio Agricultural and Community Development Foundation (Tobacco Foundation) will be discussed for the 2012-13 year on Wednesday, July 18, at 1:30 p.m. at the South Campus of Southern State Community College in Fincastle. A second opportunity will be held on Tuesday, July 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cherry Fork Community Center. If these dates do not work, you may want to look at the July 12 meeting in Lucasville. This is also a 6:30 p.m. meeting held at the USDA Service Center
located on S.R. 104.

• Adams County Fair – July 15-21 in West Union.

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David Dugan is an OSU extension educator for agriculture for Highland, Adams and Brown counties.