I have big shoes to fill here in the Crook County Extension office. I started about a year ago as the new Central Oregon Extension Agronomist, and the learning curve has been steep as I understand the unique aspects of this part of the world. I certainly have big shoes to fill following Mylen Bohle’s 30+ year career with the Extension Service. I’m just at the tip of the iceberg in sorting out what projects to work on and how to be useful to our farming community (and I am so thankful Mylen will still take my calls).
Generally, my work focuses on hay and forage crops, but I dabble in many aspects of crop production from irrigation and plant nutrition to pest and weed control. The work takes the form of conducting experiments, teaching Extension classes and answering lots of questions - or at least trying to. I don’t think we’re the be-all-end-all of information at OSU Extension, but we can provide practical science-based ideas or a second or third opinion on what might be the best course of action on a pretty wide range of topics. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
The questions and phone calls that come into the office give us a bit of a pulse on challenges in the community. One topic that’s come up quite a bit has been the quality of hay for horses and the need for low-carb or low-sugar hay. Some horses, often overweight ones, end up with Equine Metabolic Syndrome, which is an issue that causes poor regulation of insulin and is often expressed by horses experiencing founder or laminitis. Nutritionists and veterinarians recommend that horses with these issues be fed hay that is low in sugar.
Trying to find that low-sugar hay is when folks seem to reach out to the Extension Service — often asking if a particular species, cutting or crop of hay will be low sugar or not. That’s actually a really tough question. Forage plants produce and use sugars quite quickly, and the amounts in a hay crop can change from morning to afternoon and from day to day. I’ve talked so many folks through this one that I decided it was time to summarize the science and write up a bulletin. Do an internet search for “Understanding Sugar and Nonstructural Carbohydrates in Equine Hay” or come by the Extension Office in Prineville and pick up a copy. We also have a useful and more general bulletin called “Horse Owner’s Guide to Buying Hay.”
The bottom line on low-sugar forage is that you can’t tell if it’s low-sugar or not without a lab test of the hay. Luckily, the lab test isn’t too hard to do and isn’t very expensive. Here at the Extension Office, we have a hay corer that you can borrow, instructions on collecting a sample and a list of commercial labs that can test for sugars in hay. For maybe $20-30, plus a Ziplock bag and some postage, you can have an accurate understanding of whether that hay is suitable for your horse or not. Give us a call when you have test results, and we can help you sort through all the numbers.
Be it interpreting those hay analysis results, sorting out a soil test report, identifying some new weed in your pasture, dialing in your irrigation management or trying to figure out why your crop doesn’t look quite right, don’t hesitate to reach out to OSU Extension (541-841-0535). I’m glad to have joined such a great team here in Crook County. Let us know how we can help.
I look forward to meeting you out in the field.
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