Post on 14-Aug-2020
transcript
“Grass” and Grazing
Ron Morrow Fayetteville, AR
SoilAssessment
ManagementWhole Farm
Cattle &
ForageManagement
FarmGoals
Watershed Assessment
FarmResources
& Management
Inventory
Individual
PastureAssessment
Nutrition
HealthGenetics
Farm
& Marketing
Management
Traits that impact profitable use of forages
• What kind of plant it is
• How it grows
• When it grows
• Where it grows
• What it is made of
Forage life cycles and adaptations
8 potential forage types
GRASS LEGUME
Warm Cool Warm Cool Annual Perennial Annual Perennial Annual Perennial Annual Perennial
Taproot vs. fibrous root
Carrot-like taproot
with lateral branches
and secondary
woody growth.
Prone to heaving.
Long-lived.
Thin, fibrous
roots from base
of tillers, highly
branched,
short-lived.
Annual vs. Perennial
Perennials
• Slower and more expensive to establish but
cheaper in the long run
• Year-round protection of soil, build organic matter
Exa: tall fescue, bermudagrass, white clover,
orchardgrass
Annuals
• Higher quality forage
• Fills a production gap
• Emergency feed
Exa: ryegrass, wheat, sorghum-sudan, crabgrass,
pearl millet
From Roberts et al., 1999. Misouri Grazing Manual.
Requirements for Growth
Which ones limit pasture growth and when?
Temperature
Water
Nutrients
Soil oxygen
Light
Managing the canopy:
Don’t underutilize
• Light – quantity and quality
• Reduce grass and weed vigor
Don’t overutilize
• Growing points – axillary buds
• Leaf area – photosynthesis
• Seed production
300 Day Grazing Plan
1. Inventory pasture composition and seasonal productivity. Check the potential for grazing in each season.
2. Improve management of existing pastures. Grazing/Fertility/Hay
3. Manage pastures to reduce hay feeding. 4. Add complementary forages where
needed to fill in seasonal forage gaps. 5. Add legumes to improve forage quality
and reduce N need.
Inventory Pastures by Season
Spring Summer Fall Winter
100 days 100 days 100 days 65 days
Mar 1 – early June Early June – mid Sept. Mid Sept. – late Dec. Late Dec –
Mar 1
Seasonal Forage Options
Spring Summer Fall Winter
100 days 100 days 100 days 65 days
Improve Pasture Management
• Rotational grazing
• Planned grazing pressure to manage season
transitions
• Soil testing for fertility management
• Fertilizer and weed mgt plan based on inventory
• Determine if you can graze more and cut less hay
Plan your grazing system to manage the canopy for the season ahead!
Spring pasture
Control the canopy
Managing spring pasture canopy promotes emergence of reseeding summer annuals
like crabgrass and lespedeza
Opening the canopy of spring pastures early allows growth of bermuda and other
warm season grasses
Seasonal Forage Management
Winter Spring
Key Points:
Strip-graze stockpiled pasture
Allow winter annuals to reach 8”
before grazing – limit grazing with
hay feeding utilizes quality
Can graze annuals earlier if grazing
strips or paddocks
The Transition:
Some early fertilization can jump-
start spring grazing
Overseed legumes
Graze off winter weeds in bermuda
Set up spring paddocks for early
grazing
Seasonal Forage Management
Spring Summer
Key Points: Begin rotational grazing as early as possible Don’t fertilize more area than can be utilized To favor legumes, control the canopy by Rest / Graze / Rest Plan ahead to reduce hay need
The Transition: In mixed cool-warm season pastures, graze closely in late spring to release summer forage. Rotationally graze spring legumes to spread N for summer forage
Seasonal Forage Management
Summer Fall
Key Points:
Rotational grazing will maintain forage
availability longer into dry periods.
Don’t fertilize more than needed
Don’t graze lespedeza or crabgrass too
early or too short
Keep bermuda in vegetative stage
The Transition:
In early August graze bermuda short and
fertilize for stockpiling
In early Sept. graze fescue short and
fertilize for stockpiling
In September graze bermuda short to
prepare for interseeding annuals
Graze crabgrass, johnsongrass, and
lespedeza before frost
Seasonal Forage Management
Fall Winter
Key Points:
Managing for stockpiled pasture
is cheaper than feeding hay, but
feeding hay in fall may allow
better stockpiled forage growth
Strip-grazing stockpiled pasture
doubles the grazing time
Use lower quality forage for dry
cows and high quality forage for
weaned calves or lactating cows
The Transition:
Graze bermuda and fescue short
where annuals or clover will be
planted then go to stockpiled
pasture
Don’t graze winter annuals too
early
Stockpiling Forages
Fescue
Soil test
Clean off summer growth
by mid-August
Apply 50-60 lbs. N by
mid-September
Defer grazing until
December
Strip graze to extend
grazing period
Grazing period is Dec.-
Mar.
Bermudagrass
Soil test
Clean off summer growth
by August 1
Apply 50-60 lbs. N in
early August
Defer grazing until mid-
October
Strip graze to extend
grazing period
Grazing period is Oct.-
Dec.
Forages and Simple Forage Combinations to Improve the Grazing Season
Forages and Combinations* Grazing Season** Days
Fescue Apr 1-Jul 15; Oct 1-Dec 1 166
Bermudagrass May 1 – October 31 183
Bermuda + stockpiled bermuda May 1 – December 31 244
Fescue + stockpiled fescue Apr 1-Jul 15; Oct. 1 - Feb. 15 242
Fescue + stockpiled fescue and
Bermuda + stockpiled bermuda
April 1 – Feb. 15 320
Bermuda + bermuda/ryegrass/clover April 1 – October 31 213
Bermuda + bermuda/ryegrass/clover
and small grains
March 1 – October 31 244
Bermudagrass and fescue/clover April 1 – Dec. 1 244
Fescue and fescue/clover/lespedeza Apr 1-Aug 31; Oct 1-Dec 1 213
Bermuda+stockpiled bermuda,
fescue/clover + stockpiled fescue,
bermuda overseeded with
ryegrass/clover and small grains
Mar. 1 – Feb. 15 351
*Includes combinations on the farm, not in the same pasture **Indicates period when forage growth is sufficient for sustained grazing
Forages and Simple Forage Combinations to Improve the Grazing Season
Forages and Combinations* Grazing Season** Days
Fescue Apr 1-Jul 15; Oct 1-Dec 1 166
Bermudagrass May 1 – October 31 183
Bermuda + stockpiled bermuda May 1 – December 31 244
Fescue + stockpiled fescue Apr 1-Jul 15; Oct. 1 - Feb. 15 242
Fescue + stockpiled fescue and
Bermuda + stockpiled bermuda
April 1 – Feb. 15 320
Bermuda + bermuda/ryegrass/clover April 1 – October 31 213
Bermuda + bermuda/ryegrass/clover
and small grains
March 1 – October 31 244
Bermudagrass and fescue/clover April 1 – Dec. 1 244
Fescue and fescue/clover/lespedeza Apr 1-Aug 31; Oct 1-Dec 1 213
Bermuda+stockpiled bermuda,
fescue/clover + stockpiled fescue,
bermuda overseeded with
ryegrass/clover and small grains
Mar. 1 – Feb. 15 351
*Includes combinations on the farm, not in the same pasture **Indicates period when forage growth is sufficient for sustained grazing
Forages and Simple Forage Combinations to Improve the Grazing Season
Forages and Combinations* Grazing Season** Days
Fescue Apr 1-Jul 15; Oct 1-Dec 1 166
Bermudagrass May 1 – October 31 183
Bermuda + stockpiled bermuda May 1 – December 31 244
Fescue + stockpiled fescue Apr 1-Jul 15; Oct. 1 - Feb. 15 242
Fescue + stockpiled fescue and
Bermuda + stockpiled bermuda
April 1 – Feb. 15 320
Bermuda + bermuda/ryegrass/clover April 1 – October 31 213
Bermuda + bermuda/ryegrass/clover
and small grains
March 1 – October 31 244
Bermudagrass and fescue/clover April 1 – Dec. 1 244
Fescue and fescue/clover/lespedeza Apr 1-Aug 31; Oct 1-Dec 1 213
Bermuda+stockpiled bermuda,
fescue/clover + stockpiled fescue,
bermuda overseeded with
ryegrass/clover and small grains
Mar. 1 – Feb. 15 351
*Includes combinations on the farm, not in the same pasture **Indicates period when forage growth is sufficient for sustained grazing
Matching forage and livestock depends on
“Grass” you have to harvest.
Animals you have to harvest the grass.
What the animals need and how you can adjust.
How you want to sell the “grass”.
How can you consider economic and biological
efficiency to put a production system together.
Improving farm efficiency…
through grazing management: Rest the pasture Strengthens the plant Increases storage of CHO’s in roots Allows regrowth Increases plant vigor Builds organic matter
Increase the pasture utilization Wastes less “grass” Increases gain per acre of pasture Harvest more forage Improves nutrient distribution
Grazing Challenges
Diversify pastures Keep organic matter around 4% Maintain 30% legumes in pastures Use rotational grazing (move twice a week) Strip graze in the late fall and winter Graze weeds rather routinely spraying
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Relationship of number of paddocks to
percentage of time a pasture rests
% rest
Number of pastures
90%
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10%
1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Length of grazing period in number of days
Relationship of number of paddocks to
per cent utilization of pasture
Two “tools” of grazing management: 1. Forage availability lbs of dry matter/acre (pouring a bag of feed into a trough..)
2. Stock density lbs of animal/acre for a day (how many, weight of animals there to eat it..)
Maximize intake
Most efficient grazing is
when the forage height is 6-
10 inches
Maximize intake
Remove livestock when forage
is grazed down to 3-4 inches.
Easy to get a mouthful!!
Hard to get a bite!!
Consider production curve: Amount of forage needed How management impacts availability quality Can it be saved? Acreage of various forages Fertility needs
Planned grazing systems: feed profiling feed budgeting
Grazing Strategies
Diversify pastures/include reseeding annuals Keep organic matter around 4% Maintain 30% legumes in pastures Use rotational grazing (move every 1-2 days) Strip graze in the late fall and winter Graze weeds rather than spraying
Ron’s Farm 100 acres Flat and square layout Little fescue and bermuda Soil fertility has increased over yrs
Leased park land 60 acres Rectangular layout Water a weakness Toxic fescue predominates
Price Farm 80 ac pastureland Illinois river bisects land Flooding occurs Bermuda/fescue mix Pasture more plentiful
Harvest efficiency:
Continuous 30%
Weekly 35%
4 days 40%
3 days 45%
2 days 50%
1 day 60%
12 hrs 70%
University of Arkansas estimates of cow herd costs:
Fertilizer/feed are the greatest expenses, 60% of total.
Nitrogen represents 95% of the fertilizer cost.
Hay represents more than 75% of feed cost.
IF these numbers fit your operation, you need to
totally change your farm management.
Feeding hay is a nutrient management practice. (actually, not baling hay is a better one…)
Ton of hay 42-14-48
Ton of poultry litter 56-48-36
Fertility Nutrient cycling
w
Week on
Spots are regrazed in the same grazing cycle—
this decreases stored carbohydrates and decreases vigor
8-8-10
Summary:
Know your forages
Manage pastures properly
Increase natural fertility
Increase pasture diversity
Extend the grazing season on both ends