Bob WoodsArea Extension Agronomy Specialist,

NE OklahomaCentral OK Cattle Conference 2009

Managing the Forage Base on a Central OK

Ranch

Managing the Forage Base

1. Inventory2. Stocking Rate3. Stockpiled Forage4. Grazing Management

InventorySoils

ForageLivestockOther?

Cool Season

Native

Introduced Warm Season

Site potential?

xx

x

x

xx

x

= 920

= 26,789

= 87,931

= 13,475= 28,140

= 549Total 211,319

= 53,515

40% Canopy Closure?

60% grass and Forbs = 126,791 lbs.40% woody plants = 84,527 lbs.

Biomass Potential

Harvestable EstimateTypical harvest efficiency on a NR site is about 30%

grass and Forbs = 126,791 lbs x .3 = 38,031 lbs

browse = 84,527 lbs x .3 = 25,358 lbs.

Forage Requirement for a Spring Calving herd under 4 different management options

Herd Descrip. AUM/Cow Lb./cow/year

Cows and replacements

17.6

13,780

Sell calves, buy replace.

15.3

11,934

1100 lb. cows and replace.

18.9

14,742

Retain steers 21.4 16,692

Each 100 pound increase in cow weight adds950 pounds to yearly DM requirement

Or Goats?Add 1 mature goat/6.4 A

38,031 lbs available /11,934 lbs. needed = 25A/cow unit - year round

5A/stocker April 15 to July 15

Control trees with herbicide($90/A)?Increases carrying capacity from 25 cows per section to 42 cows and costs $1355 per added cow

Manage with Fire

You can double your stocking rate with 10% of your acreage in introduced forages – Dr. Wilfred McMurphy

80 acre Example 792 lbs./A (biomass)

9 acres = 7132 lbs.

Increasing Carrying Capacity with Introduced Forages

80 Acre Example1 acre of bermudagrass fertilized with 175 pounds of N per acre would produce the same.

Forage Expense in Relation to S.R. (5/19/09)

A/Cow Forage T/A

N Lbs/A NPK Total $ /

Cow

Forage Expense $/Cow

Sales - Forage Expens

e10 .6 195 3745 1.2 30 144 314 2554 1.5 50 145 290 2793 2 70 131 251 3183 2 2 T

litter ($22)

222 342 227

2 3 120 160 255 314N 37¢, P 29¢, K 59¢, $45 Hay/cow, $15 native rent, $25 introduced rent 40 lbs P and K/A, $569 gross sales per cow

Fertilizing Introduced Forages•Soil test (P, K, Lime)•Determine a yield goal•Nitrogen – 50 lbs/ton of additional forage needed.

Complementary Forages

Rainfall for Lincoln County(1971-2000)

Fertilize cool season grass

Fertilize warm season grass

Fertilize Warm or cool season grass

Stocking Rates

High

ZeroVery light

HeavyModerateLight

Gain/animalNet Return/acre

Gain/acre

Stocking Rate Explained

Manage to Graze!

Stockpiled Forage

Typical Hay Feeding Season

2.5 3

11

47

33

05

101520253035404550

Percent of respondents

< 30 days31 -60 days61 - 90 days91 - 120 days> 121 days

Average Snow Cover – 4 days

Overstocked Under fertilized

Weather ExtremesHay is cheaper than fertilizer or

renting more land

Reasons to feed hay more than 30 days

60 to 90 days of Barn Storage with a forage/grazing plan that only needs 30 days.

Forage GrowthJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Cool-season Grass

Cool-season legume

Bermudagrass

Native Range

Stockpiled Forage (standing, hay, silage)

Fall Fertilized Bermudagrass

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Stillwater Haskell

Fora

ge y

ield

(lbs

/acr

e)

1997 1998

Live Wt. Change, Year 1Nov.4 - Jan. 22 (77 days)

40

-84

46

-33

46

-20

44

-20

-100-80-60-40-20

0204060

CONT LOW MED HIGH

Period 1Period 2

Wei

ght l

bs.

Period 2 Quadratic Effect (P<.05)

Treatment

Overall Wt. Change, Year 2Nov. 3 - Feb. 2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Cont Low Med High

Lbs.

61

91 9783

Small Grains Planting Dates

Picture taken 11/30/99

9/10/99

10/21/99 9/23/99

11/4/99

10/7/99

First planting was clipped 10/27/99 removing 1,880 lb/a of forage

Grazing Strategy

Objective BasedForage

Class of Livestock

Grazing Strategies for Introduced ForagesBermudagrass or OWB

Rotation to control maturity – Complete a rotation every 21 to 30 days when forage is growing.

Cool Season GrassesRotation can increase grazing days per acre by 40%

Cool Season LegumesShort residue height in fall and winter

Multiple paddocks can be peace of mind (easier to count days remaining)

Grazing Strategies for Native Range

Stocking Rate is especially critical – Can’t fix it with fertilizer

Stockers -individual performance declines with rotational grazing

Cows –multiple pastures orpatch burn

Rotation without fencingSummer burn – reduced winter

supplementation by 120 pounds/cow

Improved habitat for wildlife

Patch Burning Native Range

760 Acres (560 native, 200 Introduced)1. No fertilizer, grow all forage – 74 cows2. No fertilizer, buy hay 60 days, 90 cows3. Cows on native and fertilized introduced,

buy hay for 60 days, 158 cows4. Fertilize bermudagrass and fescue, 83

cows stockers on native , 316 head (IES)

5. Add a recreation component6. Multi-species grazing

Multiple Options -

It won’t work on my place!I need to plant more____!I have to have “X number” of cows.I have to spray weeds!Conventional wisdom can change!

Avoid “Locked In Mode”

The Ranch That Feeds Less Hay Wins!