Do We Have A Plan A, B, and C?

By Russ Wilson

As we all know, things come up. It’s good to have a backup plan. We have a cold weather, warm weather, wet weather, and dry weather plan. Why? If one of the four weather events happen you can go to these plans and have a course of action in place. Under times of stress, if it is in writing it won’t be forgotten and gives you peace of mind because you were prepared.

Cold Weather Plan

When developing a cold weather plan, there are some questions you should ask yourself. Did we save field X, Y and Z because they have natural wind breaks? It is good to consider which direction the wind naturally comes from. If you have fields that naturally block the wind, then these might be ideal in a cold, windy environment to save for just that occasion.  If you don’t have those natural windbreak areas, then making portable windbreaks ahead of time should be considered in your plan. After you have them constructed, you will need to just plan in routine maintenance to keep the working smoothly.  From experience, you do not want to be fixing the gear on a portable windbreak in a subzero windchill.  Your livestock is getting colder by the minute and so are you.

Can I get portable windbreaks to the livestock? This question is considered separately, because there are many factors that can affect moving portable windbreaks.  We have faced deep snow, ice, and sometimes sopping wet fields.

Do I have a supply of hay just in case the livestock need to be moved to a sheltered area? A good example is ice.  Currently, in Northwest PA, we have a good deal of ice everywhere. We are keeping the cows stationary in a field that we know is not icy and feeding them hay.  You do not want to be dealing with a cow that broke its leg because it slipped, nor do you want to have an injury on the ice.

Do you have a way to provide adequate water? On our farm, we use garden hoses to extend our reach to the water tubs from the frost-free hydrants placed strategically around the farm.  Unfortunately, garden hoses often freeze in cold weather. This presents a problem of getting fresh, unfrozen water to the livestock. What fields are close enough to frost-free hydrants or whatever water source is being used to prevent this problem? Can I save these fields for the colder weather grazing?  Is there anything such as insulating pipe or hose that will allow me to extend my reach to my water source?

Can I get to the livestock if the snow gets too deep? Are the livestock even able to get to the grass? Animal’s bodies require more feed to stay warm as the temperatures drop. If they can’t get to the feed, they can’t eat.  This is not the time of year you want the livestock to lose body condition. If you are feeding hay, please consider your feed quality. If the feed quality is too high the animal may not be able to stay warm.  You may want to add some straw or poor quality grass hay. The lower quality hay during digestion creates heat.

Hot Weather Plan:

Are there fields with natural shade? Can I save those fields with have natural shade for summer months and still have time for regrowth before the cold season if I am using them for wind breaks as well? Our farm has a couple fields with shade on either end. When grazing in the cooler spring and fall weather, we just skip those areas and save them for the occasional hot day.  Of course, you also need to consider how to get the livestock back and forth easily from those areas.  Do you need to set some temporary fence that is left in for a while?  Do I need to order some extra posts for that time?  You want to have the equipment you need on had before you need it. Also, the water supply needs to be considered. If you keep the stock tank with in 200 feet of the livestock, you can use a smaller tank. This allows the water to stay cooler as it cycles quicker. Try to reduce the distance the livestock must travel to water. This helps keep body temperatures down. If providing shade, you will need 75-100 square feet per animal unit.

Lastly, consider what time of day you are going to move your livestock to the shade.  You don’t want to overgraze the area, but you also do not want to be moving your cattle at the peak heat of the day.

Wet Weather Plan

Weather conditions can get bad in a hurry. It’s important to know what you are going to do. As a general rule on our farm, we graze the drier fields during wetter periods to reduce pugging.   

If possible, move the livestock as soon as the rain stops no matter how much forage is left on that paddock.  You may think you are wasting forage, but forage is never wasted.  Eventually, the livestock will benefit from either eating it later or having extra regrowth from the decomposition of the forage left behind.

Generally, if you keep the paddocks square there is more pasture utilization and less travel for the livestock. This helps considerably. Also, the larger the animal the more troubles you will have since the more weight the more pugging.

Put the livestock in a pasture that they are less likely to selectively graze. The more they move around the more risk of pugging.

Finally, back fence the paddock so the livestock don’t go back. Naturally, you want to get the livestock off as fast as possible and keep the off to reduce the damage and allow quicker regrowth.

Dry Weather Plan

Dry weather can make or break a farm. Do not wait until you are out of pasture to figure out what to do. This reduces your yearly profit immediately by forcing you to feed hay.

That hay is probably not planned into the yearly budget of hay needed, so you may even have to find a supplier.  In our area, finding hay in the middle of the summer is extremely difficult.  Traveling to obtain hay and then shipping it to you just keeps those costs increasing and the profit decreasing.

Consider, do I need to destock? Market some of the livestock early if you need to or take them to auction.  Selling before they lose body condition from lack of feed will increase the profit you will get off that animal.  Also, it will reduce the extra feed costs.

Should I think about warm season annuals or perennials? Warm season plants usually are at peak production when the cool season plants are dormant.  Avoid over grazing. The more cover you have for the soil the better. The cover will help prevent water loss, keep the soil cooler, and help maintain long living roots. It may be better to feed a little bit of hay in droughty conditions to maintain the cover on the fields.

Overall Considerations:      

Map out the farm. Get an idea of what rotation will work best based on the season you are grazing. Every field does not need to be grazed every time. We have 40 plus paddocks.  The livestock graze where they can benefit the soils the most. If they are one side of the farm and need to be on the other side the next day, that is where they go.

Some fields need rested longer than others. The rest on our farm can be anywhere from 10-365 days just depending on the needs of the soil or forages. Figure out the rest periods for the forages on your farm and keep a good record. Good planning extends the grazing season.

Next week we will go into forage biodiversity and how to bridge the gaps of the cold, hot, wet, and dry weather.

Russ Wilson

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