Grazing Management-Keep the Forage Growing

By Denice Rackley

Good grazing management as temperatures warm and grass begins to mature involves keeping the vegetation growing. Management needs to be focused on controlling seed head production, says Victor Shelton, Indiana NRCS state agronomist and grazing specialist.

Warmer, drier conditions can cause grasses to mature earlier in the year than usual.  Maturing forages can be managed in a few ways:

1. Increase stocking rate

Increasing the number of animals grazing an area will encourage livestock to clean up the available forage, even if it is less palatable.

2. Moving animals through paddocks quickly

Using portable fencing, you can fence smaller areas to concentrate livestock in one area then move them. The increased density encourages livestock to utilize the forage but moving them quickly also allows you to address their nutritional needs rather than insisting they clean up the mature forages.

Quick moves feed the soils with animal manure and the vegetative matter that is trampled. Keeping livestock in pastures grazing is a win for livestock and soils, Shelton reminds us, but cautions that graziers must allow to rest and regrowth. “The quick moves and small paddocks, with some good rest, does an excellent job of revitalizing the forages for a later grazing period.”

If you are not fighting mature forages, Shelton recommends when forage growth is fast, then moves should also be quick. As growth slows, if stocking rate is ideal, then you can slow your moves also.

However, Shelton cautions us to avoid over gazing, saying, “Overstocking is more a matter of time than numbers. The amount of time that animals are allowed to be on a particular area is more important than the number of animals.”

3. Removing seed heads

After the livestock have eaten the more nutritious tender forages removing the seed heads can encourage new growth.

“Clipping pastures, while the seed head is still green, in what I would consider the milk or early dough stage of the seed, can do a fairly decent job in maintaining the remaining forage in decent quality,” says Shelton                                .

He goes on to explain that once the seed heads start to dry, much of the plants’ energy has been used to make the seed, so the remaining plant will not be as nutritious.  In addition, the longer you wait to clip the forage, especially tall fescue and orchard grass, the less palatable it will be. Not only are these mature forages less nutritious, “but if you get down and look, it’s also rather jagged from mature stems.” It’s no wonder the livestock avoid it. 

Mature Forage                                                                          

If pastures have gotten away from you and are already headed out, then what? Shelton’s advice is to graze those sites in smaller allotments with non-lactating livestock because of the lower nutrient density and increased fiber content.

While quite a bit of hay is put up on this stage, he cautions, it will have a lower digestibility with crude protein in the 6 - 7 % range. Haying removes nutrients that will need to be replaced. Shelton recommends grazing all fields capable of being fenced and only haying those acres that can’t be grazed.

Summer annuals

Adding annuals into your livestock management plan has positive results for livestock and pastures; therefore Shelton recommends incorporating when possible. “Summer annuals can make great late summer grazing, allowing perennial pastures to rest and grow booting fall production.” Sorghum-sudan, sudangrass, millet, brassicas like turnips, and others can significantly extend the grazing season. Annuals make good feed, can replacing low-quality forage, and are especially helpful if you are renovating pastures, says Shelton.

Keeping the plant growing    

Shelton suggests to stop grazing tall cool seasons forages (Fescue, Brome, Orchardgrass) before they are reduced to under 4 inches and start grazing again when 8-10 inches. “That residual material is enough to maintain the solar panel and keep that plant growing and producing.”

 “Keeping the plant, right from the start, in more of a vegetative stage with a reduced amount reaching seed production, ensures more leaf area for photosynthesis and more root production. More roots, more plant growth potential, and more resilience to weather extremes.”

“I have always been a promoter of forage/pasture  staging. What you really don’t want to happen in a grazing system is all of your forage becoming mature   at the same time.”                                                          

These management practices will provide the highest quality nutrition while also maintaining pasture and soil health while reducing the amount of hay needed and feeding costs.

Keeping forages growing is good for your pocketbook – good for livestock – good for soils.