Grazing Season Is Just Around the Corner!

By Russ Wilson

Management is the best tool in your toolbox for extending the grazing season. On many farms, including mine when we first started, the livestock were in control of the operation. Now with management, we control our farm. The livestock do not.

Soil is first. It is considered the bank of the farm. It holds the investment and increases its value. The investment is our livestock. Without healthy soil, the investment cannot increase in value.

Second, we look at how we can get the livestock to do the work without starting a tractor. After all, the tractor costs money to run.  The livestock makes money as they grow.

Third, what about plants that we do not desire to exist in the pasture. Use the livestock. Make the paddocks long and narrow. Tighten up the grazing pattern. Perhaps, look at inter-seeding to help crowd out the undesirables. Oftentimes, the livestock can introduce the seed to the pasture, eliminating the need once again to operate the tractor. We use the livestock in two ways when inter-seeding. Some seeds are fed to the livestock, it passes through the rumen, and germinates in the new manure. The other method we utilize is hand spreading the seed in front of the livestock and having them provide the soil-to-soil contact that is needed.

Fourth, the utilization of the pastures is considered. If we want better pasture utilization, we will make the paddocks squarer. Also, the number of times per day the livestock are rotated is considered. The more often livestock is moved the more of a benefit will be seen. However, life exists as well and often the number of moves is dictated by the other events happening in our lives.

The fifth factor that is important is the manure and urine itself. As farmers, we understand that the nutrients and minerals in the soil are key to healthy livestock. Manure and urine are the preferred fertilizer and spreading it through grazing is the ultimate method. No tractor is involved, so less work for me. Also, there is less soil disturbance since the heavy tractor and manure spreader are not driving across the pasture five to ten times in a day. If we want better manure distribution, do a high stock destiny graze and move the livestock more often. Purchasing fertilizer is expensive, so the better we utilize the manure we have the better.

Sixth, graze half of the grass height and leave half of the grass height. “But,” you stutter, “I’m losing feed that way.” Not really will be my response. The leaves of the grass are solar panels. The more panels they have, the more sugar they produce for energy, and the more they grow. By leaving more grass and giving adequate rest periods, you will in effect have more feed. Also, more water will be available during the dry season since the leaves will shade the ground and prevent evaporation.

Lastly, adequate rest periods need to be defined for each individual farm. The average rest period we give is between 100 and 120 days. This is based on the number of animal units we are grazing and the number of pastures we have available.  This is different for every farm, but is important in the management of a grazing system.

Most of the time we move our cattle twice per day and the mules and sheep once per day. But, nothing is written in stone. The weather is looked at daily. In the wet season, the livestock are moved more often to protect the soil. The amount of grass in each field is considered, because some fields are thicker than others and some grasses grow taller and faster than others. How quickly the grass regenerates is directly dependent on how short it is grazed, how healthy the soils are, and the water available.

A popular question I am always asked is why would we want to move the livestock that often? The two main reasons are to rest the soil and reduce animal regraze. Looking at the regrowth on some of our pastures, it can be 2-4” in a 24-hour time window. Keeping the livestock moving is very important to keep the grass regenerating as quickly as possible. This is especially true with sheep and goats, since they are more selective grazers than cattle. This means that they will come back though and regraze the grasses they like if not moved often enough. This makes the pastures less productive.

Rest for the soil does many things. The plants need time to recover before grazing again. Sometimes allowing the plant to mature and go to seed is important if you happen to have a field that is thinning. This saves planting costs and increases the production of that pasture the next year. Do a high stock density graze after it goes to seed. Move the livestock four times a day. Doing this will get you the manure distribution and seed to soil contact needed for germination.

A final thought, if you are working away from the farm, it still may be possible to do this intensive grazing by use of spring gate releases, or just do it on your days off. In this type of grazing system, you can be flexible to both the livestock and your needs. As farmers, we are in charge of the management of our farm and if we do it right it will be a profitable and beneficial endeavor. Have a wonderful grazing season.