Common Sense Steps to Your Best Pasture

You don't need a Ph.D. to know that pasture is the cheapest form of nutrition for your livestock. There is a lot of common sense when it comes to creating and maintaining a profitable pasture program. Here's a step-by-step guide to put you on the path to better pastures this spring. Don't look for shortcuts. Be committed and get informed. It can make all the difference this year!

Think it through: Ask yourself these types of common-sense questions:
·What kind of grasses do I have?
·What is the layout of my pastures?
·Do I have the right forages for my livestock?
·Where are the voids in my grazing system?
·How many days do I use stored feed?
·Where do I make an investment to get my largest return?

Get a soil test: With today's fertilizer costs, you cannot afford to guess how much fertilizer to apply. Contact your local extension office for assistance on how to take a proper soil sample.
Rejuvenate worn-out pastures: You may have to bite the bullet and start over if your current pasture area is too far gone. If this is the case, your thinking needs to be long-term, not short-term. Plant high-quality seed of proven varieties on a well-prepared seedbed. Spend time researching what forages grow best in your area, based on your individual needs.

Interseed legumes: Legumes improve overall forage yields and quality. In addition, legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, reducing commercial nitrogen requirements. Some good legume choices are birdsfoot trefoil, clovers, and alfalfa.

Start rotational grazing: Aim to graze your livestock on young, leafy plant tissue. The best way to achieve this is to cross-fence pastures into smaller paddocks, using single-strand hot wire. You can have animals graze each for 1-7 days (depending on the biomass, stocking rate, and size of paddock) then move to the next area. The idea is to give the plants several days of rest between grazing cycles. The number of paddocks and the length of grazing and rest periods vary with grass species and growing conditions. Of course, available water is essential as well. Your rotational grazing system can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Remember, it’s whatever works best for your operation needs and goals.

Control the weeds: Dense stands of forage grasses, enhanced by a good fertility program, proper pH and grazing management, often will crowd out weeds. If that doesn't work, the use of selective herbicides may be necessary. Multi-species grazing may also be a consideration.

Be alert to bloat and other conditions: Bloat, grass tetany, prussic acid poisoning and nitrate poisoning can be deadly to cattle. But all of these disorders can be anticipated and managed. The potential for bloat with legume pastures, and the risk of prussic acid poisoning with sorghum-sudan-type forages, increases for a week following a frost. Wait five to seven days after a frost before grazing to reduce these risks. It's also important to make sure animals have plenty of fill and wait until the dew has dried from plants before turning them onto legumes.

Bale surplus: If you have fertilized your pastures adequately and were lucky enough to receive timely rains, there will be occasions during the season when your animals can't keep up with fast-growing pastures. Instead of letting grasses go to waste, skip a paddock in your grazing rotation and cut it for hay or haylage. Although hay is more expensive than pasture, it can be a lifesaver during winter days when no grazing is available.

Extend the season: Stockpiling is a great way to extend the grazing season. Instead of baling excess forage, skip one or more paddocks in your grazing rotation and apply nitrogen to these areas in early August. Let the forage accumulate in these smaller pasture areas, and turn animals out on them after a frost.