With the recent rains and snow melting there has been some flooding issues occuring throughout the state. South Dakota State University Extension Veterinarian, Dr. Russ Daly, sent out an email this morning and said, "I had a call this morning from Brown County, and spoke to the EMS director there describing a herd of cattle stranded by flooding northwest of Aberdeen along the Elm River. This may get to be a more frequent issue as the days go on." He also goes to add, "Most available resources address flood recovery, but this one gives some pointers about actions during a flooding event:"
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/disaster/flood/protectinglivestockduringaflood.html
Daly also provided this link for more information specific to animals and flooding:
http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Flood_Recovery/producers.htm
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Discussion Forum I - Cover Crops
Cover crops are a really hot topic among producers right now. So, what is a cover crop exactly? Well, simply put, a cover crop is a crop that is grown to benefit the soil and/or other crops in a number of ways. From the agronomy side of things, cover crop benefits include: reduced soil erosion, improved soil quality, reduced weed pressure, reduced insect and other pest problems. Cover crops are grown during or between primary cropping seasons. They are versatile and easily adapted to conventional, low-input and organic field crop ecosystems. Cover crops are also beneficial from the livestock side of things as well. They can be grazed, hayed, or made into silage. There are many cover crop species including millets, lentils, legumes, field peas, turnips, sorghum and sorghum-sudan, annual ryegrass, hairy vetch, and even radishes. Cereal grains such as oats, wheat, triticale, and rye can also be used.
So, are you interested in cover crops or do you already grow them? The beauty of cover crops is that you don't require any more land to grow them. You can utilize the resources you already have. With these things in mind, I open up the forum for comments and questions.
So, are you interested in cover crops or do you already grow them? The beauty of cover crops is that you don't require any more land to grow them. You can utilize the resources you already have. With these things in mind, I open up the forum for comments and questions.
Friday, March 20, 2009
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.
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.
SDSU Ag News: Managing Spring Grazing
By Lance Nixon, Editor, SDSU Ag Bio Communications
Feed and fuel costs will have many ranchers eager to put cows out on grass as soon as possible this spring. But SDSU Extension Range Livestock Production Specialist Eric Mousel cautioned that early spring grazing typically has negative effects on season-long forage yields unless managed carefully.
Mousel said research from North Dakota suggests that grazing native range before the third leaf stage can reduce carrying capacity by up to 50 percent in some situations. “The effects of early grazing on improved pastures are likely not as pronounced due to differences in management, climate, and level of agronomic inputs, but a reduction of 10 percent to 30 percent in carrying capacity is not out of the question,” Mousel said. How early is too early for turnout if you’re worried about forage yield? Mousel said it depends on the type of vegetation you have available on your native range and in your pastures. Forage species such as crested wheatgrass typically green up a week to two weeks earlier than most other cool-season forage species. "As I’ve already noted, grasses really need to develop to the third leaf stage before they are mature enough to stand up to grazing pressure. To avoid season-long reductions in forage yield, grazing managers should wait until crested wheatgrass reaches a height of 4 to 6 inches before turning cattle out,” Mousel said. Similarly, managers should delay turnout on the taller statured species such as smooth bromegrass and intermediate wheatgrass until plants reach a height of about 8 inches. Mousel noted that key forage species on native range (western wheatgrass, green needlegrass, etc.) typically take longer to develop to the third leaf stage than improved forage species. In most years, turnout on native range should be delayed until the heights of key forage species are at least 4 to 6 inches, which is typically near the end of May or first part of June. Conversely, native, warm-season tallgrasses can benefit from some light early-season grazing. Research in east-central Nebraska has shown that grazing big bluestem at a light stocking rate in mid-May can improve utilization of forage later in the grazing season without reducing season-long forage yields. However, managers should still wait for warm-season tallgrass species to reach the third leaf stage, or about 10 inches in plant height, before turning cattle out. In most years in South Dakota this would be about late May to early June, Mousel said.
Feed and fuel costs will have many ranchers eager to put cows out on grass as soon as possible this spring. But SDSU Extension Range Livestock Production Specialist Eric Mousel cautioned that early spring grazing typically has negative effects on season-long forage yields unless managed carefully.
Mousel said research from North Dakota suggests that grazing native range before the third leaf stage can reduce carrying capacity by up to 50 percent in some situations. “The effects of early grazing on improved pastures are likely not as pronounced due to differences in management, climate, and level of agronomic inputs, but a reduction of 10 percent to 30 percent in carrying capacity is not out of the question,” Mousel said. How early is too early for turnout if you’re worried about forage yield? Mousel said it depends on the type of vegetation you have available on your native range and in your pastures. Forage species such as crested wheatgrass typically green up a week to two weeks earlier than most other cool-season forage species. "As I’ve already noted, grasses really need to develop to the third leaf stage before they are mature enough to stand up to grazing pressure. To avoid season-long reductions in forage yield, grazing managers should wait until crested wheatgrass reaches a height of 4 to 6 inches before turning cattle out,” Mousel said. Similarly, managers should delay turnout on the taller statured species such as smooth bromegrass and intermediate wheatgrass until plants reach a height of about 8 inches. Mousel noted that key forage species on native range (western wheatgrass, green needlegrass, etc.) typically take longer to develop to the third leaf stage than improved forage species. In most years, turnout on native range should be delayed until the heights of key forage species are at least 4 to 6 inches, which is typically near the end of May or first part of June. Conversely, native, warm-season tallgrasses can benefit from some light early-season grazing. Research in east-central Nebraska has shown that grazing big bluestem at a light stocking rate in mid-May can improve utilization of forage later in the grazing season without reducing season-long forage yields. However, managers should still wait for warm-season tallgrass species to reach the third leaf stage, or about 10 inches in plant height, before turning cattle out. In most years in South Dakota this would be about late May to early June, Mousel said.
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