| | It is very likely that pasture and grazing land will be slow to start and will produce less in the 2010 growing season. This will leave many producers wondering what can they do in advance or as the grazing season plays out.
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"The first thing producers can do is to budget feeds as carefully as possible to feed longer in the spring. Sorting cows and feeding to reduce waste are key tools," says Grant Lastiwka, grazing, forage and beef specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. "The next thing that must be done is a grazing plan. Balance what you think you will have for grazing days to the livestock numbers and length of your desired grazing season. Pencil it back-and-forth until it is comfortable to you. If you need some help, it may be a good idea to hire a grazing mentor to help you. A fellow grazer will be able to walk through some ideas and help you create solutions that are comfortable.
"As soon as possible make arrangements to rent more grassland in a flexible arrangement. Remember, that most pastures will be lower yielding and slower to start growth this spring, so if you can't flexibly manage to allow the pasture to recover from last year before once again starting grazing, look for pasture elsewhere."
This is also the time to consider if you want to reduce forage yield risk through enrolling in the hay and pasture moisture insurance program.
"A possible grazing option may be to look into seeding a mix of a spring and winter cereals, so that six weeks from now there is an option to graze if perennial growth needs more recovery time," says Lastiwka. "If this mix of spring and winter cereals isn't needed, it can be silaged, swath grazed or bale-grazed."
In early April, before fertilizing, soil test and plan to fertilize the most productive pasture or hay stands. This should be balanced to address shortfalls with an amount that is affordable to the given situation. Remember, nutrients in a grazing situation are largely recycled, and give more than one return on investment.
"Adequate recovery time is the most effective practice when it comes to rejuvenating overgrazed and stressed forage stands," says Lastiwka. "It is important to see sufficient growth ahead of grazing. So that plant health is not set back further, have at least a 3-leaf plant growth stage before cows are allowed to graze on that pasture."
Rotationally grazing should be the basis of a grazing plan. Pastures need to be given specific rest time for more complete plant regrowth/recovery during the active growth periods.
"If planning to seed pasture, pick a good legume and a drought tolerant grass mixture," says Lastiwka. "If the spring continues to be too dry, plan to seed with no cover crop. If the 2010 spring is moist, seed with a cover crop, but plan to silage earlier to allow for better establishment."
Grazing is half of the cost of traditional feeding, and having pasture that can be counted on is absolutely key. At a meeting in February 2010, Dr. Vern Baron, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, stated that, "It is imperative to have better species for grazing being used. The evolution of old hay stands to low vigour, and shallow rooted grass species pastures is too expensive. Kentucky Bluegrass, timothy, fescue, quack grass stands are species that have a high risk of being very unproductive in a drought."
"Unsound grazing practices, particularly regrazing too soon and removing most of the plant material, have left some producers with low production pasture that is very drought prone and nutrient deprived," says Lastiwka.
These images from Lorne Klein's grass roots project show how cutting once, twice or five times can really affect plants. Less 'times-over' will actually give you more!
    
Contact:
Grant Lastiwka
403-556-4248 |
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