Greg Brann, Author at Greg Brann Consulting

Reasons for Rotational Grazing

Livestock

Calmer livestock– having control of animals is a huge part of overall management.
Reduced hay fed– a 12 paddock system vs. continuous resulted in 31% less hay fed
Carrying capacity is increased– typically moving from a monthly rotation to a weekly rotation will increase carrying capacity by 20 to 30%
Increased gain per acre– rotating animals in a 12 paddock system vs. continuous grazing resulted in a 37% increase in pounds of calf per acre
Temperature reduction– vegetation compared to bare soil reduces temperature by ~ 8 degrees in summer
Improved Wildlife Habitat– Varying the height of forage and diverse forage systems improve food and cover for wildlife. Biologist like plant diversity and plant diversity comes from soil disturbance and rest for plant recovery. In a grazing system wildlife are always the first grazers which provides the best nutrition.

Forage

Better persistence of forages– particularly of forages sensitive to continuous grazing. In general woody plants that goats prefer require a longer rest period (~45 days).
More weeds are consumed- some weeds are high quality
More uniform grazing, Improved utilization- Continuous grazing typically only utilizes approximately 30- 40% of standing forage whereas rotating approximately twice a week (rotate based on forage height) improves utilization to 60 – 70%.
Excess pasture growth harvested as hay- improves utilization even more
Higher production– Typically due to increased stubble height, more leaf area, and more moisture conservation production can be increased by 20% over continuous close grazing.
Better management– with proper fencing forages with different management needs are fenced facilitating improved management such as overseeding and treading in seed.

Environment

Reduced Runoff- Improved vegetative cover has 3 times less runoff than overgrazed pasture
Improved filtering of water– Increasing stubble height improves filtering of runoff.
Better distribution of dung and urine– improving the environment through proper placement.
Improved water quality– with proper fencing animals spend less time loafing in water areas and drink from selected and protected watering points. Bacteria, concentration of nutrients and soil erosion are all reduced when practicing rotational grazing.
Streambanks are more stable– Livestock enter streams less frequently (i.e. 5 paddocks system- animals are in one paddock only 20% of the time that’s a reduction of 80%). Treading followed by rest increases plant diversity – resting allows vegetation to establish or recover. Grazing provides better plant diversity than total exclusion which long term results in only woody vegetation.
Soil loss- Overgrazed pasture can have soil loss of 9 tons relative to 1 ton for well managed pasture.

Indicator Plants

Indicator Plants are plants that, by their presence or abundance, provide an assessment of the quality of the site. Past soil management has a dramatic effect on the plant community and the plant community doesn’t change quickly so some indicator plants may persist after
management has improved. Indicator plants provide insight to what is occurring below the surface but there are many factors that come into play such as previous land use or management. These can dramatically influence seed availability on the site (e.g. – a low fertility site may still have broomsedge or rabbit tobacco on it even though fertility has improved). Soil testing, rest and recovery, more cover, increased diversity, seeding or other soil management methods may be required to alter the site to the desired state. The best weed control is out-competing undesirable plants. “Manage for what you want, not for what you don’t want. It takes grass to grow grass.”

Some Options for Mitigating Resource Concerns

The plants that grew naturally on the site are nature’s way of healing the site some of them are very palatable and others are not. If these are undesirable plants you may want to terminate existing plants
and plant a more desirable plant community that is adapted to the site.
Compacted Soil: More roots are needed fibrous and tap roots. Maintaining living roots all year helps. Allowing plants to recover longer between grazing and mowing improves root system. More residue helps. Resting plants during their active growing season strengthens plants. All plants help reduce issues with compaction but
the following plants are renowned for improving soil Compaction.

Cool season annual plants are: Forage radish and Cereal rye; perennial cool season plants: alfalfa, chicory, red clover and sweet clover.

Warm season annual plants are: sorghums and warm season perennial plants:

Native warm season grasses like: big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass and eastern gamagrass. Bermudagrass is tolerant of overgrazing and rather drought tolerant but doesn’t have as deep a root system as natives and needs nutrients for production.

Overgrazed Land: Longer recovery between grazing improves vigor of plants. If grazing skip a paddock resting a paddock for up to 90 days in the growing season and up to 210 days in the winter. Lowering stocking rate will remove stress on the the grass, soil, livestock and you. Increasing inputs such as fertilizing, feeding, number of paddocks and rotating more often leaving minimum heights of grass for soil protection, improved
infiltration, lower soil temperature and improved water management. All of these inputs reduce the impacts of overgrazing and shallow root systems. When minimum grazing heights are reached confine livestock to 20% or less of the land and feed hay till other paddocks reach a minimum height of 8” then resume grazing. It is ideal
to graze a paddock for 3 days or less, not allowing livestock to take a second bite of the same plant. In general the minimum recovery time or rest period between grazings is 14 days but base the rotation on height don’t graze below 4” (minimum of 4 layers of leaves).

Wet or Flooded: NRCS does not encourage draining land, wetlands are very important ecosystems and
aquifer recharge areas. Before draining land check with your local NRCS office you could lose USDA benefits
or be fined by other agencies. Don’t graze or travel on wet or saturated soil. Drive only in designated areas controlling traffic. If you must enter a field when it is wet walk or use an atv also wide tires compact less that narrow tires. Forage species that are adapted to wet and flooded land are: cereal rye, hairy vetch, alsike clover, red top, alsike clover, switchgrass and eastern gamagrass.

Low Fertility Soil: A plant tissue test may be in order to determine the deficiency contact the lab prior to sending in the sample. Feeding hay on low fertility relocates nutrients to the feeding site. Move or unroll hay in a new location each time you feed. High density short duration grazing improves manure distribution which improves fertility. Adjust pH to the desired level prior to applying deficient nutrients. You can move fertility in the animal as well by grazing a fertile field then rotating to one less fertile the manure dropped will be from the more fertile field. Plants, cover and roots aid in making more nutrients actively available to plants. Plants adapted to low fertility include: Cereal rye, lespedezas and native grasses.

Silvopasture

Pasture to Silvopasture

Silvopasture Plan

Goal: Managing timber and grass to the advantage of both.

Light Management and Tree Planting:

Harvest salable timber or perform hack and squirt technique to remove low grade trees providing light for regeneration of trees and to grow grass. Work with forester on designated trees to remove. NRCS can currently not recommend removal of trees by other methods due to potential impacts on bat habitat. The minimum light needed to grow cool season grass is 50% light to the ground with a minimum opening of 0.10 ac (66’x66’). To grow warm season grass a minimum of 60% light (70’ x 70’) is needed to the ground. The layout of trees can be scattered or in rows or a combination of the two. Minimum trees per acre is 27 trees/ac (average spacing of 40’x40’) and the maximum to grow grass is 304 trees/ac (average spacing of 8’x 18’). Thinning may be required in the future to improve tree growth and maintain productive grass.

Shade for Livestock:

If shade is needed for livestock planting trees on the south and or west side of a paddock is desired, south fence line is best. Unless it is a wide band of trees that will provide 63 square feet of shade or more per cow calf with access through the shade a line of trees will be needed on every fence line. Another option is a cluster of trees planted or left so livestock have access to shade from multiple paddocks. In this case ideally there would be a cluster of shade trees accessible from all paddocks. The minimum size of this planting is 630 square foot per cow calf with the shade area used fifty percent or less of the time.

Livestock exclusion:

If trees are less than 15’ tall they will need to be protected from livestock for horned cattle it will likely be longer. The typical browse height is 5 to 6’ so we want to protect the trees from browsing to 6’ or higher. Set stocked livestock are more likely to rub on the trees and remove the bark girdling and killing them. Livestock exclusion can be: a fence that restrains livestock away from the terminal bud and trunk, factors are height of the fence and distance from the tree (i.e. 42” electric fence and 24” inset of tree), a cage 18” diameter 6’ tall, 6’ diameter 5’ high or tubex or vexar 6’ tall secured with multiple post to prevent damage from livestock. Be observant watching for any potential damage to trees. When trees are young they are particularly prone to browsing and being rubbed on. Protection of the terminal bud is the main concern. In wet conditions do not allow livestock to graze timber areas where soils are prone to compaction (e.g. Godwin soil type). Be aware of the danger of windfall to humans and livestock where trees have been killed by hack and squirt particularly in windy conditions. Also be sure grazing restrictions are adhered to according to herbicide label or UT guidelines.

Grazing Management:

Practice rotational grazing for cool season forages allow forages to reach a minimum of 8” prior to grazing and graze down to 4” or taller. Allowing forages to reach the boot to early head stage is ideal for soil health and achieving the best balance of biomass for and forage quality. Livestock should not be allowed to denude land under trees, strive to maintain soil cover of both residual plants and dead residue. Rotation will be based on grass height, cover and impacts on trees and all vegetation however an approximate rotation will be 4 days or less on a paddock and a recovery time of 28 days or more. A recovery time of 45 days or more will be strived for. In the winter time a recovery time between grazing may be as long as 210 days.
Native warm season grasses (NWSG) will be 18” tall prior to grazing and not grazed lower than 8”. Manage for 12” height or taller prior to the first frost or November 1 whichever occurs first. After frost they can be grazed, it may improve production of NWSG to graze them low in March prior to green up. A managed prescribed fire can also improve production of NWSG, contact TWRA or TDF before burning. If vigor of native grasses is slower than expected allow them a longer regrowth period prior to grazing remove no more than half of the height when you do graze them.

A graze plan (forage animal balance spreadsheet) will accompany this document.

Seeding Mixtures for silvopasture areas

Cool Season grass mix:

Native Warm Season grass mix:

Facilities:

Locate mineral, supplementary feed and hay 30’ or further away from desirable trees. Water for livestock will be placed high on the landscape and strategically located so the paddock can be further subdivided. Strive for a travel distance for livestock to water being 800’ or less. The pipeline can be burst proof high density poly pipe on top of the ground or buried 18” underground permanent water tanks can be installed but you are encouraged to use quick couplers with portable troughs. In general water is needed in every other fence line.

Summary:

Be observant and manage livestock to enhance the growth of trees and forage. If trees are showing signs of decline reduce livestock access to the trees. Manage to keep adequate light to the ground to grow forage and respect minimum grazing heights.

Timely Tips – January

It is hard to believe but it’s time to order seed for frost seeding in February. Producers should inventory fields and determine legumes and grass needed.

Seed that are suited well to frost seeding:

red clover, white clover and annual lespedeza (on thin less productive ground). Don’t seed annual lespedeza on productive soils it doesn’t compete well with other species.

Lesser used species that also frost seed well are:

arrowleaf clover, crimson clover, hairy vetch (these are reseeding annuals which are typically seeded in the fall but can work in the spring for producers willing to manage grazing heights. Hairy vetch is an underutilized species, adapted for to all soil types wet or droughty. Great for grazing but slow to get going needs minimum of 90 days growth. Reseeds very well it is already present in most fields but doesn’t amount to much because livestock graze it out before it produces any quantity. Brassicas can also be seeded in February they will last one year if we have mild summer. Grasses that establish easily: Prairie bromegrass, annual ryegrass (5 lb or less in a mix). Annual ryegrass has shown excellent results in controlling spiny amaranth emergence.

Feed hay on infertile or weedy land. Unrolling hay is a good practice for improving land. Hay needs to be cleaned up by stock daily. Another option is bale grazing: setting out hay when the ground is dry or frozen then allow animals access to hay in paddocks.

Timely Tips – January – Forage

Planning: Winter is a great time to reflect on our management this past year and what changes we plan for the upcoming year. Stocking rate, feeding, sacrifice area, culling, grazing management, seeding, etc.

Stocking rate has the biggest impact on resource management and our bottom line. In this high rainfall area we typically think 1 animal unit (AU, 1,000 lb. cow with up to a 300 lb. calf) per 2 acres and this is where my operation is currently stocked with 90 to 120 days of hay feeding. This is too high and too many days of hay feeding, Greg Halich, University of KY Agriculture Economist, recently estimated with current cattle prices and moderate to low. Low cow cost operators can reasonably feed 60 days. Acres per animal unit depends on lots of variables: soil fertility, soil type, residual grazing height, rotation days of grass recovery, and lots of other factors. Very few farms: have optimum soil fertility, manage to not graze below minimum residual heights (e.g. 3” for tall fescue), provide time for grass to recover and regrow. Most excellent grazers that feed no hay are stocked at 1 AU per 4 or 5 acres and rotate every day or more often. A reasonable stocking rate for most operations that is 3 acres per animal unit. Remember that stockpiled tall fescue is better than hay all the way till March. Sometimes you have to take a step back to make two steps forward.

Feeding strategies for profit, ultimately don’t feed hay in one location the same way year to year or even in wet and dry times. Like all grazing management it is best to not lock into one strategy. If it is wet and soil is prone to compaction consider feeding hay in rings. If you have a hay manger to feed out of or a hay feeding pad this is the time to use them. When the ground is dry or frozen it is a good time to unroll hay daily. Feeding hay in rings in combination with unrolling at the same time typically doesn’t work so well because stock don’t clean up the unrolled hay soon enough. Best areas to target when feeding hay are fields with low fertility or lots of undesirable forage. Each ton of hay contains 60-13-48 of N-P2O5-K2O. Unrolling hay on a low fertility field in combination with liming i can change it to a high producing field in about 3 years.

Equipment to consider, not an endorsement of vendors: Hay B Gone, hay unroller can be pulled with a UTV; Spin off, a hydraulic driven hay unroller for the tractor that spins both ways and works well for flatter terrain; hay saver feeder is good for permanent hay feeding site but too heavy for rotational feeding and there are some reports of incidence of calves being hung in them. Plastic hay rings very light but hold up well.

Convenience is feeding near the barn, it is easy, less traffic compaction by equipment but poor utilization of nutrients in the hay and manure. Expect weeds like spiny amaranth on land with excessive nutrients.

Unrolling hay, takes some management and requires being done daily. If done correctly, Texas A & M found that one third less hay was needed. Other studies have shown as much as half of the hay can be wasted (it’s not waste if it returns to the soil) if not done timely/properly. Poor quality hay is more prone to avoidance and if your unrolled hay gets rained on it is less palatable. Advantages of unrolling hay is more stock have access to hay and calves are less likely to be stepped on, lower cost than lots of hay rings and manure, biomass and trampling are strategically placed. Typically don’t need to reseed after unrolling hay. Caution any form of hay feeding can bring in weed seeds.

Bale Grazing, is where you spread bales across a paddock in the fall or winter and move a temporary wire to allow access to more hay. Ideally you would move hay rings to control loss. Round rolls should be a minimum of 30’ apart and most likely you will need to seed the area after feeding so feeding them in somewhat of a straight line make reseeding easier. You can also creep bale graze allowing calves access to higher quality hay under a high electric wire.

Places not to feed: on the creek or other water areas unless you are trying to seal a pond. Don’t store hay or feed hay in the drip line of trees unless you are trying to control some weeds. Nutrients from the hay and manure are best spread across the pasture by the animals. Don’t feed on waterways unless it is already gullied and you have a plan to seed it soon after feeding. Also avoid feeding in depressions or near sinkholes.

Sacrifice areas, not many farms have good designated sacrifice areas. These areas are for use when pastures are grazed down to minimum recommended heights. I used to think it was ok to graze down to 2” height in winter but in order to optimize grass production maintain 3” or more height on pastures. Location of a sacrifice area: fence off an area that is high on the landscape centrally located (the hub of the operation) and an area that doesn’t have any sensitive areas like water bodies, drainageways or karst areas. If it does have sensitive areas NRCS recommends fencing those areas out. If sensitive areas are present it is best to have a 35’ wide or wider vegetative filter where water enters these areas. Single wire electric temporary fence can be used to accomplish all this.

Grazing management: Continue to feed hay into the spring till grass is 6-8” tall this will allow the grass to become stronger and set you up for grazing an extended time. Ideally some fall grown grass mixed with springs lush grass is best. If grass gets ahead of you in the spring defer grazing some fields till August, it is not likely to be high quality in August however it will return that biomass to the ground at a time when cool season grasses typically break dormancy allowing you to grow additional stockpiled grass for winter.

Manage minimum grazing heights of 3- 4” or higher for cool season grasses

Allow plants to recover growing to 8” or taller before re-grazing.

Additional management strategies:

Limit exposure to hay to reduce consumption and waste however monitor cattle body condition score, much of the hay is low quality
Unroll hay daily for more animal access and to distribute animal impact and manure where you desire
Develop more paddocks to stretch forage supplies next year
Plant warm season forage
Stockpile grass as a reserve for drought and winter.
UT Extension recommendations: http://utbeef.com/

Next month’s timely tips will be on frost seeding but if you need to order seed consider this:

Common recommendation:

Species up to pounds/acre

White clover 2

Red clover 4

Annual lespedeza 8 on less productive soil

Optional additions

Forage turnips 1

Arrowleaf clover 1

Hairy vetch 2 ideally sown in the fall but will improve diversity

Annual ryegrass 2 not recommended by university forage agronomist too competitive

Matua or Persister

Bromegrass 2 ideally sown in the fall but establishes easy particularly adapted to high fertility shady areas

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