Timely Tips – January

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

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

 

Alternatives to Help Stretch Forage Supplies

Alternatives to Help Stretch Forage Supplies

Maintain a 3” minimum grazing height

 

Inventory Animal Demand and Forage Supply

  • Animal demand per 1,000 lb cow is roughly 20 -30 pounds of forage per day, 750 – 900 pounds forage/month or 9,000 – 10,800/year demand will be somewhat less for non-lactating animals and somewhat higher for lactating animals. Best to allow for 10% forage wastage. Most operations feed hay for a 90 days or more. Real good grazers or low stocked operations feed less days. On average producers feed hay 120 days. Example: 120 days x 30 pounds = 3600 pounds/cow + 360 pounds waste = 3960 pounds hay/cow/winter feeding of 120 days
  • Inventory grass, hay or other feed supply before April 1, July 1 and Oct. 1.
  • Inventory pasture – every acre-inch of forage is equal to 200 – 400 pounds of dry matter. A good average is 300 pounds/acre inch for good producing grass. Example: 5” of growth x 300 pounds/acre in = 1500 pounds of forage but typically livestock only consume around 50% of that so 750 pounds per acre.

As few as two or three plants per square feet with good stem diameter should rebound and make a good stand with good management and adequate moisture.  If the pasture is grazed for an extended time below 3”, the pasture will likely need re-seeding.

  • Some producers like to have a 20% carryover of hay for insurance in case of a long winter, extended drought, hay fire, etc.
  • Example: 20 head cows x 3960 pounds for 120 days = 79,200 pounds/20 head cow herd. If rolls of hay weighing 1,000 pounds and have not weathered much, this producer would need 79 or 80 rolls per winter. Twenty acres x 750 pounds/acre = 15,000 pounds of forage which would last about 25 days if 20 head were grazing and no additional growth occurred. (20 head x 30 pounds/day = 600 pounds forage demand)

 

Options to Stretch Forage Supply

If additional forage is needed one or a combination of the following alternatives could improve forage utilization and/or production.

  • Best to restrict animals to one paddock (field) until other paddocks re-grow otherwise all paddocks will be grazed so low that recovery is very slow and grass may even be killed. Another option is to continue to rotating animals on a schedule of 7 days or less.
  • When forage re-grows to five inches or taller allow animals access to four days or less of forage at a time will typically increase forage utilization by 20% or more.


  • Stockpiling tall fescue – setting aside 0.5 to 1 acre per cow extends grazing and provides higher quality grazing. Many producers stockpile tall fescue without fertilizing with nitrogen this is a consideration especially when fertilizer prices are high. Consider the following; fertilizing tall fescue with 60 pounds of Nitrogen (180 pounds of ammonia nitrate) will produce an additional ton of forage. Cost of Nitrogen at $0.40/pound of nitrogen x 60 pounds or nitrogen will cost $24/acre.If hay cost $24/1,000 pound roll a producer will produce 1,000 pounds of forage in addition to the cost of 1000 pound roll.. Some of the standing grass will be wasted due to trampling and manure damage. Depending on forage management, cattle will consume 50 to 70% of the 1,000 pounds providing a benefit of an additional 500 to 700 pounds above cost of nitrogen. Benefits may even be greater if hay waste is high.
  • Over-seeding pastures with winter annuals. Typically not feasible to overseed pastures with winter annuals unless tall fescue stand is less than 50%, even then, it is questionable but in an emergency, it is an option. Spring oats provide the quickest growth in the fall but die out during the winter. Winter oats are another option. Seed 4 bushels of oats by Oct 1. Rye is second quickest growth, seed 2-3 bushels/acre prior to October 15 for fall growth. Wheat seed 2-3 bushels/acre by October 1. Ryegrass generally just provides late winter quality forage the same time that tall fescue is growing. Fertilize winter annuals with a minimum of 45 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
  • Consider leasing additional pasture
  • Grazing fields traditionally used for fall hay, this is particularly a good option when you consider harvest efficiency of harvesting hay is typically 70% and strip grazing also has an efficiency of 70%. You get the same utilization for less cost! If land is not strip grazed, utilization will likely be at 50% efficiency. High fuel cost makes grazing hay fields in the fall the best option.
  • Early weaning will reduce stress on the cow and extend forage supply
  • Creep grazing Allowing calves access to higher quality forage than the cows. A demonstration farm in Bledsoe County creep grazed calves gained an additional 75 pounds grazing pearl millet in the summer. Winter annuals are a good option for creep grazing in the cool months. Some producers place their electric wire at about 30” above the ground to allow calves to free range choosing the best forage ahead of the cows. When weaned calves are grazing an adjacent pasture field to the mother cow, there is naturally less stress for both. Cows in better condition breed back sooner.
  • Feed ruminant friendly by products such as soyhulls, and corn gluten.
  • Irrigation, can improve forage production, it is important to have optimum stand, weed control, fertility, for irrigation to pay.
  • Adjust stocking rate, some producers like to stock for drought not high production, approximately 20% below maximum stocking rate. Plan for the worst scenario & hope for the best!

 

Management Strategies ahead of drought

  • Diversity of forages 70 % cool season, 30 % warm season. Different species within each group or season of forage can extend the growing season.
  • Multiple paddocks (cross fence to make five or more fields).
  • Proper grazing heights – A recent study at North Carolina State University showed that overgrazed pastures produced 37% less than pasture grazed to a 3” height.
  • Stockpiled forage– provides quality forage at the lowest cost
  • Maintain fertility utilizing soil test
  • Evaluate forage supply – Determine needs in advance with the end of seeding dates in mind. April 1 for spring seeded cool season grasses, July 1 for warm season grasses and October 1 for fall seeded cool season grasses.

Heavy Use Areas

17

Nov 2001

 

Soils

Types & Uses

  • Grassed – use in areas where traffic can be managed to maintain vegetative cover, grass species which are wear resistant and have fast recovery from wear may be used.
  • Geotextile Fabric and Rock – use in areas where vegetation cannot be maintained (i.e., around watering facilities, feeding areas, travel lanes, stream crossing, etc.).  For dairies, use a coarse base with 2 to 3 inches of lime screening.
  • Concrete – use in high traffic areas where durability, stability, and foot problems are a concerns.
  • Foundation Preparation
    1. Remove all loose, wet, organic, or other undesirable materials to depths, widths, and lengths as required by the design. Dispose of all waste materials properly.
    2. All areas to be paved must have a 5-inch sub-base of gravel, crushed stone, or other suitable materials. The material in place may be used if adequate.
    3. Provide surface and subsurface drainage, as needed, and for disposal of runoff without causing erosion or water quality impairment.

    Extend the heavy use area a minimum of 10 feet around areas such as watering facilities, portable hay rings, feeding pads, or mineral boxes.

Property

Test Method

Minimum
Tensile Strength Grab Test ASTM D 4632 180 lb.
Mullen Bursting Test Diaphragm ASTM D 3786 320 psi
Puncture Test ASTM D 4833 80 lb.

 

Guidelines for Geotextile & Rock

1)     Install a geotextile fabric on firm sub-base.  Excavate vertical edges around the perimeter.  Use a geotextile with the following minimum properties.

2) Place geotexile fabric loosely over the dug out area.  Staple outside edges with joints about every 5″ with 6″ metal staples made of 8-gauge wire, or similar.  Minimum lap at all joints is 24 inches.  Cut off or fold under any excess fabric.  

3)     Place a 6 inch layer of TDOT #1 stone or similar over the geotextile.  Make sure that at least 2” of crushed rock separates fabric and equipment, or the fabric may get damaged.

4)     Place a minimum of 2 inches of TDOT #57 stone.

5)     Place an additional 2 inches of smaller stone, sawdust, sand, shale, or lime where foot problems may be a concern.  Crusher Run is not recommended for use with dairy cattle.  Other gravel options can be considered.

6)     The finished surface of the heavy use area must be flush or slightly mounded relative to the surrounding ground surface to promote proper drainage.

Guidelines for Concrete

  • Prepare forms on surface of 5-inch sub-base, or firm consolidated or compacted material. Use a minimum of 4 inches of concrete and 5 inches where heavy equipment is expected.
  • Use 6”x 6” 6/6 gage welded wire mesh reinforcing in the slab. Fiber reinforcement can be used in the concrete mix.  Use 1.5 lbs. per cubic yard of 3/4″ length virgin homopolymer polypropylene fibers, either the collated fibrillated or monofilament type.  Use isolation or expansion joints between a new slab and any other fixed object or different material, such as an existing slab, building foundation, posts or piers, etc.  Install control joints 8-10 feet apart on 4” slabs and 10-13 feet apart on 5” slabs where control of cracking is required.  The spacing should never exceed 15 feet.  Extend the control joint into the slab to a depth of one-fourth (1/4) of the slab thickness.
  • Require a design mix where the compressive strength of concrete after 28 days curing is 3500 psi. and air entrainment is 4 to 7 percent. A few days before the expected pour, contact the concrete supplier with design mix requirements and expected time and day of pour. 
  • Do not place concrete when the outside temperature is expected to fall below 40oF at the time the concrete is delivered and placed at the work site. Do not expose concrete to freezing temperatures during the curing period.
  • During hot weather, do not place concrete with temperature greater than 90oF at the time of placement.
  • Prevent concrete from drying for at least 7 days after it is placed. Protect the surface with covering materials to keep it moist such as canvas, cloth mats, straw, sand or other approved material.  In lieu of covering, maintain moisture by sprinkling, flooding, or fog spraying. Leave forms in place during curing period.

Have the appropriate official check and approve the in-place subgrade, forms, reinforcing steel, and any other items before concrete placement.

Grassed Loafing Lots 

Where disturbed resting or excercise lots are being improved for herd health and water quality purposes, establish a minimum of three grass paddocks with an optional sacrifice area (non-vegetated or bare areas) as follows:

  • Grassed loafing lots should be sized at no smaller than one acre per twenty cows except on favorable sites. Up to thirty cows may be considered, provided the site has adequate soil fertility, favorable slopes (2 to 5%), and four or more paddocks are planned.
  • Where no facilities exist to house or contain cattle during wet weather conditions, a sacrifice area can be established in addition to the 3 grassed loafing paddocks and sized at 750 square feet/animal unit. Runoff must be collected and utilized from the sacrifice area (non-vegetated or bare areas) as outlined in the Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan.
  • Avoid slopes that are less than 2% or greater than 8%.
  • After seedbed preparation, broadcast 25 lbs/ac endophyte-infected Kentucky 31 tall fescue from March 1 to April 15. From May 1 to July 1, lightly disk and broadcast 5 lbs/ac common bermuda.  Fertilizer may not be needed.  Get a soil test if unsure about what to apply.  Grassed loafing lots may need to be established at different times to allow for grass to become thoroughly established before introducing cows.
  • Develop a plan which addresses field rotation, use of sacrifice area, fencing patterns, access roads, etc.
  • Provide an alternative watering system that meets the needs of the rotational schedule and protects water quality.
  • Fence cattle from all streams and concentrated flow areas such as drainage ways and sinkholes.
  • Maintain a minimum 30-foot grass buffer between grassed loafing lots and streams unless the runoff is collected and managed by a method outlined in the Comprehensive Nutrient Management

Install fencing to control all animal traffic and separate loafing lots.  Alternative fencing procedures, which provide permanent and positive control, can be used.

Operation & Maintenance 

Runoff from the heavy use area should not directly discharge into surface water bodies.  If used to treat a concentrated livestock area (i.e., an area where livestock are confined, fed, or maintained more than a total of 45 days during any 12-month period and crops or vegetation is not sustained over the area), runoff from the area shall be properly filtered and/or collected, stored, and utilized in accordance with development of a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan.

Scrape off built up manure as needed, then spread it onto farmland as fertilizer.  Keep at least 100’ from water bodies, streams, and wet weather conveyances.  Do not store manure on site unless it is protected from weather and runoff.  Take care to minimize the amount of gravel that comes off with the manure.  Replacement of rock or surfacing material will be needed occasionally.

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