Having a good summer pasture management plan in place can save you a lot of headaches later on. It will give you a chance to put out any potential fires, not literally, before they can occur.
As the days begin getting longer now is the time to get that plan figured out and put into place. Because of different variations that can occur you do not want to wait till the last minute on this one,
During this time your pastures will be the base for all of your cattle’s nutritional needs. The thing is that while it may be able to meet all of their demands now that may not be the case in a couple of months. As anyone that has been involved in ranching will tell you, the weather can change on you on a dime. What was once lush and green can turn to brown and nonperforming in a matter of a couple of weeks.
But with a little foresight you can be ahead of the curve when it comes to anything the weather may throw at you. I have compiled 4 steps that you can take to plan out your summer pasture management needs.
Have a fly and pest control plan
You may have noticed that flies and other pests have started to come out in force now that the weather has warmed. Flies and other parasites can be a drain on your cow’s nutritionally. Not only can they interfere with simply how much your cows can consume but they can also affect their overall well being.
For an example, studies have shown that as little as 200 flies can reduce the overall weaning weights of your calves by around 40lbs. Now this may seem like a lot of flies but really that would only be amount that you could cover with just your hand.
In order to get ahead of this potential problem you will have to have the timing right. Typically your fly prevention plan should, depending on where you are, run from about March to October. This can change depending on when the cold weather shows up in your part of the world.
The general rule of thumb to follow is that you need to start putting out an IGR 30 days before the last freeze of winter to be effective. Where I am here in west Texas that would go along with the beginning in March timeline. Then you need to keep feeding the IGR till 30 days after the first freeze of fall. It is important that you feed this the entire time because the life cycle of the fly is not that long.
If you are interested in learning more strategies to control flies then check out my previous article “How do you control flies in cattle?”.
Always have fresh, clean water
Water intake is very important year round but especially during the summer. As the temperature goes up cattle will need to consume more in order to maintain production.
Research from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln shows that cattle need about 1 gal per 100lbs of bodyweight during normal times of the year. During the summer that number can double to around 2-3 gals per 100lbs. So you can see how having water for your cattle to drink can be very important.
Having the right amount of sources for your cattle to be able to drink from is also important. It has been shown that cattle tend to graze less than 600-900ft from a water source. So unless you want them to focus on only one area of the pasture you will need to have water troughs located throughout your place.
If you are having to either put in new or replace any damaged ones the type of trough that you choose also matters. When going with a trough make sure that it is made of a material that will last at least 10 years. Ones made of concrete is a good one to go with and is a popular choice in many range conditions.
To prevent erosion or it turning into a big mud hole you should place the trough on a type of pad. The pad should be made of something like concrete or gravel and be 6 to 8ft in radius.
Develop a flexible supplement plan
The importance of this step is that forages alone will not provide all of the nutrients that your cattle will need throughout summer. As grasses mature into late summer their protein, energy, and mineral content will all go down.
When grass values start to drop adding protein tubs or cubes are 2 ways that you can “fill the gaps”. If you are interested in learning more about the value of using protein tubs then check out a previous article of mine “Are protein tubs good for cattle?”.
During this time if you have spring calving cows their nutritional demands will increase. This is due to the fact that she will have a calf at her side nursing. And if you were successful one growing inside her at this time.
The reason you will need your supplement plan to be flexible is because of uncertainty. You do not really know what the conditions will be over the next few months. Keeping it flexible will allow you to “roll with the punches” as the needs arise.
Give access to the supplement early
Once you have your supplement program planned out it will be beneficial to you to start putting it out early. This will allow you to get ahead of any drop in nutrition intake you may come across.
Waiting till they show visible signs of deficiency is never a good idea from a production and economical standpoint. This is because by the time they are visibly deficient they are so behind that it will cost over twice as much just to get them back to where they were.
Include providing shade in your summer pasture management plan
Having a cool spot where your cattle can “hang out” during the hot days of summer is very important. I mean you wouldn’t like being out in the hot sun all day every day would you?
Providing shade does not have to overly complex or expensive. It can be something like having a group of trees that they can get under. If you are wanting something more elaborate then having a 3 sided building is something that you can look into.
Which ever option you go with it is vital that it has good air flow. Without any air flow temperatures even in the shade can reach 40 degs higher that the outside temperature.
