Having a good summer pasture management plan in place can save you many headaches later on. It will allow you 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 the 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. While it may be able to meet all of its 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 you on a dime. What was once lush and green can turn brown and nonperforming in a matter of a couple of weeks.
But with some foresight, you can be ahead of the curve when it comes to anything the weather throws at you. I have compiled four 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 nutritionally. Not only can they interfere with simply how much your cows can consume, but they can also affect their overall well-being.
For example, studies have shown that as few as 200 flies can reduce the overall weaning weights of your calves by around 40 lbs. 200 flies may seem like many flies, but that would only be the amount 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. The length 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 of March timeline. Then you need to keep feeding the IGR till 30 days after the first freeze of fall. It is crucial that you provide this the entire time because the fly’s life cycle is short.
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 in your pasture.
Water intake is very important year-round, but especially during the summer. As the temperature increases, cattle will need to consume more to maintain production.
Research from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln shows that cattle need about one gal per 100 lbs of body weight during regular times of the year. During the summer, that number can double to around 2-3 gals per 100 lbs. So 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 essential. 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 pasture area, you will need to have water troughs throughout your place.
Suppose you have 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 it is made of a material that lasts at least ten years. Ones made of concrete are good to go with and are a popular choice in many range conditions.
To prevent erosion or it turning into a giant 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 pasture supplement plan.
The importance of this step is that forages alone will not provide all of the nutrients that your cattle will need throughout the summer. As grasses mature into late summer, their protein, energy, and mineral content will all decrease.
When grass values start to drop, adding protein tubs or supplementing cubes are two ways to “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?”.
If you have spring-calving cows, their nutritional demands will increase during this time. Nutrient demand increases because the cow 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 may not 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. Providing supplements before they are needed will allow you to get ahead of any drop in nutrition intake you may come across.
Waiting until they show signs of deficiency is never a good idea from a production and economic standpoint. That is not a good idea because by the time they are visibly deficient, they are so behind that it will cost over twice as much 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. You wouldn’t like being out in the hot sun all day, every day.
Providing shade does not have to be overly complex or expensive. It can be like having a group of trees they can get under. If you want something more elaborate, then having a three-sided building is something that you can look into.
Whichever option you go with, it must have good airflow. Without any airflow, temperatures, even in the shade, can reach 40 degs higher than the outside temperature.
