Feeding during the winter is one of the most significant expenses for a livestock producer. Supplements have always been a little pricey, especially with low crop production. With the intense drought we have experienced across most of the country, hay has also become expensive, if you can find any.
However, with careful planning, grazing during this time is not only possible but can also be cost-effective. Strategies like stockpiling forages for winter use can help you manage your costs. And what about in the spring? You can take proactive steps during this time to ensure that you have healthy grasses come the next growing season.
The key to production is the tiller.
Tillers are simply the new growth of the grass. They comprise a growing point, a stem, leaves, root nodes, and buds. These can arise from crown tissue buds, rhizomes, stolons, or any above-ground nodes. They are critical in understanding grass growth and regrowth.
Though they can be similar, they are different from rhizomes and stolons. The central fact is that tillers sprout upwards instead of across. This results in an increase in the number of new shoots occurring around the original node. Having new tillers is the only thing that keeps forage alive.
Individual shoots will eventually die and must be replaced by new ones to keep the plant going. Perennials are not
Courtesy of Oregon State
perennials because the shoots last indefinitely but because fresh sprouts are grown. Depending on growing conditions, shoots do not usually last more than one year. They are formed in the fall and are crucial to winter survival. So keeping them in good condition is essential.
As a livestock producer, your role in maintaining the health of the forages is crucial. To keep the forage productive, you need to allow the tiller to get established. This is done by letting it reach a height of 8-10 inches, depending on the plant, before allowing animals to graze. The key is to move the animals off when they have grazed half of that height or by leaving the growing point or the bottom two leaves of the plant.
Practice adequate winter grazing.
Adequate grazing is all about balance. It’s about understanding and meeting the needs of both the plant and the animal. As a livestock producer, your knowledge and understanding of these needs are crucial in making grazing decisions that promote the health of your forages and the well-being of your animals. Any decisions made about grazing should involve both of these aspects. The nutrient content of dormant forage is often adequate if they are not in late gestation or lactation. Knowing what kind of nutrients are being provided is needed to know what kind of supplements will be required. Having your forages tested regularly will do that.
During this time, protein is often the nutrient most lacking in dormant forages. This shortage is because the plant’s nitrogen, or protein, is in the chlorophyll. As the plant goes dormant, it drains the chlorophyll from its leaves, giving it that brownish color we are used to. Protein is necessary for the microbes in the rumen to digest the roughage being consumed.
The key to grazing during the fall or even into winter is not to overgraze. Not doing this will lessen the stress and impact of your forages, allowing them to regrow. Another way is to rotate your animals to different pastures to give the old ones a “rest period” to regrow.
Rotational grazing is the key.
In order to find the right balance, you will need to use rotational grazing. The “take half, leave half” rule applies as much in the winter as it does in the spring. Warm-season grasses are more susceptible to close grazing because most of the carbohydrates are stored in the stem base. By leaving enough cover, you will also protect the soil surface from exposure to the elements.
The recommended utilization of the forages is 40-60% of the grassland. When doing it at this level, the rangeland utilization is uniform. Going past that number is where you start getting problems. A North Dakota State study found that more than 80% of pastures grazed had delayed forage growth. Managers also reduced forage production by as much as 57%.
Rotational grazing also allows more nutritious plants and plant parts to be consumed, thus reducing the amount of supplements needed. The animal selection allows for the highest quality diet when access to fresh pastures is provided to them. Protein will be most elevated initially when a new paddock with new growth is offered. Providing a new strip every 3rd day can be enough to provide enough for a dry, mature cow.
Grazing during a drought
Dealing with a drought, like we currently are, will impact your grazing decisions. Planning for this is critical in three phases: before, during, and after. These phases are separate, but they can overlap for 6-9 months.
Before drought
The goal of planning before a drought should focus on reducing the negative impacts that would occur. It would be best to focus on short-term and long-term pasture recovery. The best way to do this is to ensure the forages are correctly established and not overgrazed.
By not overgrazing, you allow that plant to take hold and grow. Drought rarely kills well-managed plants. It will affect plants that have removed plant tissues or weak root systems from things like overgrazing. Limited root growth restricts the plant’s ability to get deeper soil moisture as well as other nutrients.
During drought
Once you have allowed your pasture to flourish when times are good, it is time to look at when drought hits. Like before, the key here is to lessen the impact on forages. One way this is done is by reducing the number of animals you have in a particular pasture.
By reducing the number of animals, you lessen the demand for pasture and forages. You can take some steps to do this without affecting your long-term profitability. I go over that in another post, ” Destocking: this is how to actually survive during droughts.”
After drought
When managing your pastures, the main goal is to give your forages enough time to recover before letting your cattle graze again. This recovery period is essential because it allows the plants to grow back strong and healthy, which in turn provides better nutrition for your livestock. Grazing too early can weaken the plants, reducing their ability to regrow and affecting the quality of your pasture over time.
Generally, it’s recommended to wait around 28 days before grazing the same area again. During this period, the plants will have a chance to produce new growth and replenish the nutrients they lost during the last grazing. By sticking to this timeline, you’re helping to maintain the long-term health of both your pasture and your animals.
Allowing for proper recovery is not only beneficial for the plants but also for your cattle. The more time the forages have to grow back, the more nutritious and plentiful they will be when the cattle return to graze. This approach supports healthier livestock and a more sustainable grazing system.