Using wheat pastures, you can give your herd a more extended grazing period, often lasting from November through March, depending on the weather. This extended grazing season is particularly valuable when other forages are low in quantity and quality, making wheat a reliable and consistent feed source. In a region like the Southern Plains, where conditions can be unpredictable, having a dependable pasture like wheat is a real game-changer for producers looking to maximize productivity.
However, using wheat pastures is more complex than just letting the cows graze. Timing, supplementation, and stocking rates are critical to getting the most out of your wheat fields and ensuring your cattle stay healthy and productive. In the following sections, we’ll explore how to manage wheat pastures to maximize forage quality and profitability effectively.
Timing is everything
Turning the cows out plays an important role when it comes to grazing wheat pastures. Only let the animals graze once the plant is at least 6 inches tall. Doing this will ensure that there is enough leaf growth to sustain grazing and development of the plant. The plant should have adequate crown root growth to keep them from being uprooted by grazing animals. Visually, this is the point where you can toss a softball out into the field, and it will disappear.
Along with the height, you must ensure the plant is well-rooted. Just because there may be enough growth above ground does not mean the roots are good. It is essential to sample the whole wheat pasture for root growth before you begin grazing. You can test this by simply pulling on the plant. The roots are developed enough if the leaf breaks off without the plant being pulled up.
Knowing when to take your cattle off the pasture is just as important. You will need to take them off when the first hollow stem appears. This stage occurs after the wheat comes out of dormancy in the spring. It will be about 5/8 inch or roughly the diameter of a dime below the developing head. This time can differ by up to 3 weeks, so the variety that you use will determine when this happens.
Taking cows off during this stage will protect yield potential by allowing enough time to recover. Previous research done in Oklahoma has shown that grazing just one week past this date can lead to yield losses from 8-10%. Grazing two weeks past the first hollow stem can result in an average yield loss of 30%.
When to Turn Cattle Out
Timing plays a significant role in getting the most out of wheat pastures while keeping them healthy for the long run. Before turning your cattle loose, ensure the wheat has reached at least 6 inches tall. At this stage, the plants have enough leaf area to handle grazing without being over-stressed. Grazing too early can stunt the wheat’s growth and reduce its ability to recover, hurting both the pasture and your herd’s nutrition. Giving the plants time to grow ensures they stay productive throughout the season.
It’s not just about what you see above the ground—checking the roots is just as important. The plants must be well-rooted so that grazing animals don’t accidentally uproot them. A quick and easy way to test is by gently pulling on the wheat. If the leaves break off but the plant stays firmly in place, it’s ready for grazing. Taking these extra steps ensures your cattle will have a reliable, high-quality food source and helps protect the health of your pasture for future use.
When to Remove Cattle
Knowing when to stop grazing is just as important as knowing when to start. The critical time to remove your cattle is at the first hollow stem stage, which happens in early spring as the wheat wakes up from dormancy. This stage is easy to overlook but crucial for grain production. Grazing even one week past this point can cut your yield by 8-10%, and waiting two weeks can lead to a staggering 30% loss. Pulling your cattle off the field at the right time allows the wheat to recover and protects its ability to produce grain later in the season.
Monitoring your wheat for the first hollow stem stage doesn’t take much effort but can make a big difference. This stage is marked by a hollow area just below the developing head of the wheat plant, about the size of a dime in diameter. Keeping an eye on this simple detail can save you from costly losses. Think of it as an investment in both your forage and your grain production. Making the decision to remove cattle at the right time helps maintain the balance between grazing benefits now and yield potential later, safeguarding your operation’s profitability.
Supplement that wheat pasture
Wheat pastures are one of the best feed sources we can have. But they are not without their nutritional drawbacks. Since wheat is high in protein, supplementing energy is very important. Offsetting the protein with some energy can benefit that calf. Giving them a more balanced diet will also assist them in being more efficient.
Because it is highly palatable, you must be careful that cattle do not overeat. One problem that may occur from them overeating wheat is bloat. Bloat is a form of indigestion marked by an excessive gas build-up in the rumen. Under normal circumstances, this build-up is released through things like belching. Still, any interruption of this can cause the gas to build up. The high crude protein and soluble carbohydrates in wheat are believed to cause this to occur. Putting out a bloat block is one way that you can prevent this.
Providing supplements when the forage crop is poor can help to spread the ration. This supplement can be a simple forage like hay or even grains to provide energy. Due to the current conditions, finding things like hay to feed your cows may be a little tricky. I reviewed some potential alternatives to hay in a previous post, “How to replace hay in a drought year.”
High-starch or High-fiber
When supplementing for energy, there are two ways that you can go: high-starch or high-fiber. High-starch supplements are grains like corn. High-fiber feeds are things like soybean hulls and corn gluten feed. The potential for using a supplement like this is good because of how quickly cows can digest wheat. Cattle typically prefer high-fiber supplements and tend to eat them quicker than high-starch. One thing you need to be careful of with high starch is the potential for acidosis.
Use the correct stocking rate with wheat pastures.
As with any pasture forage, using the correct stocking rate is vital to keeping wheat productive. Both growing calves and mature animals can utilize this forage. However, stockers and fall-calving cows can use it more effectively than the other types. This reason is likely due to the fact that they can fully take advantage of the high nutritional value of the wheat forage.
The recommended fall and winter stocking rates can range from 200 to 600 lbs of animals per acre. To give you a better idea, this can translate to about 1-2 acres per stocker, depending on their weight. If you have mature cows grazing, this rate will go to 4-7 acres per cow. In the spring, the stocking rates are usually 1.5 to 2 times greater than those for fall. Providing dry feed along with the wheat pasture can also increase the stocking rate.
Overgrazing the forage can result in winterkill along with lower grain production. You should follow the same rule here as you would with any forage: take half, leave half. For the fall and winter seasons, a minimum of 50% of the green canopy should remain in place in order to avoid overgrazing. Avoiding that will ensure that there is plenty of leaf area to allow photosynthesis to continue.
To avoid damage to forages by trampling, you should provide an area near the pasture for water, salt, mineral supplements, and a loafing area. If the cattle will be traveling for water, you should have several field access points close to the water points. If you cannot do that, provide water and supplements at different pasture corners to promote better grazing distribution.
Be sure to manage your cows correctly.
How you manage your cows while they are grazing will also play a part. Typically, stockers are grazed on wheat pastures, but other types can also be utilized. Cull cows, bred cows, and even cow-calf pairs can benefit.
Because of the potential for massive weight gain, maintaining bred cows or cow-calf pairs will require other considerations. Using limited grazing is one way that you can offset this problem with your herd.
As with any forage during the early spring, grass tetany is a problem with wheat pastures. Providing a mineral supplement with magnesium will prevent this from happening. You will need to supply a mix that contains 12-15% magnesium. This mix will need to be consumed at 3-4 oz per day to be effective. The supplement should be started a couple of months before the period of tetany happens.