A healthy pasture is the backbone of a successful livestock operation—it provides the food that keeps your animals strong and growing. Plus, when your pasture is in good shape, it takes a big load off your wallet by cutting down on feed costs. But let’s face it: even the best pastures can hit a rough patch, and when they do, it can leave you scratching your head, wondering where even to start. Remember, patience is key in pasture management, and with the right approach, you can regain control.
You’ve probably seen it before. Weeds start creeping in, taking over the grass your animals rely on, or you notice bare patches spreading across your field. When this happens, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially with the idea of fixing it. Renovating a pasture might sound like a giant, expensive project, and no one likes the thought of pouring time and money into something that might not work.
The good news? You don’t need to break the bank or overhaul your entire pasture to see results. There are practical steps you can take to get things back on track without feeling like you’re in over your head. Whether it’s tackling weeds, improving your soil, or adjusting how you manage grazing, these are affordable changes that can make a big difference. Let’s break it down and figure out what’s really going on with your pasture—and how to fix it.
Why does a pasture lose quality?
In order to pick the right thing to do to fix your pasture, we should first go over what can cause it. There are many reasons a pasture can become less productive. One such reason is whether it receives too much (not here lately) or needs more water. Another possible cause is not using suitable forage species. Poor grazing or mowing management is another probable cause of poor pasture.
Overgrazing is one way that can cause a pasture to become less productive. This potential is especially true when you have high-stress conditions such as drought, as we tend to experience from time to time. When the animals graze too much of the forage, they cannot grow back as quickly as needed, so production suffers. If it is bad enough, you will see an influx of invasive weed species coming in and taking over. It would be best if you always waited till the forages have grown to 8-10″ before letting the animals graze and then take them off when they reach 4-6″ in height.
Weed control
Staying on the subject of weeds, improper weed control is another issue that can affect quality. This issue can be as simple as misidentifying the type you want to control. Another problem could be applying the herbicide at the wrong time, which is just a waste of money. If you are unsure, it is always good to have someone more knowledgeable, such as your local extension agent, take a look and identify the weed.
Now that we have reviewed some causes let’s look at what you can do. Most people do not like this scenario because they think it will require too much. Renovating a pasture does not always mean that you have to reseed. That should be considered the last step in the process.
Why Soil Health Matters
The first step in improving any pasture is first to fix the soil. While forages are the foundation of an operation, the soil is the literal foundation of forage production. If the soil is not correct, then no amount of seeding or even fertilizing, for that matter, will improve anything. Soil is a natural body composed of mineral and organic solids, gases, liquids, and living organisms. According to Chris Teutsch, a forage extension specialist with the University of Kentucky, healthy pasture soil should have about a ton of bacteria, a ton of actinomycetes, 3 tons of fungi, and over 600 lbs of earthworms per acre. That’s a lot of life beneath your feet!
Finding the Weak Links in Your Soil
Here’s the thing: your pasture’s production is only as strong as the weakest link in the soil’s health. In other words, plants can only grow as much as the soil allows. You must perform a soil test to determine what’s holding your soil back.
A soil test gives you a snapshot of where your soil stands. It will tell you what nutrients might be missing, whether your pH levels are off, and what steps you need to take to fix things. If you’re unsure how to get started, check out my previous article, “Soil Testing 101: A Rancher’s Guide to Better Yields“ for a step-by-step breakdown. Think of a soil test as the first diagnostic tool for getting your pasture back on track.
Regular Testing Keeps You Ahead
Soil conditions don’t stay the same forever. Weather, grazing patterns, and other factors constantly change what’s happening in your pasture. That’s why it’s a good idea to test your soil regularly—about every three years is the general recommendation.
By staying ahead of potential problems, you can keep your soil healthy and productive. This proactive approach saves time, money, and stress down the line. After all, good soil is the starting point for good pastures.
Do not forget the pH.
An improper soil pH is a major limiting factor in forage production. Having it in the wrong range will reduce nutrient availability and nitrogen fixation by legumes. It is recommended to have a soil pH of 5.8-6 for pure grass stands, 6-6.4 for grass-clover stands, and 6.5-6.8 for grass-alfalfa stands. If needed, your test results will tell you how much lime will be required to get it to these ranges.
Liming pastures will not only neutralize soil acidity but also supply calcium and magnesium. To fertilize, you will need to apply lime months in advance. This is because it will take a little bit of time for it to absorb into the soil thoroughly. Otherwise, you could be putting fertilizer out that will not be utilized, which can be expensive at today’s prices.
Consider using legumes
Biodiversity might be the best option if you want the best pasture possible. Having variety is important because what one species lacks, another could make up for. Using legumes could also benefit the soil because of the nitrogen they return.
Now, it might be tempting to overload a pasture with legumes because of this, but there are better ideas than that. Legumes should comprise 20-30% of the total forages in the pasture. This ratio is one of those cases where too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
Regarding legumes, there are many options to go with, either warm-season or cool-season. Among the most well-known is alfalfa, which requires good drainage and Boron supplements to grow well. Frost seeding red or white clover is another option, and they generally result in the most tremendous success. If your pasture is lacking in fertility, then annual lespedeza might be the better option.
Be patient
When it comes to using legumes in your pasture, patience is key. They don’t start supplying noticeable amounts of nitrogen overnight. Most of the nitrogen transfer happens indirectly—through manure and urine after your animals graze on the legumes. Another way it occurs is when the legume plants and their roots die and decompose, gradually releasing nutrients back into the soil. It’s a natural process, but it takes time to get going.
Building a strong nitrogen cycle in your pasture isn’t a quick fix; it’s more like a long-term investment. This cycle can take several years to develop and show actual results fully. That’s why good pasture management and planning are so important—you’re not just managing for today but setting your pasture up for success down the road. With consistent care, legumes can significantly improve your soil health and forage production for the long haul.
Good pasture management goes a long way.
As mentioned above, managing your pasture will significantly affect its productivity. Allowing enough growth to occur before grazing will keep the forage healthy and growing, and the same is true for the distribution of grazing.
Animals like cattle stay close to areas like water sources. What happens is that they will heavily graze the areas close to those while not touching others. The goal is to get them to go to those other areas to utilize all of the places in your pasture. A well-managed pasture system will cycle 80-90% of the nutrients back to the pasture in dung and urine. If you are interested, I will review how to do this in a previous post, “Better grazing with supplements.”
Even using hay correctly could affect how much is in your soil. Removing hay from a field and not feeding it in the same spot can be dangerous because it can rapidly reduce potassium levels. Many of your common hay varieties will remove nearly 60 lbs of potassium. Knowing this can be helpful if you buy hay from somewhere else and bring it to your place. Every ton of hay will have about $78 worth of nutrients when going by today’s fertilizer prices.
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