Having to feed during the winter is one of the largest expenses for a livestock producer. Supplements have always been a little pricey even more with the low crop production. With the intense drought that we have experienced across most of the country, hay has also become expensive, if you can even find any.
But there is hope. Grazing during this time is possible but it will require good planning. Things like stockpiling forages for winter use are an alternative to limit your costs. But what about in the spring? You can take steps during this time to help that you will have grasses come the next growing season.
The key to production is the tiller
Tillers are simply the new growth of the grass. They are composed of a growing point, a stem, leaves, root nodes, and buds. These can rise from crown tissue buds, rhizomes, stolons, or any above-ground nodes. They are very important in understanding grass growth and regrowth.
Though they can be similar they are different from rhizomes and stolons. The main fact is that tillers sprout upwards instead of across. This results in an increase in the number of new shoots occurring around the original shoot. Having new tillers is the only thing in keeping forage alive.
Courtesy of Oregon State
Individual shoots will eventually die and must be replaced by new ones to keep the plant going. Perennials are not perennials because the shoots last indefinitely but because new shoots are grown. Depending on growing conditions shoots do not usually last more than 1 year. They are formed in the fall and are crucial to winter survival. So keeping them in good condition is imp[ortant.
In order to keep the forage productive, you need to let the tiller get established. This is done by letting it reach a height of 8-10 inches, depending on the plant, before letting animals graze. The time to move the animals off is when they have grazed half of that height. Another way to look at it is by leaving the growing point or the bottom 2 leaves of the plant.
Proper grazing is balancing plant and animal needs
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 needed. Having your forages tested regularly will do that.
During this time protein is often the nutrient that is most lacking in dormant forages. This is because the nitrogen, or protein, from the plant, is in the chlorophyll. As the plant goes dormant it drains the chlorophyll from its leaves giving it that brownish color we are so used to. Protein is necessary for the microbes in the rumen to be able to digest the roughages that are being consumed.
When grazing during the fall or even into winter the key 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 in order 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 be protecting 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 utilization of the rangeland is pretty uniform. Going past that number is where you start getting problems. A North Dakota State study found that pastures that were grazed more than 80% had delayed forage growth. The forage production was also reduced by as much as 57%.
Rotational grazing also allows the more nutritious plants and plant parts to be consumed thus reducing the amount of supplement needed. The animal selection allows for the highest quality diet when access to fresh pastures is provided to them. Protein will be highest 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. When it comes to planning for this there are 3 critical time periods: before, during, and after. These phases are separate but they can overlap for like a period of 6-9 months.
Before drought
The goal of planning before a drought should focus on reducing the negative impacts that would occur. You should focus on both short-term and long-term pasture recovery. The best way to ensure this is to make sure that the forages are properly established and not overgrazed.
By not overgrazing you are allowing 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. Root growth that is limited 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. Much like before the key here is to lessen the impact on forages. One way that this is done is by reducing the number of animals that you have in a particular pasture.
By reducing the number of animals you lessen the demand that is placed on the pasture and forages. In order to do this without affecting your long-term profitability, there are some steps that you can take. I go over that in another post ” How destocking can ease your pain”.
After drought
The goal during this time is to let your forages have the right amount of time to recover before you start grazing them again. Normally what you want to do is to allow about 28 days of new growth before grazing.