GRAZING BASICS SCHOOL

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County

            The Ohio State University – ATI, OSU Extension, and the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council is sponsoring a 3-day Grazing Basics School on September 29, 30 and October 1 of 2015.  The school will be held at the Ohio State University ATI campus in Wooster.  The grazing basics school is designed for those who are new to grazing livestock and desire to improve their grazing management skills.   For those graziers with some experience the school offers the opportunity to brush up on skills or gain some additional knowledge.

The school is structured as a combination of morning classroom sessions with afternoon hands-on learning and practice.  There will be some optional evening sessions.   Instructors include OSU Extension educators, state specialists, ATI Instructors and industry professionals. Topics covered during morning sessions include: Understanding Pasture Plant Growth, Plant Species Selection, Soil Fertility, Matching Forages to Livestock Nutrient Needs, Minerals, Fencing, Water Systems, Stockpiling, and Economics. The afternoons include interactive sessions covering pasture measurement, paddock setup, livestock grazing, forage and weed identification, nutrient management, water and fencing systems.  These sessions will take place at the 1700 acre Ohio State ATI Grace Drake Learning Laboratory.   During these afternoon lab sessions, vendors including seed, feed, fencing and grazing water supply companies will be on hand to explain their products and facilitate some of the sessions.

The cost of the school is $150/person which includes continental breakfast, handouts, noon lunch and refreshments.  Pre-registration is required by September 22.  For more information about the grazing basics workshop including a registration form and lodging options, go to the Wayne County Extension web site at: http://go.osu.edu/2015OSUgrazingschool  or contact the Wayne County Extension office at 330-264-8722.

Ohio Forage and Grassland Council Fence Building Workshop

Jorgensen Farms 5851 East Walnut Street

Westerville, OH 43081, Phone 614-855-2697

www.jorgensen-farms.com

Thursday July 18, and Friday July 19, 2013

9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The workshop is for both the beginning and advance fence builder; sheep, cattle and horse owners; and grazing enthusiasts.  Thursday is designed for agency and commercial personal and Friday for the producer.  We will be installing Bekaert high tensile woven wire fence for Val Jorgensen’s sheep and cattle pastures. The workshop will show proper fence building techniques.  Bekaert employees will be providing the training and showing fence building procedures for high tensile woven wire fence construction.

Bob Hendershot, Green Pasture Services and T. J. Oliver, USDA NRCS Resource Conservationist will also be providing information on pasture management; (plant identification, forage measurement, pasture soil fertility, and making subdivisions for rotational grazing) and pasture conservation practices (Heavy Use Area Protection, access road, pipeline, livestock watering facilities, forage planting and fence).

McArthur Lumber and Post (www.totalfarmandfence.com) will be the source of the materials for the fence building workshop.  They have been providing fencing materials for over 50 years and are members of the Ohio Forage and Grassland Council.  They have all your fencing needs; posts , boards, nails, screws, staples, gripples, gates, wire, pneumatic staplers, post pounders, energizers and fencing tools.  Their new line of cedar posts are certifiable for organic farm use

Lunch is provided please give Jorgensen Farms a call 614-855-2697 to help in meal planning. Please bring a water bottle, work gloves and shoes along with sun protection.  This will be hands on learning workshop.  

A 4-R PROGRAM FOR SUMMER GRAZING

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County

            With the arrival of summer we can generally expect warm to hot temperatures and less frequent rainfall.   The vast majority of pastures managed for grazing in our area are composed of cool season grass species that grow best when temperatures are cool to warm and moisture is plentiful.  Thus, we have the summer slump in pasture productivity.  Although summer weather conditions are not conducive to high yields with cool season grasses there are some grazing management practices that can help to increase summertime productivity.  These practices can be summarized as the four “R’s”.

            The first “R” is remove seed heads.  Clipping off seed heads in late June will return grass plants to vegetative growth and improve the quality of the forage that is grazed.  The second “R” is right starting height.  Do not let livestock into a pasture paddock where grass height is too short because this is almost certain to lead to overgrazing.  What is the right height?  It depends upon the predominant grass in the pasture mix.  Perennial ryegrass should be grazed when it reaches the 6 to 8 inch height.  Orchardgrass and endophyte free or novel endophyte tall fescue grass should be grazed starting at an 8 to 10 inch height.   Endophyte infected tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass should be grazed when the height reaches 5 to 6 inches.

            The third “R” is residual leaf area.  Do not overgraze pasture paddocks.    Pull livestock out of pasture paddocks while there is still sufficient leaf area for the plant to continue to photosynthesize.   The general principle that is taught in grazing schools is to take half the plant and leave half the plant.  Leaving sufficient leaf residual has several benefits.  When more than half the plant is grazed or clipped off root growth is drastically affected and the plant takes longer to recover from defoliation.  Leaving half the plant allows root growth and function to continue with very minimal reduction and the plant recovers rapidly from the grazing defoliation.  Leaving more residual leaf area helps to shade the soil.  In the summer heat this can mean cooler soil temperatures and less moisture loss from the soil, important considerations to keep grass growing.  In general, do not graze below 3 inches in height for perennial ryegrass, below 4 inches in height for orchardgrass, endophyte free or novel endophyte tall fescue and do not graze below 2 inches in height for Kentucky bluegrass and endophyte infected tall fescue.

The fourth “R” is rest period.  After a grazing pass allow enough time for that plant to regrow back to the right grazing height.  The length of this rest period is affected by how much leaf residual has been left, the air and soil temperature, and soil moisture.  Summer pasture rotations need to slow down because the grass is growing slower.  For example, during the favorable temperatures and moisture conditions of spring and early summer grass is growing fast and it may have been possible to get back to a pasture paddock within an 18 to 25 day period for another grazing pass.  In the summer the rest period required for that same plant to regrow to the right grazing height may be anywhere from 30 to 50 or more days.  During last summer’s drought when plants just quit growing in many pastures, the only way to avoid overgrazing was to stop rotating between paddocks and keep livestock in a sacrifice area.  The only way to maintain the longer rest periods needed during summer weather is to have enough pasture paddocks or divisions.   Most of the experienced graziers that I know have at least 10 pasture paddocks or run multiple pasture divisions as they strip graze across a pasture.  I have yet to hear an experienced grazier say that they regret putting in another pasture division or paddock.

Summer weather can negatively affect cool season pastures, but following good grazing management practices can minimize those negative effects.  For more information about pasture and grazing management, contact a member of the OSU Integrated Forage Team.

South Central Ohio Grazing School

The  "Pasture for Profit" will be held the evening of December 4 and 6, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and concludes on Saturday, December 8, 2012 9:00 am until noon.  The program will be held at the Jackson Agricultural Research Station, OARDC, 019 Standpipe Road, Jackson Ohio 45640.

 

The topics to be covered at the three day grazing school include; What is MiG and What are Your Goals and Objectives of Your Grazing System?, Evaluating Your Resources, Understanding Plant Growth, Grazing Economics, Forage Species Selection, Grazing Systems and Contingency Plans for the Good, Bad and Ugly, Paddock Layout and Design, Pasture Soil Fertility.  Saturday, the last day of the school will include a farm visit to view grazing management practices, including fence and livestock watering systems in the field.

 

The $30 fee includes refreshments and a large notebook of reference material.  To register, make your check payable to Jackson SWCD, 2026 Fairgreens Road, Jackson, OH 45640. For further information, contact the Jackson SWCD at 740-286-5208 or the Vinton County SWCD at 740-596-5676.  Registration deadline is November 29, 2012.

Dry Season Pasture Management

Mark Landefeld, Agricultural Extension Educator Monroe County

 

Showers crossed the state last weekend (6-17-12), but in many cases it was only enough to settle the dust for a few hours. The dry conditions in our area continue to challenge farm managers and their ability to keep forages growing and productive. 

While we can’t control rainfall, we can control our livestock and provide forage plants the opportunity to remain productive during and, maybe more importantly, after drought conditions. Overgrazing forage plants anytime reduces maximum growth potential, but in dry conditions overgrazing forage plants really takes a toll. Allowing livestock to take more than half of the plant’s leaf material quickly starts reducing root growth. Also, as excessive amounts of leaf material are removed during hot, dry conditions, soil temperatures generally increase which slows or stops growth of our cool season forage plants for extended periods of time. Overgrazing also contributes to evaporation of soil moisture due to lack of ground shading.

Ed Rayburn, WVU Extension Specialist, said “root growth determines the ability of a plant to take up nutrients and water. Root growth is determined by the plant’s leaf area actively photosynthesizing, since the roots depend on energy captured by the leaves. When energy is in short supply, it is used by plant tissue nearest to the site of photosynthesis. Therefore, roots receive energy only when more energy is produced by photosynthesis than is being used by top growth. However, under drought conditions the lack of water may reduce top growth while photosynthesis remains active. This results in the accumulation of carbohydrates at relatively low canopy heights. Forage stands that have growth retarded by drought can then have a vigorous regrowth once good rain is received.” 

The key to this process however, is to leave enough plant leaf residual. As Ed stressed, photosynthesis can continue to provide energy for roots, but only when sufficient leaf surface is present to gather sunlight. When forage plants are overgrazed, top growth must come from root reserve energy which leads to weaker plants.

Another consideration, to maintain forage plant health, is the amount of rest/regrowth the plants have had before being grazed again. Turning livestock into paddocks that have not had sufficient rest will be very stressful to forage plants. Unimproved fescue and white clover paddocks should be a minimum of 5-8 inches while orchardgrass and red clover predominant paddocks or improved varieties of fescue and clover paddocks should probably be a minimum 8-10 inches tall before allowing livestock to start grazing again. Using hayfields that have sufficiently regrown, after first cutting hay was made, or feeding hay or grain would be options to allow pasture plants enough time for adequate rest and regrowth before grazing resumes. 

Most farm managers find it hard to feed hay or concentrate feeds in the summer while there is still a little green forage left in some of their pastures, but protecting the forage plants and allowing adequate leaf material to remain after a grazing pass will help you grow more forage per acre in the long run.  

Changes should be made in a proactive manner, rather than reactive to minimize negative effects on forage and livestock production during prolonged periods of reduced precipitation. Step-in posts and electrified polywire or polytape can be used to decrease waste by reducing paddock size and also keep livestock from overgrazing. Closely monitoring livestock’s grazing and moving them in a timely manner to maintain adequate residual can pay big dividends during dry periods.

Ohio Pasture Growth by June 17, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	35	0.9	134.7	62.7	86
May 13	22	7.5	129.1	54.9	94
May 20	13	0	110.5	53.7	78
May 27	22	1	95.1	49.4	62
June 3	18	0	115.1	38.3	54
June10	14	3.5	120.7	28	50

Ohio Pasture Growth by June 3, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	34	0.9	134.7	62.3	86
May 13	21	7.5	129.1	51.8	94
May 20	12	0	94.9	44.6	78
May 27	21	1	95.1	50.4	62

Central Ohio Forage for Horses

The Ohio Forage and Grassland Council will be hosting an Equine Pasture and Hay Management Workshop on Saturday July 28, 2012 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at AC Acres,  Vicki Ayotte farm, 8481 Pontius Road, Groveport , Ohio.  The farm is in the southeast corner of Franklin County; west of State Route 674, east of Rickenbacker, and south of Groveport, Ohio along the Walnut Creek.   This will workshop will be covering information on Pasture Management, Pasture Soil Fertility, Forage Species Selection, Tall Fescue Management, Horse Nutrition on Pasture, Manure Management, and a pasture walk where plants will be identified and designing a grazing paddock system will be discussed.  The day will end with a Hay Quality discussion and hay evaluation session.  Attendees are encouraged to bring a sample of their own hay for evaluation.  Bob Hendershot, retired NRCS State Grassland Conservation and now part-time ODNR-DSWR Grazing Specialist will be leading the discussion.  Bob helped develop the Forage for Horses program and has presented this material across the country.

This workshop will provide tips to make better use of your horse pasture.  Improving the productivity of your pastures can reduce the amount of hay needed.  A well managed pasture can provide a large portion of a horse’s forage requirement mid-April through mid-November.   Horses grazing well managed paddocks will spread their manure over the pasture instead of in loafing areas or in their stalls.  Healthy grass and legume plants are more productive if given the opportunity to regrow in-between grazing events. You can improve forage growth by dividing the pasture into smaller paddocks and rotate the animals among the separate paddocks.   Managing the forage is an important concept to understand to protect the environment, soil, water, plants and animals. 

Weeds compete with forage plants for moisture, sunlight and nutrients.  Grazing management can keep most weeds out.  Horse owners need to be aware of toxic plants and their control measures.  A pasture that is continuously grazed, over grazed, or has inadequate soil fertility can make weed problems even worse.   Selecting the right forage species for the use and the soil type can help in providing a healthy pasture.  Horse grazing areas should be long and narrow rectangles because horses tend to graze in a linear fashion different than cattle.  The location of animal watering facilities is also a concern in designing a grazing system.  This information and more will be discussed register early to secure a place for the Central Ohio Forage for Horses Workshop.

Producers need to register by July 20, 2012 by contacting OFGC at bobhendershot2011@gmail or 740-477-1114.  A registration fee of $65 per farm will include materials, a 400 page Forage for Horses  notebook, Pasture Stick, refreshments and lunch on Saturday July 28, 2012. A pdf registration form can be found at this link.

Ohio Pasture Growth by May 27, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	34	0.9	134.7	62.3	86
May 13	21	7.5	129.1	51.8	94
May 20	12	0	94.9	44.6	78

Ohio Pasture Growth by May 20, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	34	0.9	134.7	62.3	86
May 13	21	7.5	129.1	51.8	94