2013 Pasture Measurement Project

The Ohio Pasture Measurement Project is in full swing for 2013. For more details about this project check out the post "What Is the Ohio Pasture Measurement Project?". Basically, this project involves graziers measuring the same pasture field every week using a commercially available rising plate meter and reporting the measurement. We then calculate how much the pasture is growing during that week. (The specific plate meter we are using is made by Jenquip and available through Eagle Dairy Direct.) Results will be posted on this blog.

This year we have over 27 volunteers measuring their pasture.

2013 Pasture Measurement Locations

TALL FESCUE: RENOVATION OR ERADICATION?

            Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County

            Mark Sulc, Extension Forage Specialist

            Many cow/calf beef enterprises across the state utilize tall fescue as their primary pasture forage.  In most instances, it is Kentucky 31 endophyte infected forage, and while this is a great option for a late fall and winter stockpiled forage, there are some significant downsides to using this forage during the growing season, particularly summer.  The endophyte is a fungus, specifically Neotyphodium coenophialum and it is responsible for multiple livestock disorders including fescue foot, bovine fat necrosis and fescue toxicity.  Fescue toxicity is the most common disorder and is associated with poor animal performance characterized by reduced feed intake, decreased weight gains, lowered milk production, lowered reproductive performance and rough hair coat.

            Last summer’s drought may have inadvertently created an opportunity for some beef cattle graziers to reevaluate the tall fescue mix in their pastures.  Pastures that were overgrazed during the drought and into the fall period are likely to have “holes” where desirable grass species have dropped out and where weeds may have or will be filling in.  Even those endophyte infected tall fescue pastures could be thinned out; although it is likely the tall fescue will recover and survive.  However, these pastures can benefit from renovation.

            We are now past the point where frost seeding and broadcasting seed is a viable option.  April is a good month to do some no-till drill pasture renovation work.  One of the commonly employed strategies to reduce the effects of fescue toxicity is dilution with other species in the pasture.  Endophyte infected tall fescue pastures can benefit from renovation when other species, particularly legumes, are added to the pasture mix.  Generally red and white clover can work well as legume species in a tall fescue stand.  The goal should be to establish a 30 to 35% clover mix evenly distributed throughout the fescue pasture.  The no-till drill should be adjusted to insure that seed is not placed more than one-quarter to one-half inch deep.

If weeds are present or the tall fescue sod is vigorous then something must be done to reduce this competition and give the new seedlings a chance to establish.  The most effective option may be the use of a chemical herbicide.  Always read and follow the label directions regarding rates and possible intervals between application and planting a new crop/seed.  Gramoxone can be used as a burndown to provide time for the new seeding to become established.  Non-chemical methods include mowing at very short heights or grazing the cover down tight to suppress the grass sod.

There may be situations where eradication of an endophyte infected tall fescue pasture is a better option than renovation and the dilution strategy.  Right up front I will say that this is not an easy task and in order for this to be successful it takes a commitment of time and management.  According to some tall fescue management fact sheets from the University of West Virginia and the University of Arkansas, this is a process that will take 1 to 2 years and requires steps to kill the endophyte infected stand, prevent the reintroduction of endophyte infected seed and then continued to management of the new seeding.  This process is more likely to have success if there is a pasture field where some tillage machinery can be used.

Although there are variations to this process, if eradication is going to start in the spring, these steps should be followed:

·         Soil test to determine if lime, phosphate or potash needs to be added to bring the field to critical soil levels.  Those levels are a soil pH of 6.5, a phosphate level of 25 ppm and a potash level of 120 ppm or according to the formula of: 75 +(2.5 x C.E.C.).

·         Kill the existing tall fescue sod.  Generally glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide for this purpose.  If the sod can’t be sprayed until late April or early May, then the pasture must be clipped to prevent any seed head formation.

·         If lime or fertilizer is needed to correct soil deficiencies, till the field and incorporate the lime and fertilizer 6-8 inches deep.

·         Plant a warm season annual crop such as pearl millet, sorghum x sudangrass or sudangrass when the soil temperature reaches 60 to 65 degrees F.  These are vigorous, tall growing forages that will act to smother out any fescue that might germinate.  These crops can be used for summer grazing. Another option would be foxtail millet, which would make a single hay crop by late summer (and would not require killing after the single hay crop)

·         In late August or early September kill off the summer annual using glyphosate (not necessary if foxtail millet is used). This glyphosate application is another opportunity to kill any surviving tall fescue plants.

·         Till the field and prepare a seedbed to plant a winter annual crop such as winter wheat or winter rye.  No-till planting is also appropriate.  This crop can provide some late fall grazing.

·         The next year, depending upon the spring, take a final grazing pass or remove the winter annual as wet wrapped baleage.  Take time to walk over the field.  If any fescue is observed, apply another application of glyphosate.  In mid to late April plant the field with a perennial pasture mix that includes grass and legume species.

After this time period removed from tall fescue seed head production, any tall fescue that emerges from old seed in the soil should no longer contain a viable infective fungus.  A fact sheet on endophyte toxins from Oregon State University says that the fungus will lose its viability if stored for 18 or more months.  Other sources say 12 months is enough for the fungus to lose its viability in stored seed.

     Finally, even if eradication is successful, the grazier must continue to manage to prevent endophyte infected seed from being re-introduced into the field from machinery and/or animals carrying viable seed in their digestive tracts from endophyte infected fields. Infected tall fescue can also be reintroduced by feeding hay of endophyte-infected tall fescue containing seed heads with viable seed.

           

References:

Aldrich-Markham, S., Pirelli, G., Craig, A., Oregon State University “Endophyte Toxins in Grass Seed Fields and Straw Effects on Livestock”

Ball, D., Schmidt, S., Lacefield, G., “Tall Fescue Endophyte Concepts”

Jennings J., West C., Jones, S., University of Arkansas, “Friendly Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue for Livestock Production”

Rayburn E., West Virginia University, “Tall Fescue Management”

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

PASTURE MANAGEMENT UNDER HOT AND DRY WEATHER

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County and Crossroads EERA

            Pasture is an important component for many livestock enterprises.  Most of our common pasture forage species are classified as cool season species.  This includes bluegrass, orchardgrass, tall fescue, brome, timothy, white clover and alsike clover.  These forages grow best when there is adequate moisture, air temperatures in the 50 to 70 degree range and soil temperatures in the 50 to 65 degree range.  I bring this up because our current weather pattern and the extended forecast are definitely not bringing about conditions for optimum production.  In hot, dry conditions good pasture management is needed to keep cool season pastures productive.

When the weather is hot and dry it is critical that pastures not be overgrazed.  In grazing schools we talk about the “take half, leave half” principle.  In most cases, a good starting grazing height is 8 to10 inches of growth.  Remove animals from a pasture paddock when average pasture forage height is about 4 inches.  The remaining leaf area provides the “solar collector” surface that allows the photosynthetic process to keep going and to keep the plant growing.

 Studies have demonstrated that the percentage of top growth removed is correlated with root mass and growth below the surface.  When 50% of the top growth is removed the root mass and growth is only negatively impacted by a few percentage points.  However if 60% of the top growth is removed, the root mass is reduced by about 50%, significantly impacting the regrowth of the plant as well as nutrient and water absorption.  If 80% of the top growth is removed, the root system is shut down and essentially has to start growth all over.

In hot, dry weather leaving more plant cover is better.  In addition to keeping the photosynthetic process going and the root system fully functioning, that leaf cover acts like a mulch to keep the soil temperature cooler and reduce moisture loss from the soil.  This is important with cool season forage species when a few degrees difference in soil temperature could determine if the plant will go into dormancy or continue to grow.

Some pasture managers like to keep seed heads clipped off the grass plants to keep the plant in the vegetative state and produce higher quality forage.  I have often seen pastures clipped off at 2 to 3 inches in height.  During many of our typical springs with cool temperatures and good moisture the plant can handle this stress.  However, in hot, dry times it is more important to keep the plant residue so pasture managers may want to tolerate some seed heads or clip high at around 5 inches.

Hot, dry weather leads to slower pasture growth.  As grass growth slows down, the temptation is to speed up the pasture paddock rotation.  Actually just the opposite is needed.  When pasture growth slows down, pasture rotation must slow down to insure that each paddock has enough time to recover to a beginning grazing height of 8 to 10 inches.  The only way that this can be accomplished without staying too long in a paddock and overgrazing that paddock is to have multiple pasture divisions or paddocks.  To protect pastures and manage through hot, dry periods, the livestock owner needs at least 8 to 10 paddock divisions.

In order to keep cool season pastures productive the livestock manager must look ahead at pasture growth and keep an eye on extended weather forecasts.  

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

Grazing School Presentations

Pastures for Profit is a comprehensive management intensive grazing school offered annually throughout Ohio by the Ohio State University Extension Forage Team. The Team consists of members from OSU Extension, the OSU Department of Horticulture and Crop Sciences, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

At a recent school presenters recorded their presentations. Recordings can be found at http://go.osu.edu/pastureforprofit . Even on a high speed connection they may each take 3 to 4 minutes to load, but then should play flawlessly on your desktop, laptop, iPad and most phones.

Pasture Measurement Project 2012

The Ohio Pasture Measurement Project is in full swing for 2012. For more details about this project check out the post "What Is the Ohio Pasture Measurement Project?". Basically, this project involves graziers measuring the same pasture field every week using a commercially available rising plate meter and reporting the measurement. We then calculate how much the pasture is growing during that week. (The specific plate meter we are using is made by Jenquip and available through Eagle Dairy Direct.) Results will be posted on this blog.

This year we have over 32 volunteers measuring their pasture.

2012 Pasture Measurement Locations

What Is the Ohio Pasture Measurement Project?

There are many good reasons why graziers should estimate the amount of forage in their pastures. Evaluating, measuring and observing pasture growth can give valuable information during a grazing season to help producers make management decisions. Using pasture growth measurements can help graziers decide to slow or speed up the grazing system, change stocking density, consider planting alternative forages or fertilize before they need the forage and when there is adequate soil moisture to still grow more forage. Measurement is the first step to improvement.  

The Ohio Pasture Measurement Project was started in 2005 an attempt to help producers understand the value of timely measurement of their forages.

Objectives

1. Provide a source of current, objective information on the relative performance of forages growing in Ohio accessible to producers across the state.
2. Demonstrate the use of pasture measurement/monitoring to aid in the management of grazing.

Methods

• Graziers from across Ohio measure at least one pasture field each week during the grazing season.
• Measurements are taken before and after grazing or clipping of that field.
• Measurements are taken with a commercially available rising plate meter.

Other information:

Measuring forage as part of rotational grazing planning by Alisa Raty, in the April 2012 issue of Progressive Forage Grower Magazine. 


"Project Treats Pastures as Feed" by Gail Keck, in the October 2010 edition of the Ohio Farmer

Using Pasture Measurement to Improve Your Management an OSU Factsheet about how pasture measurements could be used to make management decisions.

 OSU Agronomic Crops Team On-Farm Research Reports: yearly summary of the project for  2010 or  2011

Central Ohio Grazing School

The Ohio Forage and Grassland Council will be hosting a Pasture Management Workshop/ Grazing School/ Pasture for Profit Program at the farm of the newest Ohio Forage and Grassland Council (OFGC) Director Val Jorgensen’s Farm, 5851 East Walnut Street, Westerville, Ohio.  Map of the location is available at http://www.jorgensen-farms.com/map.htm .   The farm is just west of State Route 605 and north of State Route 161.  There will be three sessions April 24 and 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday 28 at 9:00 a.m. until noon that will include a pasture walk and a grazing system design exercise. 

The sessions will cover setting your goals and objectives, evaluating your resources, understanding plant growth, grazing economic, forage species selection, developing contingency plans for drought, mud and deep snow, soil pasture fertility, fencing and livestock watering systems.  

Producers need to register by April 20, 2012 by contacting OFGC at bobhendershot2011@gmail or 740-477-1114. Please see the registration form. A registration fee of $50 per farm will include materials, Pasture for Profit notebook, Pasture Stick, refreshments and Saturday’s lunch.

Pasture Rental Resources

Recently Extension Farm Management specialists in the North Central Region updated resources on farm leasing. Ag Lease 101 is the website where you can find the information.  It contains publications discussing various lease arrangements and sample leases.  One publication is devoted to pasture rental agreements.

2012 Heart of America Grazing Conference

     Livestock producers looking for the latest information on forages, grazing techniques and pasture management have the opportunity to attend the 11th annual Heart of America Grazing Conference on January 25-26.

     The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in Mt Vernon, Illinois. Registration is $35 per day per person or $50 for both days. Late registration paid after January 13 is $70.

     The conference is sponsored by Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Forage and Grassland Council, Illinois Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative Association, Illinois Forage and Grassland Council, Indiana Forage Council, Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council, Kentucky Grassland Conservation Initiative, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Missouri Forage and Grassland Council, Missouri Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, University of Illinois Extension, University of Missouri Extension, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service.

     Each year the Heart of America Grazing Conference rotates among five states--Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky--and features speakers from all five states concerning a wide variety of grazing topics.

     Topics being covered include the benefits of grazing and adding clover to pastures, mob grazing, role of novel fescues, grazing for parasite prevention, use of co-products in grazing programs, dairy grazing, pasture management, and cover crops.

     Certified crop advisor credits will be offered. For more information or to register, download the brochure at:          http://web.extension.illinois.edu/ajmpu/hoa/ 

PASTURE MANAGEMENT: JUNE IS A TRANSITION

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County, Buckeye Hills EERA

June is often a transition time for pasture management. Generally in early June moisture and temperature are still favorable for good cool season grass growth. It is also a time when grasses are maturing if seed heads have not been clipped or grazed off and, even if an earlier clipping was done to remove seed heads; there can be new seed head production. The emphasis in many pasture management systems at this time is quick rotations through pasture paddocks to try to keep up with grass growth and to try to keep seed heads grazed and/or clipped off.
As we get past mid June and into later June our weather pattern often changes. Summer has arrived. It generally becomes warmer and drier. Cool season grass growth slows down. Plants clipped in late June remain in vegetative growth. The emphasis on pasture management now must shift to reflect this change in cool season grass growth. Pasture rotations should be slowed down. Paddocks that were dropped or left out of the spring rotation can now be worked back in to the rotation.
Keep in mind the two important “R’s” of pasture management: Residual leaves and Rest period. Do not overgraze pastures as the transition is made from spring to summer. Make sure that leaf cover is left after a grazing pass. In beginning level grazing schools, we generally talk about leaving a residual of at least 4 inches of plant leaves. That leaf cover will provide the plant with a photosynthetic base to continue growing and recover more quickly from defoliation caused by grazing. The residual leaf growth will also provide shade for the soil. Shading will help to keep the soil temperature cooler as compared to exposed soil and it will help to reduce moisture loss due to hot temperatures. Cooler soil temperatures and retained moisture will help cool season grass to grow better longer into the summer period.
Rest period is simply the time it takes the cool season plant to recover or grow back to the target grazing height. Rest period is what dictates how soon a pasture paddock can be grazed again. In our beginning grazing schools we talk about an 8-10 inch beginning grazing height for most cool season pasture mixes. An endophyte infected fescue stand is an exception; and the recommended beginning grazing height is 6 inches. The rest period between grazing passes increases with cool season grasses as the transition is made from spring to summer. Slower growing grass needs a longer rest period to recover after grazing. The exact amount of time needed is related to the residual leaf cover that remains after a grazing pass. Less residual leaf cover translates into longer rest periods.
June is an important time to pay attention to cool season grass growth and make appropriate management changes as we transition from spring to summer.