Pasture Grazing Tips

Pasture Grazing Tips

Well with Memorial Day nearly here it signals the time that many ranchers are moving cattle to summer pasture ground. Forage Specialist Ray Smith shares several tips for adding more punch to your pasture ground.
Smith: “A couple of things for producers to think about. One: some of those grasses and some of those clovers have been set back over winter. So I encourage producers — even though they are anxious to get the animals out on pasture — to be sure that the pasture has recovered. That over the long winter many of the root systems of the grasses have died back. Many are not well rooted.”
As the weather turns warmer - Smith says keeping weeds in check will be critical
Smith: “The very best weed control is good grazing management — is making sure that the pasture has had a good time to recover and grow. We often talk about 8 to 10 inches of growth is a good height to turn animals into the pasture for grazing and not to graze closer than 3 to 4 inches. But if you can leave a good cover there after grazing then that is going to help compete with weeds. That is going to help from new weeds growing because it is shaded.”
Smith also advises producers to take special caution when turning cattle out on clover - by limiting their access to the pasture, supplementing with dry hay or implementing other bloat-prevention strategies
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