Grazing & Hay Management Flashcards
T/F: Rangeland and pasture are the same thing
False
What happens as cows create a path in the field or you have a herd on a pasture for a long time?
They compact the soil
Soil has reduced water holding capacity and infiltration
What are the two most important ingredients for grass growth?
water and nitrogen
It is recommended to evaluate soil nutrients on pasture every _____ years
5
T/F: Fertilizing in the spring promotes grass growth, while fertilizing in the fall promotes root growth and better pasture the next spring
True
What is rangeland?
Land out West containing native species
Tend to be dry environments w/ warm season grasses, forbs, browse
What is pastureland?
Land out East with introduced forages
Tend to be cool or warm season grasses depending on location
T/F: Cool season grasses grow best in the summer, while warm season grasses grow best in the spring and fall.
False - flip those bad boys around
95% of plants on the planet are ______ season
Cool
Do cool or warm season grasses have higher protein?
Cool
Because most of our pastures in the U.S. are not native, we must _________
Manage them
If you’re calving season is in January, what kind of pasture would be ideal?
Cool season
1 animal unit (AU) =
1000lb cow w/ calf (<3-4mo)
How many pounds of dry forage does one AU require?
750lbs/mo
25lbs/day
What is the stocking rate in Virginia?
2-4 acres/AU
T/F: Stocking rate is highly dependent on location
True - 2-4 acres/AU in VA, but 25 acres/AU in Utah
What method of grazing is the most efficient?
Strip grazing! Don’t allow them to pick and choose
Strip grazing = 90% utilization
Continuous grazing = 35% utilization
What happens if you allow cows to munch the grass all the way to the ground?
Poor root growth
Plants rely on roots when they lack leaves
Guidelines to a rotational grazing system
Minimum of 8 paddocks
Don’t graze a single paddock for more than 14d
What is mob grazing?
Have one acre of land with 300,000+ lbs of grass
Allow 300 cows on the acre for one day
What is the cool thing about high tannin plants?
Potential to assist in parasite control in small ruminants
Cons of feeding round bales in a ring
One cow can monopolize the area
Ground gets torn up wherever the ring is placed
Cons to rolling out the hay
- Cows can use it as bedding
- Sets up a place for animals to congregate (not ideal for parasite management and calf scours)
- Animals don’t eat as much
What is bale grazing? What are the benefits?
In the fall, farmer will preplace bales throughout the pastures surrounded by hot wire/fencing
As animals finish individual pales, you can remove the wire/fencing around the next bale
Spreads manure out (cow becomes fertilizer spreading device)
Helps avoid mud
T/F: Limit feeding hay dramatically increases waste
False - decreases it!
Give cows access to hay for 6-8h/day. Cows learn that they better eat it now. For the rest of the day, turn them out on pasture.
Dramatically reduces waste compared to hay ring feeding
What is stockpiling fescue?
Allow cows to graze fescue down to 2” in late summer and remove cows
Apply 50-100lbs N/acre
Start grazing around thanksgiving (strip graze is best)
Quality is good until mid Feb or severe freezing (as long as it looks green, should be OK)
T/F: Turning cattle out on fresh spring pasture is risky
True - Risk grass tetany
Treat like you would legumes and allow them to eat hay prior to turning out
When soil N is _______, clover predominates
Low
T/F: Legumes/clover provide N fertilizer to grass
True - clover fixes atmospheric N, once enough N is in the soil, grass will dominate until N is gone
What is a risk associated with clover?
Bloat! Can prevent by putting out bloat blocks, limit grazing, or feeding hay before grazing
When is the best time to plant clover?
February!
Apply seeds on top of ground
Freezing/thawing and cattle hoof action incorporate seed
