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 Now is the Time to Stockpile Forages, Renovate Fields
By
Laura Skillman
PRINCETON, Ky., (Aug. 30, 2006) – Most areas of Kentucky enjoyed
timely rains throughout the summer allowing for plentiful
pastures. That should make it easy for producers to stockpile
some of those fields now for cattle to graze in the fall and
winter months, reducing hay feeding and lowering overall feed
costs. Those rains should also allow for successful fall pasture
renovations as well.
“Stockpiling is a very good practice,” said Garry Lacefield,
Extension forage specialist with the University of Kentucky
College of Agriculture. “Stockpiling tall fescue will extend
pastures later into the season than any other grasses that we
have and the data continues to show that everyday grazing is
cheaper than feeding hay.”
More and more producers are seeing the importance of stockpiling
and making more efficient use of their pastures throughout the
year thanks to educational programs such as Master Cattlemen
Program, grazing conferences, and the Master Grazer program,”
said Ray Smith, also a forage specialist with UK.
“The interest is there,” he said. “We are moving away from
tobacco first mentality and seeing the profit potential in beef
cattle and are putting an effort toward that. Cattle producers
in Kentucky can make some inexpensive changes that could improve
the quality of their animals and the management of those
animals. One of the simplest things is stockpiling. The cost of
that feed is about a third of the cost of having to feed hay.”
Lacefield said for stockpiling to be most effective you must
start with green, growing tissue. Fortunately, the rains have
been timely this year allowing for grasses to be available for
stockpiling.
“We need to be very objective about the fields we stockpile,” he
said. “We know that in Kentucky we have two wonderful grasses,
Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue, that are excellent for
stockpiling. It is important to graze pasture down first, then
apply nitrogen (50 to 80 pounds per acre) to stimulate lush
vegetative growth and stay off those fields until we essentially
use up
all the other pastures. Hopefully, that will take us past
Thanksgiving or even Christmas, and then we can turn the cattle
into that stockpiled material.
“While nitrogen prices are higher than we’d like, our data still
suggests that anything we can do to graze longer and feed less
hay or silage is still economical to the beef producer,” he
said. “You can get 25 pounds of dry matter for every pound of
nitrogen you apply and even with nitrogen prices today that’s
economical.”
Smith said it is essential to get nitrogen applied as soon as
possible to get full growth potential from the forages. It is
best to do it in August and each week that goes by in September
before it is applied will mean less and less effectiveness from
nitrogen on fall growth.
In addition to stockpiling forages for winter use, now is the
time to begin pasture and hayfield renovation.
“A very good season is shaping up for renovation or
re-establishment of pastures because in many parts of the state
we’ve had some rains to get moisture into the soil,” Smith said.
“It looks like we are in a pattern where we will continue to get
moisture, which we didn’t have last fall. Last fall was a
terrible time to establish.”
The month of September is a great time to get grasses started.
Alfalfa seedings are recommended for late summer. August 15 is
the ideal time and the later it gets into the fall the riskier
it is that alfalfa will fail. Grass though can be successfully
established throughout September, but earlier September is much
better than later in the month. Make sure fertility and pH is
where it needs to be for the crop being established. If a soil
test hasn’t already been done, take one and fertilize
accordingly once the seeding gets established.
“People are realizing they need to get more off of their
pastures so they are trying to improve them,” Lacefield said.
“Right now, we have a number of pastures and hayfields in the
process of being completely re-established. The past five or six
years have been conducive to weed growth.”
Principles producers need to abide by, in addition to soil
testing, is to match plant species to soils, select the right
varieties, planting date, seeding rate, seeding method and
planting depth.
Adding clover into existing pastures is also beneficial. It will
eliminate the need to add nitrogen because of its nitrogen
fixation, improve the quality of the pastures, and overcome some
of the cattle production problems associated with feeding
endophyte-infected fescue.
UK specialists encourage producers to seed clover in February
through a freeze/thaw method or in March if they are using a
no-till drill. Now is the time to get fertility in order and do
any weed control treatments. Herbicides applied in the fall will
have no residual affect on the clover when it is seeded next
spring.
Thousands of acres of Kentucky farmland are devoted to the
production of pasture and hay for the state’s cattle industry.
Stockpiling forages for winter feed and renovating pasture and
hayfields are important parts of a successful beef cattle
operation. More information on forage production can be found at
county offices of the UK Cooperative Extension Service or the
forages Web site. |
Contact: Garry Lacefield, 270-365-7541, ext. 202
Ray Smith, 859-257-3358 |
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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Copyright © 2001-2006 University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture,
Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service |
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