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Strategic Winter Grazing Has Benefits
By
Laura Skillman
PRINCETON, Ky., (June 27, 2007) – Farmers may reduce feed costs
while maintaining or even improving the condition of their
spring-calving cows by strategically using stockpiled grasses
during the winter, based on a recent study conducted by the
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.
The strategic winter grazing program is designed to match the
quantity and quality of stockpiled fescue and hay with the
production cycle of the cows, said Kevin Laurent, extension
associate in animal sciences.
Basically, the plan has calves weaned from pregnant cows in
September. Producers begin feeding hay or corn stalk residue to
cows immediately after weaning. Cattle are on hay until about a
month before they begin to calve in early spring. At calving and
during lactation, the nutrient needs of the cows are highest, so
farmers move them to stockpiled fescue pastures for strip
grazing to better meet their nutritional needs.
Laurent said the benefits of the program include an ability to
stockpile higher quality forage without the need of an
alternative forage crop or additional acreage. It uses the hay
when cow nutrient requirements are lower and uses stockpiled
forage when cows’ needs are highest, reducing or eliminating the
need to supplement lactating cows. In addition, the plan reduces
hay feeding during the muddy time of year; allows cows to calve
on pasture, not in muddy hay feeding areas; and allows for
better nutrient recycling on pastures.
Recently, Laurent conducted a study in cooperation with David
Fourqurean, Trigg County extension agent for agriculture and
natural resources. They used 41 cows and 71 acres of stockpiled
fescue, weaned the calves in mid September, and then placed the
cows on corn stalks for two weeks followed by 70 days on hay.
The cows were moved to stockpiled fescue in mid-December and
began calving on Jan. 20. Laurent and Fourqurean moved the
cattle to spring pastures April 1.
The cattle’s body condition scores were maintained between
December and March. Also, hay feeding was cut in half from the
normal hay feeding period of most Kentucky farmers.
For this study, stockpiling expenses totaled 34-cents per head
per day for 106 days, including the cost of temporary fencing
and nitrogen, while the cost of feeding hay for 70 days was
$1.17 per head per day. Feeding hay for 70 days rather than 135
days showed a savings of a little more than $41 per cow.
Thinking it would be too labor intensive, Fourqurean said
initially he was skeptical of the plan, but that turned out not
to be true. Moving fences was less trouble than feeding hay and
rutting up fields.
“The plan definitely has its benefits,” he said. “It can save
the farmer money, provide a better environment for his cows to
calve and provide the best use of his forages.”
For the program to work, soil fertility must be adequate, two
winter water sources must be available as well as stored hay,
and proper fencing for strip grazing is essential. Farmers must
also overcome the common misconceptions and their neighbor’s
comments about winter grazing, Laurent said.
Some of the misconceptions include that additional acreage will
be needed for stockpiling; cattle prefer or need hay during the
winter; winter grazing will hurt summer pasture; cattle will not
graze if it snows; stockpiled fescue loses its nutritional value
by February; strip grazing is labor intensive and nitrogen costs
too much to apply in the fall.
Once farmers move beyond these notions, they can use this plan
to get the most benefit from their fescue fields, Laurent said.
Additional trials will be conducted to fine-tune the strategic
winter grazing plan, Laurent said. If adequate moisture is
available to allow for sufficient fescue growth, this may be an
option for farmers to use this year, especially in light of the
short hay supply, Laurent said. A similar program is being
developed for fall-calving herds.
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Contact: Kevin Laurent, 270-365-7541, ext. 226
David Fourqurean, 270-522-3269
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