Pasture preparation

By DOUG FJERSTAD, NCTC Fosston, Minn.
Thursday, May 25, 2006 11:52 AM CDT

What can we do to make our pastures more productive this growing season? As we are getting our fencing done for the upcoming pasture season is there something we can do to improve the productivity of the pasture?

Some of the producers that have sprayed for the broadleaves in their pasture (last summer) may want to apply some clovers or grasses to help fill in the spots where the plants were taken out last summer. It would be a good idea to harrow the pastures after seeding to help thatch the pasture and incorporate the seed and it will also bust up some of the cow pies that were left from last summer.

If you fall applied manures to your pastures make sure you harrow them to break up the residue on the surface. Harrowing your pastures is like thatching your lawn it seems to give it an early boost.

Should we consider dividing our pastures into sections for rotational grazing; giving each section a 25 to 30 day rest between graze offs?

Trying to establish a rotational graze pasture could be very challenging. You need to have the paddocks big enough to house the number of cows that will give you enough graze days between each paddock. You need a good source of water in each paddock. You may also want to have a back-up plan to bring the cows into if you run into a long dry period.

Remembering that 75 percent of the re-growth of the plant comes from growing points that are above the soil surface, it is important that we leave two to three inches of the growing plants to help encourage a quicker recovery period.

The better we take care of our pastures, hopefully, the better the cows will take care of us. With a high yielding pasture, we should enhance the production of milk and increase the weaning weight of our calves along with potentially a tighter breed back.

For more information on farm business management, please contact an instructor at 1-800-959-6282.

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