What kind of protection is available to cows and calves living in the pastures?

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5. Grazing and pasture direction for cattle

Quick facts

• Producers utilize grazing to help reduce feed costs and make unproductive cropland productive.
• Y'all should have a grazing plan to make certain you lot are as efficient as possible in using your grazing forage.
• The dissimilar grazing systems include continuous, simple rotational and intensive rotational.
• Rotational grazing is more productive than continuous grazing.
• Overgrazing results in decreased pasture quality and productivity.
• You should have a back-up plan for when things go wrong.

Benefits of grazing

Cost

The biggest cost in almost, if not all, cattle production systems is feed. Many producers use grazing to reduce costs for their operations. Properly managed pasture-based systems apply state efficiently and provide high production per acre.

Marginal country

Non all land tin grow row crops. These pieces of land are normally described every bit marginal.  Grazing is a manner to grow a crop (grass) on state that is not suitable for traditional row crops such as corn and beans. Cows can use the grass and make otherwise unproductive land productive.

Environment

Grazing benefits the land itself. Studies take shown the benefit of grazing as a tool for conserving wildlife habitat and keeping prairie healthy.

Incorporating cover crops into a cropping arrangement has major benefits to the land such as decreased compaction, decreased soil erosion, and decreased run-off. These embrace crops tin can be used equally a valuable part of a grazing rotation.

The importance of having a grazing plan

Designing a grazing programme is the kickoff step in your pasture management system. As you lot follow the planning procedure, the strengths and weaknesses of your electric current organization will become credible.

The grazing plan should include all the components of the grazing and pasture arrangement and serve every bit a map for making management improvements. The amount of grass available is limited and having a plan allows for the full use of the resource available.

Recording and tracking the success of your plan is of import because you tin can then make improvements for the next grazing season.

Map your grazing

Yous should describe a map or use mapping software to show the boundaries of the state that is available for grazing. Having a map of your system makes it easier to get started on a programme and makes the plan easier to arrange for dissimilar conditions from year to year.

• Distinguish land that is owned from land that is rented. In that location are certain management practices that you can apply to your ain land that yous may non be able to do on rented land.
• Determine the number of acres of the dissimilar land parcels and characterization these on the map. You can then encounter what is available and what opportunities you take to improve or better use the resource you have.
• Mapping can show if there is additional state available that could be used for grazing.
  • Cropland that is next to pasture land may be better used past growing forages.
  • Cropland close to existing pastures is ideal for converting to grazing if pasture expansion is one of the farm goals.

Different grazing systems

Grazing systems range from continuous grazing of ane area over a long period of time to intensive rotational grazing on modest areas for brusque periods of fourth dimension.

• Livestock systems that utilise continuous grazing of a pasture experience both overgrazing and nether grazing of forages.
• A rotational system provides an opportunity for forage plants to balance and then that they may regrow more quickly.
• The rotational system provides an opportunity to move livestock based on provender growth, promote better pasture fodder utilization, and extend the grazing season.

The advantages and disadvantages of 3 grazing management systems are listed below.

Download the Cattle Grazing Management Systems poster.

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A one-pasture system where livestock have unrestricted access throughout the grazing season.

Advantages

• Requires less management.
• Overhead costs are minimal (fence).

Disadvantages

• Lower fodder quality and yields.
• Lower stocking rate and less forage produced per acre.
• Uneven pasture use.
• Greater forage losses due to trampling.
• Animal manure is distributed unevenly.
• Weed and other undesirable plants may be a problem.

A system with more than one pasture in which livestock are moved to allow for periods of grazing and rest for forages.

Advantages

• Tin increase forage production and meliorate pasture condition (twenty% more compared to continuous).
• Allows pastures to rest and allows for forage regrowth.
• It can provide a longer grazing season, reducing the demand for feeding harvested forages.
• Improve distribution of manure throughout the pasture.

Disadvantages

• Costs for fencing and water systems can be higher than with continuous grazing.
• Forage product and pasture utilization are not as loftier equally intensive rotational grazing systems.

A system with many pastures sometimes referred to equally paddocks. Livestock are moved often from paddock to paddock based on provender growth and use.

Advantages

• Highest forage production and apply per acre (thirty-50% more compared to continuous).
• Stocking rates tin typically be increased.
• More than fifty-fifty distribution of manure throughout the paddocks.
• Weeds and brush are normally controlled through grazing.
• It provides more grazing options and reduces the need for mechanically harvested forages.

Disadvantages

• Requires careful monitoring of fodder supply.
• Initial costs may exist college due to fencing materials and water distribution systems.
• Requires more management.

Pasture quality and productivity

Good pasture status is critical to a successful grazing organisation. Pasture quality may vary greatly from ane pasture area to another, but the tendency over fourth dimension should evidence the direction in which the pasture condition is moving.

Forage grass and legume species each have their own unique growth, persistence, and quality characteristics. Considering they respond differently to soil conditions, weather condition patterns, fertility and grazing management, the plants that are currently growing in your pastures may be dissimilar from one area to another.

Evaluating the entire system is important to the success of your plan.

Determining and measuring pasture quality

• Beginning survey what is available. A walk through the pastures is necessary to gather this data.
• The overall coverage and density of provender in your pastures can be rated equally thin, average, or thick.
• If the aforementioned people are evaluating the pastures every fourth dimension, yous tin can go along runway of the tendency.
• Identify dominant species in each pasture and use your map to keep track of what you find. If you lot demand help identifying different species contact your local Extension function or your local USDA service center.
• For a relatively small cost, a forage sample you collect can be tested by your local fodder lab. This information nigh poly peptide, mineral content and more is incredibly valuable.

How to gauge pasture productivity (provender mass)

There are many methods for determining the productivity of a pasture. Several methods include the apply of specialized equipment such equally a rising plate meter, falling plate meter, infrared technology or even drones. The simplest methods are accurate and nonetheless provide important information. The unit used when determining pasture productivity is pounds of dry matter per acre (lbsDM/acre).

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Hula-hoops are rigid, usually standard size and durable.

• Toss the hula-hoop into a representative section of your pasture.
• Where the hula-hoop lands, clip (close to the ground) all of the plants within the hula-hoop and gather them in a container.
• This sample can be weighed and dried to decide mass on a dry matter basis.
• The conversion to lbsDM/acre is fabricated based on the area of the hula-hoop.

Using a square to sample a pasture is nigh identical to the hula-hoop. Some people prefer a square to a circle. The process is the same.

• Using stakes and string or whatever method you make up one's mind, build a foursquare in a representative portion of your pasture.
• So prune (close to the ground) all of the plants within the foursquare and assemble them in a container.
• This sample can exist weighed and dried to determine mass on a dry matter basis.
• The conversion to lbsDM/acre is made based on the area of the square.

Using a defined area and clipping a pasture is the most authentic method merely can be time-intensive. Based on the density of the pasture we can use the acme of the pasture to determine the gauge mass.

To do this, take a yardstick into the pasture, measure the height of the provender in thirty different locations and so summate the average.

• Sparse pasture: 150 lbsDM/acre per inch of meridian
• Boilerplate pasture: 300 lbsDM/acre per inch of height
• Thick pasture: 450 lbsDM/acre per inch of summit

Stocking density - How many cows tin a pasture concur and for how long?

Knowing the corporeality of dry matter fodder a pasture can produce is only role of the equation. The corporeality of forage required over the grazing flavour by each creature and the herd as a whole is what determines stocking density.

The overall goal is to define the proper combination of state, time and number of animals to ensure the sustained, long-term productivity of the pasture. The optimum number of animals on the pasture makes efficient utilize of the forage without waste but nevertheless leaves enough fodder to allow quick and complete plant recovery.

Understocking

• Setting the stocking rate likewise low will result in wasted forage and lost profit potential.
• Long term understocking (nether grazing) can result in a less productive pasture as more woody plants take up residence.

Overstocking

• Setting the stocking charge per unit too high for too long volition result in lowered intake, lowered animal growth and diminished profits.
• Overstocking (overgrazing) leads to a reduction in desirable constitute species and an increment in less desirable plants.
• Overuse as well ways that livestock must forage for longer periods of fourth dimension to meet their needs and that results in decreased average daily gain (ADG).

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In general, cows swallow between ii and 4 percentage of their body weight in dry thing every day depending on their energy usage. We have to account for losses on the pasture due to trampling then the easiest manner to do that is to lump everything into total use for each animal. In full general, you tin wait a cow to either eat or trample 4 percent of its torso weight in dry matter each solar day.

How much forage does i cow use each day?

forage used/day/cow = (average body weight moo-cow) × 0.04

Example: How much forage does a 1400-pound moo-cow use each day?

1400lbs × 0.04 = 56 lbsDM/day

How much provender does the herd employ each mean solar day?

daily herd forage requirement = (# of cows) × (forage used/day/cow)

Example: How much forage do x 1400-pound cows utilise each day?

10 cows × 56 lbsDM/day = 560 lbsDM/day

If yous know how much provender a pasture will produce and you know how much forage each moo-cow in your herd will use each day, then deciding on stocking density is the side by side step.

Fourth dimension is the earth-shaking factor because the higher the stocking density the shorter time the pasture can exist used. The inverse is besides true, the longer the pasture is going to exist used, the lower the stocking density must be to avert overgrazing.

How many days can I use a pasture?

Days = (pounds of forage/acre) × (# of acres) / (daily herd forage requirement)

Example: How many days tin I graze a five-acre pasture producing 2500 lbsDM/acre with x 1400-pound cows?

(2.500lbsDM) × (five acres) / (560lbsDM/day) = 22 days

How many cows can I put on my pasture?

# of cows =(pounds of forage/acre x # of acres) / (cow bodyweight lbs x 0.04 ten days on pasture)

Instance: How many 1400-pound cows tin I put on a 5-acre pasture producing 2500 lbsDM/acre if I desire to use the pasture for 40 days?

(two,500 lbsDM/acre) × (five acres) / (1400 lbs) × (0.04) × (40 days) = v cows

Active direction

Pasture management is an active procedure. If no attempt or time is put into the organization then the return will be minimal to the producer. Continually evaluating and adjusting with guidance from measurable data is the key to success.

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Using the appropriate stocking density to avoid overgrazing and undergrazing while monitoring your pastures for the appropriate recovery time betwixt fauna employ volition keep your pastures in good condition. Sometimes, pastures need just a footling more help, and there are several options.

Fertilizing

• Both nitrogen awarding and manure can exist used to fertilize pasture.
• The timing of fertilization and which type you lot use can have a large impact on pasture quality and productivity.
• For more data on using manure as fertilizer visit the manure management web pages.

Interseeding

• Interseeding uses no-till drills to incorporate seed directly into the pasture.
• Proper preparation of the pasture is of import for the success of this technique.
• Pastures should be grazed closely to give the new seedlings the least corporeality of competition when emerging.

Frost seeding

• Frost seeding is used to better the density of current pastures.
• Seed is broadcast over the pasture during a fourth dimension of year when there are many freeze/thaw cycles.
• The activeness of freeze and then thaw opens up the ground and allows seeds to be incorporated into the soil.
• Like interseeding, pastures should exist grazed closely prior to implementing this technique.

Overgrazed pasture

• Starting a rotational grazing system when a continuous system was previously used will not provide instant results.
• Long term direction and rotation will provide the base of operations for good pasture to abound.
• Use techniques such as fertilization, interseeding and frost seeding to give the overgrazed pasture a kickstart.

Undergrazed pasture

• Get animals into the pasture to offset using the grass.
• At showtime, use a high stocking density and allow the animals to graze the grass to nearly 100%.
• Follow with techniques like fertilizing, interseeding and frost seeding to start improving the pasture.

Complete pasture renovation

• This technique should only exist used later other efforts take non worked, or yous take consulted an skillful on the specific pasture.
• Consummate renovation involves using an herbicide to kill the existing plants in the pasture and so reseeding using no-till drills.
• Oft the pasture impale is conducted in the fall and the pasture is seeded in the spring.

Not everything goes co-ordinate to plan and that includes pasture direction. The weather, livestock themselves, and other factors can put the perfect plan off course. You have to have a back-up plan.

Sacrificial pasture with bedding

Yous tin can choose a pasture you lot will utilise every bit your cede pasture. Frequently, it is worth information technology to severely damage one pasture rather than impairment all of your pastures. Proceed your cows dry out and out of the mud by putting bedding in the pasture.

Cattle belongings expanse with concrete pad

Concrete can be a valuable and simple luxury. Mud is the enemy of all grazing systems and concrete tin can be the solution. Using bedding and supplementing feed on concrete is a valuable temporary technique for any grazing organization.

Cattle holding edifice

The ultimate luxury for a grazing producer is a building you can use to confine your cattle when needed and keep them out of the elements while you give your pastures time.

Every pasture has areas that volition be used by the cows more than others. Loftier traffic areas such every bit walking lanes, watering areas, feed bunks, shade, wind breaks, and other stress areas should be identified and managed differently from other areas of your pasture.

The best solution is to pour concrete, if possible, to reduce the effect of mud in these areas. Y'all tin can also use a temporary fence to allow sure areas a residuum menstruation from your animals.

Genetic choices for a grazing herd

Fertility

Whether it is dairy or beefiness, fertility is still the driver of profitability for any cattle grazing system. Producers should keep fertility as the main focus when selecting genetics for their herd.

Longevity

The length of fourth dimension an animal remains profitable in a system maximizes the return on a producer'southward initial investment. The initial investment tin exist raising or buying a replacement. Either way, the longer the animal stays in your herd as a profitable member the better.

Feet and legs

Anxiety and legs are one of the main factors in the longevity of a cow in both grazing and confinement systems. Cattle on pasture walk more than cattle in solitude and the ability of cattle to move is incredibly important in club to eat grass on pasture. Solid anxiety and legs should keep a cow profitable in your organisation for a long time.

Supplementing a grazing herd

The decision to supplement cattle on pasture is adamant by several factors.

• Current and futurity pasture availability are the most important factors. If cattle practice not accept access to adequate pasture then supplementation might be needed.
• If yous know pasture will not exist available in time for rotation, y'all can supplement to preserve the current pasture or filibuster the move.
• Using body condition scoring to determine ideal weights for your cows tin can give you insight on whether or non feed in addition to pasture is needed.

Joe Armstrong, DVM, Extension cattle production systems educator and Brad Heins, Extension dairy educator

Reviewed in 2021

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Source: https://extension.umn.edu/pasture-based-dairy/grazing-and-pasture-management-cattle

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