C32—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, April 5,1980
Vw Pipeline
\ ■ By
\ Glenn A Shirk
\ . j Extension
\7 ' Dairy
, 1 Agent
More feed production and
better cow health can be
attained with better pasture
management. On many
farms in Lancaster County,
pastures are being relied
upon less and less each year
In an effort to increase feed
production, pastureland that
can be tilled is being con
verted to cropland And, as
pastures decrease in
significance, they become
easier to neglect.
However, pastures are
valuable as a source of good
quality feed, sunlight and
fresh air Cows that are
confined year-round benefit
from a few weeks of fresh
forage. The pastures also
offer these cattle an op
portunity for more exercise,
and the sod is a welcome
reprieve from those hard
concrete surfaces they are
constantly exposed to.
I am not recommending
that good cropland be
converted back to pasture,
but I am saying that much of
the untillable land that is
currently m pasture could be
improved with a little
management. The benefits
may be greater than ]ust the
value of the extra forage
produced. Pastures may
improve herd health and
milk production, and this
could be far more valuable
than the extra forage that is
produced
To start improving
pastures, my first recom
mendation usually is liming -
not reseeding. Most pastures
have sufficient grass and
grass seeds present, and all
they need is a little en
couragement. Liming is
basic to everything else. It
helps create the proper soil
environment.
After lupmg, fertilize. It’s
not important that they
be done in this precise order
The important point is, if
lime is needed, be sure to
apply it soon It helps you
make better use of the
fertilizer you apply, and that
is important at today's costs.
The best guide to know how
much lime and fertilizer is
needed is a soil test. Most
pastures will respond very
well to this treatment It’s
much cheaper and easier
than renovation and
reseeding There is less
chance for failure and less
erosion
Once this is accomplished,
the next step is to protect the
sod by regulating the
grazing pattern of the herd.
Where feasible, this can be
accomplished by dividing
the pasture mto several
paddocks - perhaps four,
then graze them on a
rotational basis. This gives
you the flexibility of keepmg
cattle out of specific areas
when they are wet In ad
dition to preventing .cattle
from cutting up wet areas,
this will also i educe the
problem of foot rot and
cohform mastitis borne ot
these wet areas could be
tilled to increase produc
tivity and reduce herd health
problems.
Most pastures have a flush
of growth in early spring. If
the cattle are unable to keep
up with the rapid growth, a
flatter section of the pasture
can be fenced off, permitting
the early growth to be
harvested for hay. The hay
can be fed later in the
summer to help supplement
pastures as they dry ud.
For greater productivity
and for higher quality
forage, never let your
pasture grasses get old;
keep them young and
vetative Rotate cattle
rapidly, in early spring,
from one paddock to
another, to keep up with the
rapidly growing grass
This rotational grazing
pattern also gives you an
opportunity to manage the
pasture properly, and it
gives the grass a chance to
recover after each grazing
After each grazing, the
paddock should be clipped.
This keeps the grasses
young, it helps greatly to
control weeds, and it reduces
fly and parasite problems by
scattering manure piles.
Herbicides, lime and fer
tilizer can also be applied
without affecting the cattle.
I like garlic and onions,
but not with my milk. If
garlic is a problem in your
pasture it can be controlled
by spraying very early in the
spring, when you first notice
the garlic, with 2,4-D LV 4.
For best results, spray early
m the spring, and repeat the
following year, if necessary.
This same material, applied
later m the year, will control
many other broadleaf
weeds, too It will also kill
out pasture legumes For
harder-to-kill broadleaf
weeds, Banvel can be used
alone or in a tank mix with
2,4-D. One weed that has
been increasing in heavily
stocked pastures and lots
and along cow lanes is the
bushy, thorny, form of red
root. It too can be controlled
with the abov^matenals.
Sometimes it is not
possible to divide the pasture
into several paddocks. To
regulate grazing patterns in
these situations, consider the
following suggestions:
Fence off a small section
close to the barn as an
exercise lot and allow cattle
to graze the sodded areas
only at precise tunes - a few
hours each day, only at
night, only when dry enough,
etc. You’ll have no grass in
the exercise lot, but you will
at least preserve some grass
in the remainder of the
pasture
In the heat of summer,
cattle do .most of their
grazing at night During
these months, it may be
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more profitable to keep cows they’ll trample the pasture
m a well-ventilated bam less, add a well-ventilated
during the heat of the day bam may be cooler than a (
and let'them graze at night; sunny pasture.
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