820-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1991
This Is a view of the Roudabush farm with three grassed
paddocks and sacrifice lot (on right with cow In It).
STUARTS DRAFT, Va.—“ Our barnyard was so mud
dy our kids were getting stuck and we had to go pull them
out,” was the tongue-in-cheek response of Gary Conner,
dairy farmer.
Conner’s 170-cow dairy was one of the stops on a
recent tour sponsored by the Pequea-Mill Creek Project, a
joint extension and SCS water quality project in Lancaster
County.
The tour looked at the rotational lot management sys
tem on two dairy farms in the central Shenendoah Valley
of Virginia. This system was designed to cut down the
amount of bare ground around bams. Jerry Swisher jr.,
extension dairy agent from Augusta County, initiated the
concept in 1985 as a water quality best management
practice.
The rotational lot system generally involves three small
(2-3 acres each) grassed paddocks and a sacrifice lot. The
cattle are rotated throughout the three paddocks based on
the condition of the sod. This allows time for each pad
dock to recover for a few weeks before cattle return to it.
The sacrifice lot is a smaller lot which is used about 30
days a year when weather conditions are too wet. The
grassed areas are seeded to fescue because fescue is a
hardy grass that withstands heavy cattle traffic. In addi
tion, fescue is not a highly palatable grass during the grow
ing season, so cattle are not as likely to overgraze it.
Swisher said that the benefit of this system was not to pro
vide grazing for the cattle but rather to provide a grassed
exercise area.
The first stop on the tour was the 50-cow dairy owned
by Roland and Katy Roudabush.The Roudabushs
installed this management system in 1985. Maintenance
of the pasture includes occasionally seeding with a no-till
drill as well as periodic clipping of the lots. Sacrifice lots
are scraped twice a year to prevent buildup of manure and
organic matter.
Scraping the earthen lots prevents them becoming the
mudholes that used to trap Gary Conner’s children when
they went to bring the cows in. The primary purpose of this
system is not to provide forage. However, some grazing
does take place and occasional harvesting may be neces
sary. In 1990, 340 bales of hay were baled off two of the
lots.
The second stop on the lour was at the 170-cow dairy of
Gary Connner. The Conner dairy also had a rotational lot
management system. This stop gave the group an oppor
tunity to view this management system on a large dairy
operation.
This farm utilized about 15 acres of pasture. This setup
was similar to the Roudabush farm, just slightly larger.
However, in this case the pastures were about 100 yards
from the bam. The area between the grassed strips and
bam was used as an exercise lot. The grassed lots had
excellent grass cover in mid-November, despite the fact
that these dairymen put their cows on these lots approxi
mately 325 days a year.
According to Swisher, the benefits of the system for the
cows include;
• Cleaner udders (reduced milking time).
• Fewer cases of mastitis and reproductive infections.
• Grassed lots were 8 degrees cooler in summer than
bare lots.
• Cleaner-looking pasture and farmstead area.
• Less time needed to get cows up for milking.
• Cows exhibit heat better on grass than on concrete.
The main reason for developing this system was water
quality improvement. The Roudabush farm achieved a
reduction in soil loss from 72 tons/acre/yearon the bare lot
to .42 tons/acre/year on the grassed lot. In addition, the
grass growth utilizes additional nutrients and prevents
them from leaching into groundwater. In Virginia, cost
sharing is available for the costs and labor involved in
establishing this practice.
Win Phillips, nutrient management specialist with the
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Mill Creek Project Tours Va. Grazing Lots
Three grassed lots on Gary Conner’s 170-cow dairy farm in Stuarts Draft, Va. was
one of the sites of the recent rotational lot grazing tour in Virginia.
explained the tax credit program in Virginia. Virginia pro
vides a state income tax credit of up to $3,750 for farmers
with nutrient management plans who purchase manure
spreaders provided the spreaders have a litter pan, top bea
ter, and a drive slow down kit These features enable far
mers to spread poultry manure at rates as low as three tons
per acre. To encourage the use of conservation tillage, a
tax credit of $2,500 is available for the purchase of no-till
drills and planters.
The final stop on the tour was the Wampler Turkey
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A
ADAMSTOWN CARLYLE A
EQUIPMENT INC. MARTIN, INC
Mohnton, PA Hagerstown, MO DEERHELD AG A
(mar Adamaiown) 301-733-1873 TURF CENTER, INC.
215-484-4301 Wataontawn, PA
717-838-3887
BARTRON CLUGSTON FARM
SUPPLY, INC. EQUIPMENT
Tunkhannock. PA Naadmora, PA
717-836-4011 717-873-2218
farm, where the group received a firsthand look at dead
bird composting. This low-cost dead bird disposal system
saved this farm nearly $lO,OOO per year in energy savings
over incineration.
Wampler also had a stacking shed which was used for
storage and composting of poultry manure. This stacking
shed is one of 120 manure sheds that was cost shared
through the Chesapeake Bay Program.
(Turn to Pago B 21)
CLUGSTON AG
& TURF, WC.
Chambaraburg, PA
717-263-4103
ENFIELD
EQUIPMENT INC.
WMlaford, MO
301-482-8282
EVERGREEN
TRACTOR CO, INC.
Labanan, PA
717-272-4641
FINCH SERVICES
HANOVER INC.
Hanavar, PA
717-432-2348
KERWT
A.B.C. GROFF, INC. >*22
Naw Holland, PA
717-384-4191
GUTSHALL’S INC. LANDIS Bl
RO #2 Box 74-A
Loyovlllo, PA
GUTSHAU'I
CarlliK,'
717-249-21
I.G. SALE!
SilvordiKi f
215-257-912
UncMl*
717-291-1*