A2O-Lancnter Farming, Saturday, July 18, 1992
Mainesburg Farmer Pastures For Profit
CJ. HOUGHTALING
Tioga Co. Correspondent
MAINESBURG (Tioga Co.)
Nobody can accuse Bill Chamber
lin of not changing with the times.
The Mainesburg farmer’s herd
pasturing program has done a
complete turn around within the
last five years.
Chamberlin used to pasture his
herd after each milking, just long
enough to get the stalls cleaned.
Incorporating a new pasturing
program in the spring of 1991, his
registered Holstein herd now
spends most of their time in the
pasture from April 20 until
December 1, with just enough
time in the bam for milking. Dur
ing the winter months they still go
outside for an hour or two of exer
cise each day.
The results? His new method of
pasturing has radically cut down
on the need for stored feed.
“At one time my herd received
stored feed 365 days a year,” said
Chamberlain. “Now the pastures
are doing the (feeding) job as well,
only cheaper.”
His cows still get high moisture
corn and protein supplements, as
before. The difference is now is
the grazing replaces the need for
haylage.
Hay that was previously grown
to feed his herd now can be stored
for later use or sold a comfort
ing thought for a farmer in diffi
cult times.
But his program does not hinge
solely on increased pasture time.
It’s the way he pastures that makes
>nging
to Bill Chamberlain uses a nose pump to get a drink of
water.
ppy. consu.._ ..<e crew working on the 1/2 horsepower
pump attached to the new holding tank where a previous wet spot had been. Drain
tile placed in the red shale soil help the water flow Into the cement-walled tank.
a difference. He turned a former
hay field into an intense grazing
system.
As with most farmers, his pas
tures once consisted only of land
too steep or otherwise undesirable
for planting.
One common problem with
pasturing in a large are is the lives
tock can pick and choose their
grazing spots. They will nibble the
young tender shoots only to leave
clumps of older, tougher forage
untouched.
The result is an uneven field of
limited use to both animals and
farmer. Intensive grazing is the
remedy.
“The head of Soil Conservation
Service (SCS) office told me five
years ago that someday I’d be
using one of my best hay field as
pasture. At the time I said he was
crazy.”
So what changed Chamber
lain’s mind? The hay field’s pro
ximity to the bam. It was the most
convenient field to put the new
pasture program to work.
Behind his bam, Chamberlain
divided 13 acres into one acre lots.
The lots are separated by an electr
ic fence of poly wire. High tensile
wire surrounds the perimeter of
the lots.
“They (the cows) may get
through the polywire and on to
another lot,” said Chamberlain,
“but I know they are not going to
get through the high tensile wire
and on to my neighbors’ land.”
A lane runs up the middle of the
lots, providing a passageway for
, pot > a new addition to the farm. Chamberlain has plans to use it as an irri
gation source for his fields In the event future dry spells hinder crop growth.
Tioga County Agent Craig Williams, from the Penn State Cooperative Extension
Office In Wellsboro, demonstrates how the nose pump can be beneficial to cows in
pastures lacking convent
cows going to and from the bam
or lot to lot.
Chamberlain puts 45 cows to an
acre. Milkers are on the lot for two
half days, and heifers and dry
cows for two full days.
With limited space in each lot,
cows have less of a choice for
grazing, so grass doesn’t get the
chance to grow old and tough.
Because the lots are used on a
rotating basis, fresh growth is
allowed to come on.
Each lot has a chart posted at its
Donna Broomfield from the Steuben County (n.y.j
Cooperative Extension Office happily receives a refreshing
treat of ice cream from Tioga County Princess Suzanne
Jackson.
gate to keep the grazing dates
carefully recorded. This system of
pasturing allows Chamberlain to
use each acre to its maximum
potential.
Caleb Williams, a farmer who
works closely with the SCS and
cooperative extension offices,
agreed that the smaller grazing
areas work better.
“The biggest problem with pas
turing is the transfer of nutrients
from the paddock to the bam.
Obviously, the more time cows
spend in the pasture, the more
beneficial the symbiotic relation
ship of cows and pasture
becomes.”
Sometimes an abundance of
rain can hurry the lot’s growth
beyond the tender stage the cows
prefer. If that happens. Chamber
lain clips it down and a sickle bar
mower.
Lack of rain has another effect.
The drought last year caused
Chamberlain to take his herd off
the intense grazing the program
for one month, supplementing
their diet with the stored feed until
the grass began growing again.
If dry weather persists during
(Turn to Pag* A2l)