Grazing
. Gazette
penn;
College of Agricultural Sciences
m cooperation with USDA/AKS
Phillip Anderson
Anderson Dairy Management
and
Larry Muller
The Pennsylvania State University
Feeding cows with intensive
grazing is much like managing
any other type of feeding system.
The animals will perform in re
sponse to what they eat and how
they eat it
One of the many challenges
with grazing high producing ani
mals such as milking cows is
keeping the diet and routine con
sistent. We expect high produc
tion in confinement bams when
feed quality and quantity vary lit
tle from day to day and when feed
quality is high. Grazing is no dif
ferent.
The best grazers are able to
keep high quality pasture in front
of the cows every day. They do
this by manipulating the harvest
schedule of the crop and by the
way it is presented to the animals.
For example, the dairy producer
with a TMR feeds more frequently
to keep feed fresh whereas the lop
grazers move the wires one or
more times per day to accomplish
the same goal. A successful grazer
must keep ahead of the plant ma
turity (even if he has to mow the
fields throughout the season) so
the cows never have to graze poor
quality forage.
Pasture Analysis
Forage lab analysis of grazed
forages can be nearly as valuable
as for stored forages. In conven
uonal dairy ration programming,
we use lab analyses to measure the
nutrients in forage and estimate
what is being consumed by the
ROHRER’S Quality SEEDS
•Arrow Alfalfa
• Apollo Supreme
•Aggressor Alfalfa
• Alfagraze Alfalfa
• Redland 111 Red Clover
• Toro Timothy
• Climax Timothy
• Cert Climax Timothy
• Crown Orchard Grass
• Pennlate Orchard Grass
• Reeds Canary Grass
• Brome Grass
• Perennial Ryegrass
• Bastion Perennial Ryegrass
• Ky. 31 Tall Fescue
• Highland Pasture Mix
• Horse Pasture Mixture
• Triple Purpose Hay & Pasture
Mixture
• Waterway Grass Mix
• Special Hay Mixture
• Hairy Winter Vetch
Monday-Friday 7:30 A.M.-SP.M.
Saturday 7:30 A.M.-12:00 Noon
P.L. ROHRER & BRO., INC.
Smoketown, PA Phone: 717-299-2571
animals. This allows our diets to
be as consistent as the person do
ing the feeding: We cannot formu
late rations with the same ac
curacy in a grazing situation, but
we can come close on well-man
aged farms. We have access to a
vast body of knowledge on diet
formulation which we can not ac
curately utilise without lab analy
sis of our feeds. Visual assessment
of pasture does not discern
changes in nutrient and mineral
components that arc important nu
tritionally. Most dairy producers
will lose 10 or more times the cost
of a forage analysis each time a
change in forage is missed, whe
ther they are grazing or not. In ad
dition to ration balancing, grazed
forage analysis also provides feed
back for the manager to know how
changes in grazing affect the
quality of the forage.
Sample Collection
To be useful forage samples
must be properly collected. There
is not an accepted “correct” way to
sample pastures and other grazed
crops, but common sense will lead
you in the right direction. In early
spring we do not encourage graz
ers to collect pasture samples until
the cows have been through the
rotation at least once. If you take
samples during the first grazing
cycle, you will often get some as
tounding results. It is not uncom
mon to find some grasses with
crude protein contents over 30
percent and energy levels similar
to some concentrates. What do
you do with numbers like that?
Common sense tells us two things
here: first, the cow will not be able
to utilize all these nutrients during
FOR OVER 75 YEARS
this time of year. Second, the
plants are developing very quickly
at this time and may be quite dif
ferent in just a few days.
You will get meaningful infor
mation when sampling several
times per year between May and
October. The first sample should
be taken after the first grazing cy
cle in spring. You can expect a de
crease in quality during mid to late
summer depending on the weath
er. We recommend sampling pas
tues at least 3 to 4 times per year,
once in the spring, once or twice
during die summer, and then in the
fall when quality often improves.
Climate (heat and moisture) af
fects pasture quality, and the type
of grass or grass-legume mixture
influence quality. Additionally,
the quality may change between
years. More frequent sampling
may be needed the first couple
years with a grazing system.
Any good forage sample must
represent what the cows are eat
ing. One handful of grass will not
do it! The first step in sampling a
pasture is observing how the cows
grazed yesterday’s paddock. For
example, do not sample grass
growing through manure if the
cows are not eating it. Note how
close to the ground cows are graz
ing. To obtain a representative
sample, walk through a couple
paddocks scheduled for grazing
and take samples from 20 to 30 lo
cations. You may pull samples by
hand or cut with a shears as long
as they represent the grazing pat
tern of the animals.
Samples will mix better if chop
ped with shears into one inch
lengths. Mix the bucket full of for
age and place about one pound in
to a zip lock bag or other sealed
container. Keep this cold if possi
ble before mailing it to the labora
tory. Mail samples early in the
week to avoid delays over a week
end. It may be necessary to dry
samples in a microwave before
shipping because some wet sam
ples may heat and begin to fer
ment by the time they are received
Seed Grains
• Cert. Pennco Barley
• Cert. Wysor Barley
• Cert. Sawyer Wheat
• Cert. Clemens Wheat
• Cert. Hickory Wheat
Special Grazing Grasses
• Matua Prairie Grass
• Zero Nui Perennial Ryegrass
• Dairymaster Perennial
Ryegrass Mixture
• Tekapo Orchard Grass
• Southern Cross White Clover
Mixture
• Rangiora Rape Seed 1
• Fuego Tall Fescue
Uncwnr Farmlnfl, Saturday, Supttmb* 2,1*8-05
at the lab.
Nutrient Analysis
Wet chemistry analysis versus
NIR analysis is a somewhat con
troversial issue. NIR is fast and
accurate for fiber and protein if
calibrations are good. Wet
chemistry can be the most accur
ate (especially for minerals), but it
is more expensive and takes long
er. That choice is between you and
your nutrition advisor.
NIR labs do have calibrations to
run samples of fresh grasses and
legumes. If you have forages such
as chicory or brassicas, we would
recommend sending samples to a
lab that can do wet chemistry
analysis. Besides the usual protein
and fiber analyses, we recommend
a soluble protein analysis since the
soluble protein is often high in
pastures. We also recommend
some mineral analysis. Minerals
may vary 20-30 percent during a
grazing season and will be influ
enced by the amount of legumes in
that pasture.
College Has
New Title
COLLEGE PARK, Md. The
College of Agriculture of the Uni
versity of Maryland at College
Park (UMCP) has a long history
behind it With its new title, Col
lege of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, a bright future is just
over the horizon. The name
change was official on July 1.
In 1856, the Maryland Agricul
tural College was chartered. Char
les Benedict Calvert’s original
goal in founding the school was to
provide special scientific training
to farmers so they could better
earn a living. By opening day and
the formal dedication on October
6, 1859, the College’s new mis
sion was to train students for lead
en ship. Today, propping students
for leadership roles in agriculture
is still one of the college’s main
goals.
As the size of the college grew
from a handful of graduates in
1861 to 157 graduates last aca
demic year, so did the breadth of
agriculture. Farming although im
portant, is no longer the only in
dustry in agriculture. The broad
range of industries includes tradi-
Summary
Intensive grazing helps many
farms reduce feed costs and labor
needs for at least six months each
year. However, there is no magic
involved. The animals will re
spond based on the nutrients they
consume, along with their comfort
and health.
A good grazing program can
provide the necessary quality for
ages and environment for good
milk production, but the grazing
must be very well managed if
good results are expected. Proper
forage sampling and analyses is a
management tool that allows you
to formulate rations and maximize
the return from each dollar spent
on feed.
GRAZING CALENDAR
August 24 - Franklin County
Pasture Walk - (717-352-8676)
August 25 - Columbia County
Pasture Walk (717-784-6660)
August 31 - PFGC Grazing
Field Day in Juniata County
(717-734-3745)
tional fields such as animal sci
ences, agronomy, horticulture and
nutrition and food sciences, as
well as newer fields such as natur
al resources management and bio
logical resources engineering.
The significant amount of time
and funds invested in natural re
sources and environmental pro
grams by College of Agriculture
faculty and staff needed to be offi
cially recognized, according to
Dean Thomas A. Fretz. “Chang
ing the name to the College of
Agriculture and Natural Re
sources,” Fretz said, “better re
flects these programs as well as
the research and outreach efforts
resulting from the college’s 1993
merger with the Cooperative Ex
tension Service and the Maryland
Agricultural Experiment Station.
“As the college continues to
grow, this namb change models
the kind of foresight and leader
ship its faculty is attempting to
impart on its students. The Col
lege of Agriculture and Natural
Resources is taking a crucial step
into its future as an institution on
the cutting edge of information
and technology.”