Extend The Grazing Season Agronomists Marvin H. Hall and Jerry Jung, assistant professor and adjunct professor, respective ly at Penn State University have prepared an excellent publication. Agronomy Facts 41, entitled “Strategies for Extending the Grazing Season.” You can obtain Agronomy Facts 41 from your local extension of fice for the details and nitty gritty of extending the grazing season. Several strategies can be em ployed to supply forage into the fall or early winter and effectively extend the grazing season by 60 to 90 days, thus reducing the need for stored feeds. These strategies can be categorized into two major groups: 1) stockpiling (conserving cool-season forages in late-sum mer for use in the fall and winter), or 2) utilizing forage crops that continue to grow in the fall and early winter. Not all cool-season species are adapted to stockpiling. Most spe cies reduce their growth in the fall because of shorter day lengths and/or they lose their leaves (quality) after being frosted. Tall fescue and birdsfoot trefoil are two forage species which are suit ed to stockpile management be cause they continue to grow in the fall and do not lose leaves as readily as other cool-season spe cies do after frost. Tall Fescue Tall fescue is a deep-rooted, long-lived, sod-forming grass that spreads by short underground stems called rhizomes. It is drought resistant and will main tain itself under rather limited fer tility conditions. Animals readily graze tall fescue during the fall, but show some reluctance to graze it during the summer months of July and August. Some of the reduced summer palatability, which results in poor animal performance, is associated with the presence of a fungus in the plant (endophytic). Endo phyte-free varieties are now avail able and are recommended for new seeding. Tall fescue is the best adapted cool-season grass for stockpiling. Birdsfoot Trefoil Birdsfoot trefoil is a perennial legume adapted to production cm poorly drained, low pH soils. It can reseed itself, is resistant to Phytophthora root rot and numer ous alfalfa insects, responds well to fertilization, and does not cause bloat in animals. These characteristics have ex panded its use in the northern United States and southern Can ada where the production of other forage legumes is limited. Birds foot trefoil is well suited for stock piling since it holds its leaves at maturity and after frost, thus maintaining a relatively high level IT^TaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaT^TaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaT^ rtgall Invest in Concrete, Quality Work That Will Last A Lifetime CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATES AND SEE HOW AFFORDABLE CONCRETE WALLS CAN BE PRECISE 601 Overly Grove Road, New Holland, PA 17557 AyAyA^ATATA^ATAyATArATATA^A^ of quality. , Fall Growing Forage Crops * The growth of some forage spe cies is not as adversely affected by cooler fall weather and shorter day lengths as are many cool-season forages. The species which seem to grow best in the fall are tall fes cue, prairie grass, perennial rye grass, and certain brassica crops. These species can provide a valu able feed supply for extending the grazing season. Prairie grass is a tall growing perennial grass that is suited to well drained soils with medium to high fertility levels and a pH of 6.0 or greater. It is a type of bromegrass, but is different from smooth bromegrass in that it does not have rhizomes and it produces seed heads in each growth period, especially during the summer. Herbage and immature seed heads of prairie grass are highly pala table. It is an excellent grass for providing forage during droughts and for extending the grazing sea son well into the fall in Pennsylva nia. Brassicas are annual crops which continue to grow during the fall and into the winter. They are highly productive and digestible and contain relatively high levels of crude protein. They can be grazed 80 to ISO days after seed ing, depending on the species and weather. In addition, some varie ties lend themselves to stockpil ing. The use of winter cereal crops such as wheat, barley, rye, or triti cale can provide fall or early win ter grazing opportunities. How Agriculture - Residential - Commercial 12’ x 83’ Diameter Circular Manure Storage Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 23, 1996-03 Prairie Grass Forage Brassicas Small Grains ever, certain management prac tices need to be modified from what is normally done for grain production. When small grains are to be used for grazing, plant them three to four weeks earlier than for grain production. Increase the seeding rate to 3 bushels/acre and apply nitrogen at the rate of 40 pounds/acre at planting time. If the small grains are being planted only for pasture (with no subsequent grain harvest), there may be some benefit to mixing small grains species. This has been beneficial in the southeast United States, where small grains pastures are quite common. Mix ing species of rye, wheat, barley, or triticale can help extend the grazing period and reduce the ten dency for a strong peak growth period in the spring. With adequate fall moisture, grazing should be available from October through December and then again in early spring. One acre of properly fertilized and managed small grains should sup port one animal unit (1,000-pound animal) on a limited grazing basis. Stocking rate and time of graz ing will be somewhat determined by the intended use of the crop. If you are planning to take a, silage or grain harvest, grazing should only be moderate. Heavy grazing can reduce grain yields. Moderate grazing in the fall will not result in significant silage or grain losses provided that moisture and soil fertility are adequate. In fact, fall pasturing can be beneficial where the small grain was seeded early and has made excessive growth. Spring grazing may be started when growth resumes. For All Your Concrete Walls And Construction Needs CONTACT ROY SENSENIG 717-355-0726 CONCRETE WALLS, INC.
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