Ptge 6—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 7, 1998
DUANE E. PYSHER
Grassland Management Specialist
Natural Resources
Conservation Service
As we stare out over the landscape,
we can see a tint of green appearing
among the brown. Yes. this means
spring is around the corner and the
grazing season is right behind it.
If we put the grazing system to rest
in the fall properly, it should take
minimum time to put it back in service
in the spring. There are several things
that you should plan to inspect and
service in the spring.
We need to check our fences for
needed repairs and maintenance re
quirements. Check for downed wires,
broken posts, missing clips, broken in
sulators, broken gate hooks, etc.
Check the charger and its grounding
system and lightning arrestors. This is
the real heart of the system and if it is
going to keep your livestock where
you put them it must be working prop
erty and correctly connected to the
fencing system.
Depending on how well we drained
our water system there may be few, if
any, problems with our water system.
Once the danger of freezing is over in
your area, you need to pressurize your
system and check for leaks. Check all
the lines, fittings, valves, and troughs
to see if any damage has occurred and
make the necessary repairs and re
placements.
Determine your fertilizer program
for the year and plan that initial appli
cation. If you have adequately bal
anced your grass with a legume at
about a 70:30 mix, you need not think
about nitrogen (N) applications. The
legumes will provide most of the N
needed by the grasses, and you need
only be concerned about phosphorous
(P) and potassium (K) levels. A soil
test should be the basis for your mak
ing a decision concerning any applica
tion of these nutrients well as lime.
Laneways are also items that needs
to be checked. Did any washing take
place over the winter months? If so
filling in those gullies is in order but
this is only the band-aid. We need to
stop any future erosion from taking
place by keeping surface water from
running in the laneways. Water diver
ters can be installed to turn the surface
water back out onto the grassed areas.
(Continued from Page 1)
Penn Harris, Camp Hill, thru March
Clarion. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 o.m,
If you need to apply a surface coat,
now is a good time to do that. If large
stone or coarse material is visible on
the surface, you need to cover them
with a fine material to prevent hoof
problems.
Check stream crossings to make
sure everything is in order and no
winter damage has taken place. If you
do not have stream crossings, now
may be a good time to consider than
in your system. Keeping your live
stock out of the streams and limiting
their access is important In conjunc
tion with crossings is the considera
tion of stream bank fencing. Many pro
grams offer you technical and finan
cial assistance with these practices.
If you need to make some new
seeding, time is a wasting. You should
have already decided on what you are
going to seed. In the event you have
not, make a determination of the site
conditions regarding soil drainage,
fertility levels, etc. and select a specie
or mix of grass and legume that is
compatible with the site conditions.
Then make the seeding at the proper
time for your area and allow it to ade
quately establish before you graze it
This should not be before the later
summer or early fall and then only a
light grazing so the new seedlings
have a good enough root system to
withstand a grazing.
One of the other things we need to
plan for is to get the dates of pasture
walks and field days on your calendar.
These functions are important ways in
which you can learn more about graz
ing and it is also an important way in
which you can share your knowledge
and experiences with others to help
them learn more. If you don’t have a
local graziers group that is holding
such events and you would like to
learn about setting up such a group,
give me a call or send me a note and I
will get you that information.
Another way to find out more in
formation on these subjects and many
other aspects of grazing is to attend
the upcoming Pennsylvania Grazing
and Forage Conference, March 4-S at
the Holiday Inn in Grantville. I will be
happy to send you additional informa
tion on this conference or refer to
several other articles in this Foraging
Around section.
Farm Calendar ❖
Management Intensive Grazing 4-Day
Course, Holiday Inn, Clarion, 8:30
-.dig . xy
Course, Holiday Inn, Clarion. 8:30
a.m.-9 p.m., thru April 29.
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