(Continued from Page 22)
flow of the RHD can help us deter
mine what our exact case is and pro
vide numbers to help us make a more
objective decision.
During the 1997 summer in south
ern Oklahoma, we had a more than
usual summer-fall drought. We had
stocked at 2.4 steers per acre. During
active spring forage growth the RHD
was over 20. The usual trend was that
it would build to 40-60 by the spring
forage peak about June 15-30. But, in
stead it began to decline. We knew
very early that our forage availability
and flow was in trouble by having
lower than usual RHD, plus a declin
ing RHD. We make RHD readings
weekly when we are in- an aggressive
grazing mode like spring grazing. In
this case, we took readings daily as we
neared the end. We projected ahead
weeks to our approximate sell-out
date. When RHD got to 5-7 days, we
chose our sale date, sold the steers on
that date, and had one RHD of steer
forage left. The technique worked per
fectly!
When we are operating a very close
forage volume and livestock need
situation, we read RHD’s at least then
we can harvest only V* of the weekly
and more often the closer the crisis
gets. In plentiful forage situations,
monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly tallies
are sufficient.
What if our need is to have an in
creasing RHD or a reading of more
than 28? Perhaps we want to cut some
extra forage for hay or graze through a
drought. If 28 has been a steady or de-
Art Byers
Mercersburg
(717)328-2992
Renaissance Nutrition Inc.
Roaring Spring
800-346-3649
William). Parsons
Pennsylvania Furnace
(814) 692-4681
Douglas Bieda
Clarksburg
(412) 459-6311
Milos Sinan
Home
(412) 397-4044
Gregory Yocum
-Blairs Mills
(717) 349-2611
Curtis A. Brant
Harrisonville
(717)987-3962
Yachere Mobile Milling
Rockwood
(814) 926-3493
‘
try Corner ❖
dining figure, then we must adjust
stocking rate or feed supply to cause
an increase. If 28 has been increasing
steadily from a lower number, then
maybe we are on target. But, what if
we need 60 RHD to project to get
through a forage production slump
with extra stockpiled forage? In gen
eral, we are going to have to feed or
de-stock (sell heavy steers, etc.) to get
some stock on a 60 RHD basis and in
tune with the forage supply.
To make an adjustment such as this,
determine the amount (percent) of
weight need to be deducted. For ex
ample: 60 - 28/60 = 53 percent “over
stocked.” So, to get a herd back to a 60
RHD, we need to deduct S 3 percent of
(he herd weight.
Generally we stockpile pasture two
times of the year. The first is in the
spring and early summer. The purpose
is to have forage to get through usual
June IS to September 1 dry and slow
growth times. The second is during
summer to fall to store “hay” on the
grounds for winter grazing. We then
use RHD to determine if the stockpile
is sufficient to go all summer or winter
or only a part thereof. If it is not suffi
cient, then we can calculate hay needs
or de-stocking needs to make it
through the summer or winter.
For example, we can determine in
October how far our winter stockpile
will go for a herd of cattle by deter
mining the RHD for the herd. From
October IS to April IS we will need
about 180 RHD. If we find we have
only 130 (or some other lower num
ber), then we are SO days short on for
age and can manage accordingly. Per
haps we choose to de-stock, feed some
Solutions In The
TMFIO6 106-day RM A very tall hybrid with girthy ears and extra leaves above the ear
that combines big yields with much-improved digestibility over "dual-purpose" grain hybrids Thin
stalk rinds and gram with soft starch also improve palatability Widely adapted across the northern
dairy belt
TMFII3 113-day RM A fuller-season hybrid that produces tremendous yields of highly
digestible, nutrient-dense feed. Very tall with extra-wide leaves and moderately low ear placement
Prefers fertile soils and a final stand of 25,000-27,000 plants per acre
JOE EMANUELE MARK KIMM DUANE DORMAN MARTY REICHARD
(412)468-6533 (71 7) 626-2907 (71 7) 726-7200 (71 7) 840-9509
Call your nearest sales representative for early order and other discounts available.
Foraging Ardund, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 7, 1998-Page
cows hay and the rest 180 days of
stockpile. In this case, we are about 30
percent overstocked and we can de
stock that much cattle weight to meet
our objectives.
A major use of RHD is in stocking
fall phase, stockpiled, winter annual
grass stocker cattle pastures. The tech
nique woiks super here. The greatest
percent of the fall phase production
for those forages is done by November
15 in our area. Let’s say we want a
120-day season to reach March IS and
rapid spring growth. How many steers
or heifers will it take? If we already
have steers bought and on hand, we
use any of the three methods to deter
mine if we can graze them all the 120
days or a part thereof. Then we adjust
grazing and stocking management ac
cordingly.
What if we do not yet have the cat
tle and we want to buy (or rent) Stock
ers to fit the 120-day time. We simply
use method 2 or 3, discussed above,
determine forage available, divide that
by the approximate forage needs of
our stocker calf and acquire that
amount of cattle. In this case, I some
times factor in expected future forage
District Sales Mi
Mycogen
Date: May 10,1997
Pounds Forage Available
Paddock No. Acres Per Acre Per Paddock
1 20 400 8,000
2 20 1035 20,700
3 20 120 2,400
4 15 Trace 0
5 25 1660 41,500
6 10 1215 12,150
7 40 690 27,600
8 10 556 Q 55.600
Totals/ Averages 160 875 167,950
Table 3
iers
Solutions _
In The Seed
growth, but it doesn’t change RHD
very much. This stocking rate system
works great!
I have employed these RHD tech
niques on my personal rotational pas
ture units, in consultation, and in de
monstration and research units. I find
the techniques to be incredibly help
ful. I’m lazy. Bret, my partner, is good
at making these readings. He provides
me the numbers and I can “see” from
the office exactly how our forage sup
ply is and if it is increasing or declin
ing. The technique fits well for an “ab
sentee” owner/manager. You are en
couraged to learn it and use it, too.
In summary, RHD, with any of the
three methods, considers forage resi
due, forage height, forage density,
acre yield, livestock intake needs,
stock performance goals, etc. without
a lot of mess and fuss. It is a good
technique to “boil the cabbage down”
and cheat the management system to
get the job done a bit better and easier.
We have discussed several applica
tions of RHD use and we invent others
as we go along.
Grazing management is fun, isn’t
it?
Seeds
Ephrata
(717)656-2508
cf"
Shutts
Williamsport
(717) 745-3539
John Stump
Bernville
(610) 488-1965
Ed Werner
Northampton
(610) 262-6552
Kenneth Bittner
Cermansville
(610) 767-4017
Ralph Daugherty
Brogue
(717) 927-6084
Elimsport Welding Shop
Allenwood
(717) 547-2476
Eddie Budman
Hughesville
(717)584-3188
Zeager Farms
Danville
(717)437-2067 OR
(717) 437-2798
Dorman Machine
Mill Hall
(717)726-7200
215