Pag* 2—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 18,1988 Coordinator Speaks About Economics, Benefits Of Grazing (ConttniMd tram Pag* i) ed, less stressful way of doing the job,” he said. There is less stress on the cows. There is also less stress on the fanner. For fanners just starting out in dairying, grazing, which avoids the “big money” investment in equipment, could be the way to go. Martin learned. Other reasons were overall cow health improvement, the increasing costs of equipment and maintenance, and “my own personal stress load,” Martin said. The Titus and Linda Martin family operate a 123-acre dairy farm that con sists of 60 acres of pasture, 30 acres of alfalfa, and 33 acres of com. Their grade Holstein herd is comprised of 65 ° cows, 60 bred heifers, 23 open heifers, and 10 calves. On DHIA, their herd average is 18,000 pounds of milk at 3.6 percent fat and 3.2 percent protein. The Martins rent the farm from Mrs. Kathryn Smith. Chambersburg. Before 1993, Martin used a standard com and alfalfa cropping pattern with three acres of dirt exercise lots. In 1993, that all changed he began grazing bred heifers and dry cows on winter rye in the spring and alfalfa grass in the summer. He started to graze the cows in September on brasst cas and small grains. In 1993, Martin learned about improved forage mixtures on grazing at a meeting in Lancaster, from the edi tor and founder of Stockman Grass Farmer, Alan Nations. In April the next year, Martin no-tilled a mixture of oats, perennial ryegrass, orchardgrass, and clover into 32 acres of stubble strips. In May he installed a two-strand, high-tensile fence around the newly seeded pastures and old alfalfa orchardgrass fields totalling S 3 acres. He-used polywire to subdivide the S 3 acres into one-acre paddocks. Martin also installed 16-foot lanes using single-strand, high-tensile fence to access the paddocks. Additional high-tensile fence was installed in-^995. Materials used to set up the grazing work included 24,000 feet of high tensile fence, 38.600 feet of polywire, 8S slinky gates, two different types of fence chargers, 8,000 feet of three quarter inch 100 psi black plastic water line, another 1,700 feet of 114 -inch 100 psi black plastic water line, 'hX) Mora cows leave the Martin farm in Fayetteville for dairy purposes. 6-foot, 4-inch treated fence posts in line, 20 8-foot, 6-incfa treated fence posts on the comers, and 700 metal/ fiberglass/plastic step-in posts. Martin noted the cost for the tem porary fencing was about $2,500. Cost for permanent fencing material was approximately $9,000. Watering system cost was about $2,000. Cost for lane improvements from 1993-1997 was about $7,000. In 1996, the 63 acres of cropland was divided into 30 acres of alfalfa and 33 acres of sorghum-sudangrass. But the wet year resulted in very poor qual ity feed, which required more grain and protein supplements for the herd. In the fall of 1996, all sorghum sudangrass fields were seeded to rye for spring grazing. Bred heifers and dry cows followed the cows in the grazing rotation and pasture took care of all nutritional needs April through mid-November. Martin noted that free-choice minerals were available at all times. hr 1997, what Martin refers to as the year of the “dust bowl," dry conditions proved a challenge. He used rye grain for grazing in April, then to the orchardgrass/clover/ryegrass mixture for May through July, then in August switched the grazing to sorghum sudangrass and alfalfa. In September, the cows moved to the orchardgrass and rye/clover combination. In April, the ryegrass was tested for feed value and turned up 22 percent crude protein. Acid detergent fiber (ADF) was 20 percent. Even during the hot, dry. droughty August, the sorghum-sudangrass tested 24 percent erode protein and ADF was 37 percent When cost comparisons crane into play are in grasses. The pastures are very high quality, requiring less feed. Cows on pasture are much cleaner, resulting in time savind during milking as well as a lower somatic cell count Before grazing, the hoof trimmer was on the farm about three times each year. The hoof trimmer has not been on the farm since grazing was started. Other savings are in electric (approximately $2OO per month in the summer), labor, and equipment repairs. Martin now sells more cows for dairy purposes than before he started grazing because of improved cow perates a 123-acre dairy farm that consists of 60 acres of pasture, 30 acres of alfalfa, and 33 acres of com. Grazing Strengths Extend To Hanover HANOVER (York Co.) To Jeff Wolfe, grazing proved the least expen sive way to get started, he noted. “Grazing didn’t have the high capi tal costs normally with a start-up,” he said. Wolfe, who is leasing the farm from Thomas Marten in Hanover, has been a member of the Franklin County Grazers since 1994. The farm is comprised of 90 acres with 64 cows, Wolfe noted. It’s a mixed herd of half Jerseys and Holsteins. health. Martin has hosted several field days on his farm through the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agricul ture (PASA). The farm was host to a field day in 1994 and another in 1995. In the winter of 1993-1994, Philip Wagner, Franklin County extension agent, encouraged and aided Martin Dairyman The farm is completely fenced in. The pastures consist of ryegrass, orchaidgrass, fescue, and chicory. Other stands established include alfalfa/matua and some bromegrass. In all. there are 16 paddocks ranging in size from 2 1/2 to about 9 acres. When not grazing, the animals are fed free-choice dried bay. They’re also fed a mix of half com and oats with a 14 percent ptQtcin.Tbe experience is proving profitable to Wolfe, who plans to increase the herd size someday to 90 cows. and a core group of other graziers from the group that focuses on intensive rotational grazing. Martin serves as a founding member and coor dinator of the Franklin County Gra ziers, formed in March 1994 and num bering about 40 producers. The pro ducers meet about two times a month in the summer and once a month in the winter to discuss the challenges of grazing. The informal group of Graziers includes producers from Adams, Per ry, Cumberland, and Franklin coun ties. The producers’ herd sizes range from more than 300 cows to about SO cows. #*** The group has no officers, bylaws, or directors. They meet for pasture walks during spring through fall and meet at the extension office in Cham bersburg during the winter. The sup port group “provides somebody to talk with, to discuss what works and what doesn’t'work," said Mania “The group has learned to build trust and be honest with one another,” he noted. Martin looks at the success of his grazing program. The bottom line; based on a survey of 2,500 farms con ducted through the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in 1996, Martin compares fig' ures of net income per hundredweight (CWT) of ipilk. The top 10 percent of the producers in the stale generate a net income per CWT of $l.OB. Martin’s is (Tam to Pogo 4)
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