Page 6—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1998
Franklin County Dairymen Understand Needs Of Grazing Cows
(Conllnued from Pag* 2)
The cows arc allowed free access to
the pastures for feed.
The milking cows are fed two mixer
loads per day. The mixer gets a bag of
minerals in-addition to 1,400 pounds of
high-moisture corn and a combination
% com silage and l A grass (including
alfalfa/orchardgrass and some barley).
The challenge is to keep the cows
fed well, despite the fact there are
“more cows than stalls,” said Martin.
This spring, some legumes were
seeded mostly white clover in
the fields. Last year, matua was seeded
using a four-wheeler and a broadcast
spreader.
On the existing pastures, last year SO
units of nitrogen per acre were spread
in straight urea form. Urea is placed on
the pastures 2-3 times per year,
although last year the summer applica
lots are arranged in paddocks measuring two acres each.
“Smaller lots more often Is what the cows like,” said Martin. “So we
give them what they like.”
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tion was skipped because of the
drought. The fields require less com
mercial nitrogen because the cows are
“doing a good job of spreading the
manure,” said Martin.
Some manure is hauled to rented
ground.
What are the cows looking for when
they enter a pasture? For the Martins,
the “cows like a new lot every day,” he
said. For the cows, it could be even a
“psychological” thing, having fresh
grass to mow down.
Importantly, the cow paths have to
be smooth. Recently Martin graded out
a very rocky lane leading to the major
pastures on the farm. The lanes have
6-8 inches of slate and are about 16-20
feet wide. Manure can be scraped from
the lanes when necessary.
Some fields have fescue and barcel
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Fresh water Is pumped out to the pastures on a 3/4-lnch black plastic
line, which was simply laid down and ended up burying Itself. The line,
when It eventually wears out, will be replaced with a 1-Inch line, Martin
said.
grasses. Others have matua, ryegrass,
bluegrass, and clover an “eclectic”
mix that cows enjoy. Martin indicated,
however, that cows “really love
Johnsongrass.”
Fresh water is pumped out to the
pastures on a % -inch black plastic line,
which was simply laid down and ended
up burying itself. The line, when it
eventually wears out, will be replaced
with a 1-inch line, Martin said.
The lots are arranged in paddocks
measuring two acres each.
“Smaller lots more often is what the
cows like,” said Martin. “So we give
them what they like,”
The mixture of terapo orchardgrass,
ryegrass, and matua was seeded two
years ago in the spring.
Weeds can be handled with spot
spraying. With a four-wheeler, farm
hands go through and use a field spray
er with Banvel and 2,4-D for control of
Canada thistle.
The farm still maintains enough
stored feed for the winter months and
for the supplemental feeding. Accord
ing to Holderman, the farm harvests
about 350 acres of com. About 100
acres of alfalfa are chopped. Fifty acres
of bariey arc also chopped and the farm
also harvests about 30 acres of wheat.
High moisture com is stored in two
\ ♦
upright silos at the farm. Bunkers
maintain the com silage and a good
percentage of barleyage and haylage.
The Martins are host to Isaac Ouat
tara from Burkina Fasa, West Africa.
Isaac helps in the fields, driving trac
tors, repairing fence, and working in
the milking parlor. He is staying with
the Martins for a year through the
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
visitor exchange program.
Isaac said that in his country, 70 per
cent is subsistence farming. “We have
cows,” he said. But a lot of farming is
citrus fruit, including oranges and
grapefruit He noted that the experi
ences he has had on the Martin farm
have been good, “with so many cows
to milk.” There are 65 students in the
exchange program, two on farms.
Many travel to grade school to teach
students about the programs, including
the 10,000 villages program offered by
the MCC.
Also working at Pleasant Valley
Jerseys are full-time employees Sha
ron Ocker and Harold Shover. Sharon
does milking while Harold helps with
fieldwork, feeding, and various tasks.
There are two part-timers, Jack Rotz
and Holley Carbaugh, who v/cric after
school and on v/eekends. Both help
with milking in addition to other jobs.