CAMP HILL (Cumberland Co.)
Best results from those who want to
begin grazing begin with planning.
And producers who want to invest in a
grazing system for their farm need to
look at the details and come up with an
overall plan that fits their soil condi
tions. livestock, climate, and other
items specific to their operation.
Producers need to invest in an inte
grated forage livestock system, not
just a grass grazing system, noted Ed
ward B. Raeburn, extension forage
agronomist with West Virginia Univ
ersity in Morgantown.
Rayburn spoke to more than 100
producers and grazing representatives
earlier this year at the Grazing In the
Northeast Workshop at the Radisson
Penn Harris Hotel and Convention
Center in Camp Hill.
Graziers need to remember they are
“harvesting sunlight and converting it
to cash,” Rayburn said. There is a sci
ence and an art to forage and livestock
system management. “Managers need
to understand the biology and ecology
of the systems they are working with.”
Until now, there has been little data
about what types of soil conditions fa
vor certain types of forage mixtures.
However, woik being undertaken by
the USDA’s Natural Resources Cons
ervation Service (NRCS) could
change all that.
James B. Cropper, forage manage
ment specialist with die USDA NRCS
at the Pasture Systems and Watershed
Management Research Laboratory in
University Park, spoke about forage
suitability at the conference.
What kind of forages would be suit-
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Jl— ■■
‘Forage Suitability’ Can Be Plotted
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able for grazing? A new assessment
procedure has been proposed by the
University of Wisconsin Cooperative
Extension and the NRCS Grazing
Lands Technology Institute, accord
ing to Cropper.
The procedure rates the condition
of a pasture site. The pasture condition
rating worksheet is in early stages of
development. Based on a Wisconsin
extension publication, it rates the con
dition of a pasture based on the fol
lowing characteristics: plant desira
bility, density, vigor, percent legume
in the stand, uniformity of use, pre
sence of sheet and rill erosion, stream
bank and gully erosion, concentrated
livestock areas, soil compaction, and
site resilience. Plant vigor causative
effects are soil fertility, soil pH, se
verity of livestock use, and forage spe
cies adaptation.
Another way to assess pastures is
through forage suitability group
(FSG) formulation and documentation
in the NRCS “National Range and
Pasture Handbook.”
Not all areas have been documented
at this time. However, one sample
shown at the conference details an
FSG for the eastern Allegheny Plateau
and mountains. The FSG sheet pro
vides detail for suitable forage crops
based on deep, channery, well
drained. strongly acid, and moderately
steep upland soils, consisting of Har-
Ueton channery silt loam, Hazelton
channery loam, and Leek Kill chan
nery silt loam.
Provided are adapted forage species
for the soil types and climatic condi
tions of those areas.
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Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1998—Page
These tools, according to Cropper
of NRCS, can help producers select
species for forage production, what to
use to get production, and specific
management practices to sustain pro
duction.
In a short time, according to Crop
per, “new tools will be ready to do an
even greater job” of proper resource
ECONOMICS SURVEY OF
GRAZING DAIRIES IN
NORTHEAST OHIO
A study was conducted in north
east Ohio to collect economics data
from dairy farms using
Management Intensive Grazing
(MIG). This study was part of a
larger study looking at overall dairy
farm businesses for the production
years 1994 and 1995.
Net return per cow for the MIG
farms in 1994 and 1995 was $447
and $468 respectively whereas the
average for all farms (including MIG
farms) showed $4OO and $429 net
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Qreencaatle. PA* 717/597-2176
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Everett. PA *Bl4/652-6101
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Oey, PA *215/987-6277
Ralph Kyle
Mercer. PA • 412/746-4300
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Scheffel Equipment
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Stottzfue Farm Service
Cochranville PA*2IS/593-2407
management.” he noted.
According to Rayburn of West Vir
ginia University, another vital link to
improved forage systems is getting the
right animal genetics.
“Animal genetics and herd health
go a long way to make any grazing
management program look good,”
Rayburn said.
returns. Averaged over both years,
farms using MIG in generated gross
farm incomes of $2,223 per cow com
pared to gross incomes of $2,581 per
cow for all farms.
However, the total costs per cow
was $1,765 for the MIG farms com
pared to $2,115 per cow for all
farms.
Although the dairy farms utiliz
ing MIG had lower gross incomes,
the savings in total operating costs
made MIG farms more profitable
than the average of all farms in the
study.
Source: Tom Noyes
Ohio State Univ.
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185