What Do These Graziers Do When The ‘Summer Slump’ Arrives?
(ConUnuvd from Pago 22)
the grass was knee-high and took it
right down the ground, he said.
Mast noted that he had never tried
sudangrass before. “I like to try a little
bit before putting the cows on it,” he
indicated.
They had eight feedings off of if
every 10 days. He never clipped it
This year, the Masts started grazing
spelt.
In November, no-tilled rye was
planted into the sudangrass field. This
will be used for spring feeding.
Mast told the graziers at the confer
ence to get the animals out there “as
early as possible to graze.” He has
begun testing some grazing com fields
to see what kind of reception they will
have on the farm.
Tom Williams of Middletown man
ages 130 milking cows and 45 dry and
pregnant heifers on his Jersey farm. In
addition, he cares for 80 heifers and 20
calves. The farm name, Bryn coed, is
based on a Welsh word meaning “hill
and trees.”
When Williams realized he would
have to speak at the conference on the
topic of "summer slump,” he had a
question: was it the slump of the “ani
mal, grass, or the farmer?”
Williams manages 75-140 acres of
pasture bluegrass, orchardgrass,
bromegrass, barcel fescue, red canary,
alfalfa, clovers, and rye. He also main
tains 130 acres in com, 70 in silage,
and 60 acres of high moisture ear com.
Bryncoed also features 100 acres of
alfalfa grass silage, hay, and pasture,
and 35 acres in rye silage, early straw,
grain, and green manure.
Williams begins grazing between
April 10-25 and stops from Nov.
1-Dec. 23. Milk cows have 30 to 50
lots, 60 acres plus hay and com. Dry
cow and pregnant heifers have 11-17
lots at 1-1.5 acres per lot.
For the summer, the milking herd is
fed TMR once a day after afternoon
milking a sufficient amount to have
some left for morning consumption
after morning milking before going to
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The
Quality
Forage
Source-
zing conference speakers, from left, Forrest Strieker, Berks County grazier; Titus Martin of TI-Lln
Holstelns, Fayetteville; and Jerry M. Swisher, Jr., extension agent in dairy science from Virginia Tech.
pasture. In the winter, TMR is fed
twice a day.
In the summer, dry cows are fed sil
age once a day in the evening the
amount is determined by the pasture
quantity.
Winter feed is 2.5 pounds per day of
coarse hay with silage in the evening.
Grain is fed at one pound per bead per
day in the morning.
Water is available in most milk cow
lots from. a V* -inch low-cost black
plastic line. Tanks contain floats and
hold between 100-150 gallons.
Fence posts are made out of fiberg
lass. The wire is single-strand outside
metal wire. Divider is a nine-strand
EORAGE.
PROFITS.
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BRAND PRODUCTS
Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1998—Page
polywire.
Williams attempts to handle sum
mer slump by varying the pasture or
mixed silage while keeping the grain
constant The cows move over the lots
quicker, assuming forage matures
sooner during hot or dry weather.
Lawrason Sayre, of Waffle Hill
Farm in Churchville, Md., cares for a
registered Angus herd. They began
putting predominantly com fields into
pasture about a decade ago, converting
the last of the fields in 1989.
The fields contain an orchardgrass/ -
clover/alfalfa mix or a Ky. 31/clover/
alfalfa mix. All are seeded no-tilled.
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using a grazing system are “flexibility,
flexibility, flexibility,” Sayre said.
Today, Waffle Hill Farm includes
112 aces of grass/legume hay/grazing
land, with another 28 acres of rented
ground for haymaking. One-hundred
and ten acres are in permanent pasture.
Waffle Hill is home to 140 regis
tered Angus cows and heifers and 120
are calved out from December to
February. Calves are carried through to
yearlings. They use two Angus bulls
and AI.
This past drought year was especial
ly challenging to Sayre.
(Turn to Page 24)
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P.L. ROHRER & BRO., INC.
Smoketown, Pa
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 AM to 5 PM
Saturday 8 AM to 12 Noon, Closed Sunday
195
PH. 717-299-2571