A24-L«nc«ster Farming, Saturday, March 4, 2000
Reeds Canarygrass ‘Saves’
Grazier From Drought
(Continued from Page A 1)
Forgey, who spoke during the
first of a two-day Pennsylvania
Grazing and Forage Conference
at the Grantville Holiday Inn,
noted that as many as 160 dairy
animals fed on the reeds canar
ygrass for about six weeks.
The conference was spon
sored by the Pennsylvania
Forage and Grassland Council
(PFGC) and the Penn State-
USDA-ARS Grazing Research
and Education Center.
“I think we have a lot to learn
about reeds canarygrass,” said
Forgey. One farmer Forgey
spoke to believes the grass is
“the best crop grown on
droughty soils,” he noted. As a
single species, according to the
dairyman, it could have a place
on graziers’ land.
Forgey spoke both days about
his eight years of grazing experi
ence.
He made the transition in the
very early ’9os from a non
grazing, conventional dairy to a
pasture-based, seasonal dairy.
Forgey, who has been farming
since 1961, spoke about the his
ory of his transition to the pas
:ure-based dairying. Though the
70s were profitable with dairies,
in the next decade, things
changed somewhat drasti
cally.
In the 1980 s, land values
evaporated. With the severe
drought of 1988, increasing
cattle hoof problems, and the
high price of feed and equip
ment, Forgey noted he had. to
make the decision: either change
his ways or get out of the busi
ness altogether.
After attending the Illinois
Forage Council meeting in 1991,
Forgey realized, he said, “we
were burned out. Things looked
tough.” He said he thought
about walking away from farm
ing.
But determined to continue as
a third-generation farmer, he
learned about pasture-based
dairying and told his family, “I
believe I found a way to save our
farm.”
In 1991, starting with the bred
heifers, he began a small grazing
operation. By 1992, he was turn
ing out the cows on the pasture,
building fence, and finding other
ways to cut costs.
Forgey fenced in 120 acres
and pastured 160 cows. Forgey
buried water lines and, after five
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years of growth, Forgey had
placed 280 acres in pastures. It
cost him about $7,000 for the
water system and about $3,000
for lanes (measuring 10 feet
wide, using number 4 rock with
ag lime over the top).
Additional land he purchased
was in continuous corn for 40
years and had many grass prob
lems. Forgey simply seeded rye
and pastured it. Some muck soil
was seeded with reeds canar
ygrass in 1953.
In the conference proceedings
book, Forgey noted the grass
“was our salvation for the ’99
grazing season.” They extended
the rest period on the cool
season grass pastures and con
centrated on the reeds canar
ygrass. As a kind of cushion to
be used in drought conditions,
Forgey said, the grass continued
to recover because of the water
holding capacity of the muck
soils, and “frequent grazings
didn’t seem to hamper the vigor
of the plant.”
He wrote, “I have been
amazed at the ability reeds has
to recover and spread. In fact,
the most challenging aspect of
using reeds canarygrass has
been trying to find a legume spe
cies that can survive under its
heavy suppression.”
The farm continues to sow
Alsike clover on a semiannual
basis, a good mate for the reeds,
“but its biannual status makes it
an inefficient legume for this
purpose.” He noted that finding
a t good, high-quality legume spe
des is critical to a> grazing
system.’
Forgey manages approxi
mately 85 paddocks ranging
from 2.5-5 acres in size. The av-
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erage size of the paddock is 3.5
acres. The size of paddocks is
based on anticipated consump
tion of the grass/legume mix.
Forgey noted that he does
have a few acres of alfalfa
orchardgrass that he harvests
for baleage from early May to
June. In July and August, those
same fields are grazed.
Forgey begins harvesting at 8
inches in height for baling. For
pasturing, the reeds canarygrass
was grazed at 12 inches in height
for no longer than three days to
ensure grass recovery. “Over
grazing tends to weaken root
reserves,” he said.
Forgey uses Holstein/New
Zealand crossbred gctfetics in
his herd. ' •
Forgey noted he has seen defi
nite improvement in the soil’s
organic matter since he began
rotational grazing.
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He also said the dairy does no
winto: housing- “There’s been
no Mftf trimmer at the farm in
seven years,” he said.
Though his system can be
complex at times, Forgey told
farmers there are “more simple
ways to do many of the things I
did. When you’re the first guy
out there, you tend to do some
things vou wouldn’t have had to
do.”
The conference also high
lighted award winners during its
recognition banquet Wednesday
evening.
The PFGC Awards Program
was established to recognize in
dividuals in Pennsylvania who
have rpade an outstanding con
tribution tqjS some
forage and grassland improve
ment in the state, according to
Marvin Hall, Penn State forage
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Awards are made annually
'When there is a worthy candi
date. Following are the award
recipients.
• PFGC Special Award. The
Special Award is the highest rec
ognition given by PFGC, Hall
noted. It is presented to an indi
vidual or company that has
made a major contribution di
rectly to the PFGC and an out
standing contribution to
Pennsylvania’s forage and live
stock industry and/or conserva
tion farming. The recipients’
contribution may have been in
production agriculture, indus
try, research, extension, teach
ing, or other public service,
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4
(Turn to Page A 26)
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