(Continued from Pago 1)
volves gtiod grazing rrianagement to
ensure iti survival and perpetua
tion.
We need to remember that ideally
we should be capturing 90 percent
of the sunlight that falls on the
sward and allow the tillers to con
vert it to chemical energy in the
form of carbohydrates and sugars.
The plant, really, is a minifactory.
It takes in raw products and pro
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duces a finished product. It takes in
sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and
nutrients. The green leaf area pro
duces carbohydrates through the
process of photosynthesis. After the
carbohydrates are produced, they
got to one of two places - either to
meet the growth demand of the
plant or the consumer outlet, or it is
sent to the storage site or warehouse
for future use.
It is very important that we know
where in a tiller this warehouse is lo-
cated. If we allow this storage site to
be removed in our grazing manage
ment, we are weakening our sward.
If we do not correct our manage
ment to prevent this loss, we can to
tally change the species makeup of
our pastures.
The storage site of Kentucky
bluegrass is in the first 1 inch of
growth above the ground and in the
underground rhizome or stem. It is
not generally removed with grazing
and because of this fact i| can sur
vive close and frequent grazing. It is
oftentimes the only grass left in our
pastures under heavy grazing pres
sure.
If our stands are to persist, we
need to manage our pastures to
leave adequate stubble heights after
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Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 22, 2000—Page
Species
Kentucky Bluegrass
Ryegrass
Orchardgrass
Tall Fescue
Other tall grasses
Small Grains
Alfalfa
Red Clover
White or Ladino Clover
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Warm Season Grasses
The other important factor to consider in this process of pro
ducing and storing sugars is that we give the plant an adequate
period of time between harvests or grazings, generally called a
rest period. During this rest period, a plant stores excess sugars it
does not need for growth in its warehouse storage sites. In many
grasses in springtime, this rest period can be as short as 10 to 14
days and may stretch out to 45 or more days in mid-summer.
This rest period is controlled by how fast the plant is reaching an
adequate grazing height, which for tall growing species is about 8
to 10 inches and in short growing species like bluegrass, it is
about 4 to 6 inches.
It is best to control our grazing livestock and rotate them
through our paddocks by monitoring forage growth as opposed
to grazing by a calendar. Oftentimes a sward may be past its
prime or not ready for grazing if we follow a calendar to control
turn-in and turn-out of our livestock to a paddock. We need to
remember to keep our swards in a vegetative state if we want to
provide our livestock with high quality forages for maximum
■ animal production.
grazing. Those average stubble
heights are listed in Table 1 below.
The whole idea behind the stubble
height is to leave the warehouse
intact so the stored carbohydrates
are available to generate new
growth. If the tiller has green leaves
left on it after grazing, they will con
tinue to produce sugars and the
warehouse is not as important. But
if they are all grazed off, the ware
house is critical for energy for new
growth.
New growth comes from the con
tinued growth of the old tiller or
from buds that produce new tillers.
The buds get their energy supply
from the warehouse. Until the new
growth starts to produce energy, the
warehouse is being tapped.
Table 1. Average Stubble Heights
We need to keep in mind that our
goal is “to meet our livestock’s nu
tritional needs by using pastures as
much as possible to lower our pro
duction costs and maximize our
profits.” In doing this, we also have
to remember that the forages have
needs that must be met if they are
going to continue to meet our live
stock’s needs. When we meet both
of these with our grazing manage
ment, we have a system that will
sustain itself for a long time.
If you would like additional infor
mation on grazing, you can stop by
any of our local county NRCS of
fices and discuss your needs with
them. You can also give me a call at
(717) 237-2221 or write to me at
NRCS, One Credit Union Place,
Suite 340, Harrisburg, PA 17110-
2993.
I will also be at many pasture
walks and grazing field days over
the grazing season. I recommend
that you try and attend these events.
We all learn something as we share
our experiences and knowledge at
these informal programs out on the
farm where it is all happening.
Until next time, happy grazing!
203
Height. (Inches)
1-2
1-2
2-3
2-3
2-3
1-3
1-2
2-3
6-8