A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 30, 2002
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Capitol Region Dairy Team
DO YOUR COWS
NEED MORE
LOAFING TIME?
Beth Grove
Extension Agent
Dairy/Environment
Lancaster County
As a newcomer to Lancaster,
one of the most striking differ
ences I’ve noticed between this
community and my home state is
the large number of tiestall bams
in the region. Whether cows are
housed in a traditional tiestall
bam or in a freestall facility,
many farmers allow the milking
cows out onto small concrete
pads or dirt/grass lots for short
periods of time.
These lots are important man
agement tools, allowing for easier
heat detection and cow exercise
time. The dirt or grass paddocks
also ease the stress of standing on
concrete for long periods of time
for all cows in a herd, whether
tiestall or freestall.
Unfortunately, these lots can
cause significant environmental
problems. Heavy cow traffic and
constant use often cause the grass
lots to become stripped of vegeta
tion, except for unwanted weeds.
Rain hitting the bare soil can
cause significant runoff, resulting
in soil erosion. Soil erosion is a
serious environmental problem as
it tears down soil surfaces did
you know it takes more than 100
years to make one inch of top
soil? Moreover, cow lots usually
collect high amounts of manure
and urine, so surface water run
off can cause nitrogen and bacte
ria pollution of surrounding wa
terways. Dirt lots can also cause
difficult problems with environ
mental mastitis during the winter
and other periods of wet weather.
There is an alternative for your
dairy operation a “Dairy Rota
tional Loafing Lot Management
System” originally developed
in the late 1980 s by Jerry Swish
er, a dairy extension agent in Vir
ginia, in cooperation with the
Virginia NRCS and local Soil
2002-2003 PENNSYLVANIA HOLSTEIN ASSOCIATION
DECEMBER 9 7 WM LEHIGH COUNTY ANNUAL MEETING
BAKE OVEN INN, NEW TRIPOLI, PA
DEC EMBER 10 10 30A M PA HOLSTEIN BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
PA HOLSTEIN OFFIC L, SFA IE COLLEOF. PA
DECEMBER 17 10 00A M HOLSTEIN ASSOCIATION USA REGION 2 MEETING
HOLIDAY INN, NEW CUMBERLAND, PA
DECEMBER 19 10 30A M SOUTH-CENTRAL SHOW & MEMBERSHIP MTG
OLD COUNTRY BUFFET, HARRISBURG, PA
JANUARY 25 7 30PM CLARION/VENANGO ANNUAL MEETING
WOLF S DEN RESTAURANT, KNOX. PA
FEBRUARY 7 9 PENNSYLVANIA JUNIOR HOLSTEIN CONVENTION
HOLIDAY INN, BETHLEHEM, PA
FEBRUARY 19 21 PENNSYLVANIA HOLSTEIN CONVENTION
HOLIDAY INN, BETHLEHEM, PA
90™ ANNUAL MEETING, PA HOLSTEIN ASSOCIATION
HOLIDAY INN. BETHLEHEM PA
FEBRUARY 20
FEBRUARY 20 7 OOP M PA HOLSTEIN CONVENTION SALE
HOLIDAY INN, BETHLEHEM, PA
7 15P M BLAIR COUNTY ANNUAL MEETING
WILLIAMSBURG FARM SHOW GROUNDS, WILLIAMSBURG. PA
MARCH 17
9 30A M PA HOLSTEIN SPRING SHOW
FARM SHOW BUILDING, HARRISBURG, PA
MARCH 28
Conservation District. This loaf
ing lot system helps protect areas
exposed to heavy livestock traffic
from excessive manure and soil
losses while allowing cows access
to clean, cool grass for rest and
exercise.
The first farm to install the
system was the Roudabush Farm,
located in Mt. Solon, Va. This
SO-cow freestall operation used a
10-acre field to create the trial
system. In recent years, many op
erations around Virginia have in
stalled a form of the loafing lot
system on their farms.
The “standard” loafing lot sys
tem consists of three grass pad
docks and a sacrifice lot sized to
the herd. The paddocks allow the
producer to rotate the herd
through the lots as needed to
maintain a grass cover. Travel
lanes may connect the bam to the
different lots. Certain farms with
bedded pack or tiestall bams may
use their bams as the “sacrifice”
area. The sacrifice area is where
the herd is kept during wet or icy
weather, or when the vegetative
growth is insufficient. (Using the
grass lots during these times
would destroy or damage the
sod.) The paddocks should be
created to allow cows to walk on
the contour of the field, rather
than up and down steep slopes.
The establishment of a vigor
ous, thick sod is vital to with
stand heavy livestock traffic. The
grass paddocks in Virginia have
been most successfully seeded
with 50-75 pounds/acre Ken
tucky 31 tall fescue. Although
other grasses and mixes have
been tried, nothing works as well
as the fescue to tie the soil down
and withstand heavy cow traffic.
(Remember, these paddocks are
not for grazing, although they
may be clipped for hay.)
Soil types, paddock slope, ex
posure, and time of planting are
all important to establishing a
good sod. The sacrifice lots and
grass paddocks should have ade
quate slope (3-10 percent) to pro
vide for drainage.
CALENDAR OI EVENTS
A good rule of thumb in sizing
the rotational lots is to allow for
20-25 cows per acre in each pad
dock; thus, a 50-cow herd would
need three paddocks of two to
three acres. In very tight situa
tions, or on farms with very fer
tile soil and good drainage, 30
cows or more per acre can work
with careful management. If a
sacrifice lot is needed, farms
should allow one acre for SO to 60
cows. It is a good idea, although
not always practical, to provide
water in the paddocks for the
herd.
What are the advantages of
such as system? There are many,
including:
• Improved foot health. Con
crete is very demanding on the
hoof of a dairy cow. Manure and
urine in dirt lots and concrete
pads will erode the soft'tissue of
the cow’s hoof. The grass lots
provide exercise and help clean
and dry the cow’s hoof between
milking times.
• Reduced soil and nutrient
loss. The loafing lot system helps
prevent nutrient runoff to above
and below-ground water sources,
reducing soil loss. At the Rouda
bush Farm, soil loss figures were
calculated both before and after
installation of the loafing lot sys
tem. Researchers determined a
soil loss of 72 tons/acre/year for
the bare 10-acre loafing area.
This was reduced to a loss of only
.43 tons/acre/year for the three
grass paddocks after the system
was in place.
• Milk quality and cow clean
liness. Cows that rest in clean,
dry, grassy areas are less likely to
contract environmental mastitis,
and they will come into the milk
barn with cleaner udders. This
will also help reduce cow prep
time in the parlor.
Soil temperature. During times
of heat stress, a grass sod is much
cooler than dirt or concrete. Jerry
Martin, who worked for years
with the Pequea-MUI Creek proj
ect demonstration farm here in
Lancaster, measured tempera
tures at soil level in various lots
at that facility. On days with 90+
temperatures, the grass lots were
an average of 9.3 degrees cooler
than the dirt sacrifice areas.
• Mowing and hay. The pad
docks should be clipped to
promote growth and vigor. In a
good season, some producers will
graze heifers or dry cows on the
paddocks. Harvesting hay is also
a good practice, when possible,
because it “mines” the nutrients
from the soils and makes good
heifer hay.
• Farm appearance. What
could be more beautiful than a
herd of healthy cows on lush
grass fields? Muddy lots and
dirty cows send the wrong mes
sage to the public about agricul
ture and dairy farming.
For more information about
this dairy loafing lot system, con
tact Beth Grove at (717)
394-6851 or Jerry Martin, senior
extension associate with the Nu
trient Management Education
Program in Harrisburg, at (717)
783-9704.
Sources;
Swisher, J.M., "Nutrient Management Using
Intensively Managed Loafing Lots on Dairies”
1998.
VA DCR, Pub. WP-48, 2001.
Holstein Association Sales Applications
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) The Pennsylvania Hol
stein Association announces it is
seeking applications for the Dis
tinguished Young Holstein
Breeder Award.
The contest is open to any
Pennsylvania and National Hol
stein Association member be
tween the ages of 21-40 (as of
Dec. 31, 2002) who owns or has
management responsibilities for a
Farmers Union Urges
Curbing Of Dairy Imports
WASHINGTON, D.C. In
answer to historic-low domestic
dairy prices. National Farmers
Union is asking Agriculture Sec
retary Ann M. Veneman to step
up dairy import safeguards. In a
letter to the secretary, NFU Pres
ident Dave Frederickson pro
vided solutions to improve the
market price, which is at the low
est level since 1978.
“Low prices, higher input costs
and a flood of imports are threat
ening the livelihood of American
dairy producers,” Frederickson
said. “Strong measures are
needed to respond to the crisis
facing U.S. dairy farmers.”
In what Frederickson called an
“important first step,” USDA re
cently announced that it will
apply an additional tariff to
above-quota imports of Ameri
can-type cheese. USDA reported
that as of Sept. 30, American
style cheese imports were just
over 48 million pounds, well
above the 36-million-pound
quota. The additional 16-cent
Judging School Jan. 18
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) The Pennsylvania
Purebred Dairy Cattle Associ
ation will conduct a Judging
School at the Pennsylvania
Farm Show Saturday, Jan. 18
here at the Farm Show Com
plex.
Participants will have the
opportunity to judge many
breeds of cattle during the
school. The school will start at
9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18.
School official is Dennis
Patrick, well-known breeder
and judge from Woodbine,
Md.
Thif? PDCA-approved
judge V list is'sent to county
extensibn offices and is avail-
Name
Address*.
Phone
Make checks payable and send to:
** Due by January 2,2003
Pa. Holstein Association Seeks
Hall Of Fame Nominations
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) The Pennsylvania Hol
stein Association is seeking nomi
nations for its Hall of Fame
Award.
The Hall of Fame Award is
presented annually to a member
of the Pennsylvania Holstein As
sociation recognizing an individ
ual or couple for their
achievements and contributions
to the Holstein industry as well as
activities in other agricultural
and community activities.
herd of cows. The herd must be
on official DHIA test.
The award is to recognize ac
complishments of young Holstein
breeders and to encourage them
to establish goals that wifi aid in
their management decisions to
help achieve a profitable dairy
operation.
The winning entry from Penn
sylvania will receive a compli
mentary room at the 2003 State
duty increases the above-quota
duty to 64 cents per pound
through Dec. 31.
However, Frederickson was
not pleased with the secretary’s
decision to lower the government
purchase price for nonfat dry
milk, saying it could cost produc
ers as much as $1 billion in lost
income.
Among the actions Frederick
son said were necessary are: end
ing the use of milk protein con
centrate (MFC) as a food
ingredient; changing trade laws
to ensure that dairy blends and
MFC are subject to dairy tariff
rate quotas in future trade agree
ments; improving agricultural
surge protection provisions to in
crease the effectiveness of tariff
rate quotas; analyzing the price
impacts of government-subsi
dized sales of nonfat dry milk for
production of casein; and a for
mal review of the actual cost of
production of MFC, casein and
casein derivatives.
able to local fairboards for use
in locating judges for their
shows. Participants, by plac
ing well at the judging school,
have the chance to get their
name on the approved list.
The cost for the 2003 school
is $2O. This fee covers school
costs.
If you would like to partici
pate in the 2003 Pennsylvania
PDCA Judging School, com
plete the application form and
return it by Jan. 2 with your
$2O payment. If you would
like more information, contact
Ken Raney, PDCA secretary,
839 Benner Pike, State Col
lege, PA 16801, (814) 234-0364.
or e-mail at jiha@vicon.net.
2003 PDCA JUDGING SCHOOL
PA PDCA
839 Benner Pike
State College PA 16801
Applications should be com
pleted and forwarded to: Penn
sylvania Holstein Association,
839 Benner Pike, State College,
PA 16801.
More information on the Hall
of Fame Award can be obtained
by contacting the Pennsylvania
Holstein Association, 839 Benner
Pike, State College PA 16801,
(814) 234-0364 or fax (814)
234-1698. Applications are due
by Dec. 31.
Convention and convention ban
quet tickets. They will also have
their entry sent on for national
competition.
Applications for the Distin
guished Young Holstein Breeder
Award are available by contact
ing Pennsylvania Holstein Asso
ciation, 839 Benner Pike, State
College PA 16801, (814) 234-0364
(phone), or (814) 234-1698 (fax).
Entry deadline is Jan. IS.