Summer
Summer
Summer Reminders
The hot summer weather is now in full swing. Certain precautions need to be taken to avoid problems in grazing systems during these hot months. At this time, cool-season species begin to decrease in production and animals begin suffering from heat stress.
Drought-Proofing Your Grazing System
Do you know what the difference is between a flood and a drought? About two weeks! This has been a fairly wet fall. So, it seems a little ironic to be talking about drought when we can’t seem to get the soybeans finished up. However, it is important to remember that drought is a part of Kentucky’s agricultural landscape.
Fly Control in Pastures
Flies are one of the most difficult pests to manage and, although they cannot be totally controlled, it is possible to reduce populations and irritation to livestock. Flies not only cause irritation, but can carry and spread diseases, such as mastitis, and infections and can cause economic losses due to reduced gains and performance.
Important Reminders for September
Select fields for stockpiling fescue for fall and winter grazing. Apply nitrogen in early to mid-August and remember to mow or graze forage to three to four inches of height prior to nitrogen application.
Importance of Rest Periods between Grazing
One of the most important components of a successful rotational grazing system is allowing the forages an adequate rest period for plant recovery and regrowth. Allowing plants a sufficient rest period is vital to maximize forage quality, yield, and stand persistence.
Picking Apples Off the Grazing Tree: How Far Can We Extend the Grazing Season Profitably?
Will grazing more and feeding less hay always increase profitability? There are many cases where cattle farmers could graze more days profitably. I would guess that more than half the cattlemen in Kentucky and the region could find ways to do so.
Summer Grazing Tips
Depending on the species, 60 to 70% of the growth of cool-season grasses occurs early in the grazing season when temperatures are below 75°F with another increase in productivity seen in the fall. In the spring when the growth of grasses is rapid, cattle should be rotated rapidly between paddocks in an attempt to keep forages vegetative.
Limited Water Access
Providing cattle with clean water is vital in any farming operation. How that water is provided varies from farm to farm. One can water cattle using a city/county water source or use natural sources found on the farm. In Kentucky, ponds and streams can be used to effectively water cattle.
Trace Minerals for Beef Cattle
Grazing livestock require many different nutrients to support growth, milk production, and body tissue maintenance. Often minerals are separated into two categories. The minerals that are required in relatively large amounts are called major or macro minerals.
The Face Fly
Horn flies and face flies are the key pasture flies that Kentucky cattle producers face each year. Both provide unique control challenges, but the face fly is the more difficult one to manage. There are two main reasons: the small amount of time spent on animals and hard-to-treat feeding sites.
Importance of Water
Water is the most important nutrient for animals, and it is essential to ensure that animals have ample access to clean water. Having water available to livestock allows for optimal animal performance and health. Dry matter intake is directly related to water intake, and the less an animal drinks, the less feed it will consume.
Heat Stress
Keeping cattle cool and comfortable is important for maintaining weight gain, milk production and reproductive performance. The temperatures that cattle prefer, 40 and 65°F, are cooler than what humans prefer, which means cattle display signs of heat stress even in what we would call “cool” temperatures.
Possibility of Nitrate Toxicity in Corn
Nitrate toxicity may be a problem for farmers grazing corn or feeding green-chop this fall. There are many factors to consider when deciding if livestock are at risk of nitrate toxicity. Drought conditions and high levels of nitrogen in the soil can cause prime conditions for high nitrates in plants.
Prussic Acid Poisoning
Grazing forages during the summer months is a great way to reduce stored feed costs. However, there are some risks that come with grazing certain forages and weeds. It is important to be cautious this summer to reduce the risk for prussic acid poisoning, as prussic acid poisoning tends to be worse during times of drought.
Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue
The most predominant forage grass in the U.S., covering over 36 million acres, happens to be tall fescue, a cool-season perennial grass. It is extremely prevalent in areas of the southeastern United States because it possesses desirable characteristics that include tolerance to drought, flooding, heavy grazing pressure, and a long growing season.
Atypical Interstitial Pneumonia in Cattle Grazing Perilla Mint
In the Southeastern U.S., a severe type of pneumonia can result from ingestion of the leaves and seeds of perilla mint (Perilla frutescens). This common weed is also known as purple mint, wild coleus, mint weed, or beefsteak plant. Perilla mint thrives in late summer, when pastures are frequently dry and dormant.
Grazing Alfalfa
Alfalfa is one of the most popular forage crops grown in the U.S. This high quality forage can be used for hay, silage, be a useful forage for animals with high nutrient needs. Although alfalfa is a cool-season legume, its deep root system makes it more drought tolerant than other cool-season species.
Harvesting Drought-Stressed Soybeans for Hay
With much of the country affected by the drought conditions this summer, many grain producers are facing the problem of low grain yields while many livestock producers are experiencing hay shortages and may be seeking alternatives for winter feed.
Identify Fields for Stockpiling
With the rising cost and limited availability of hay over the past few years, Kentucky cattle farmers have been looking for ways to extend the grazing season and reduce the need to feed hay during the fall/winter months. Stockpiling forage is one way to meet both of these objectives.
Grazing Green Corn
Several options exist to provide quality grazing during seasons when many common forages have gone dormant or are less productive. Non-traditional forages can provide high quality grazing throughout the hot summer months and into the fall. Corn is mainly used in Kentucky for grain or silage.
Managing Warm-Season Annuals
Warm-season annuals, such as sudangrass, sorghum/sudangrass hybrids, and millets, are useful forages for summer grazing because they flourish when cool season grasses experience “summer slump.” When deciding which of these forages might fit into your grazing system, recognizing the different traits and common uses of each is important.
Establishing Warm-Season Annuals
Adding warm-season annuals to a grazing system can provide high quality forage throughout the hot summer months. When temperatures exceed 75°F, cool-season grasses and legumes decrease production and decline in quality. Many producers are often forced to feed stored feeds to get through the summer months.
Partridge Pea or Chamaecrista Fasciculata
Partridge pea is a warm-season legume commonly used in wildlife seed mixes. Conservation Reserve Program lands are often seeded with these wildlife mixes. Partridge pea provides good nutrition and cover for birds and other wildlife.
Weed of the Month: Nodding Thistle
Musk thistle plants typically germinate in the fall from seed and form a rosette. New plants can also germinate in the spring. The leaves are smooth (no hairs on the upper or lower leaf surface) with a prominent midvein.
Forage of the Month: Corn
Corn is one of our most productive forages with the potential to produce more than seven tons of dry matter per acre. Few annual crops can compare to corn in terms of yield (dry matter per acre) and cost (per pound of gain). Grazing fully matured, standing corn during the winter months has proven to be a successful tool to extend the grazing season.
Millets
During the hot summer months adding warm-season annuals to a grazing system can provide a high quality forage when cool-season grasses and legumes decrease in production and quality. One available warm-season annual that can be used in Kentucky is millet.
Warm-Season Perennials
Grazing warm-season perennials can be beneficial throughout the hot summer months. These forages have rapid growth rates during June, July and August while fescue and other cool-season forages exhibit limited growth. These forages do not contain the endophyte which results in fescue toxicity symptoms, such as heat stress and decreased fertility and performance.
What is Holistic Grazing Management?
A group of Kentucky producers and county agents had the opportunity to visit Greg Judy’s farm last month. Judy runs a unique cow/calf operation near Harrisburg, Missouri. He explained that he learned these methods from Allan Savory, who began holistic management while raising livestock in South Africa.
Suggested Grazing Heights
Grazing at too low of a height causes overgrazing and decreases stand productivity and longevity. The general recommendation is to remove livestock once pastures are grazed down to an average height of 3 to 4 inches.
The Importance of Shade and Water
Heat stress in cattle is an issue that all Kentucky cattle farmers face during the summer months. The high temperatures and humidity that are common to Kentucky are the main cause of heat stress. Other causes include direct radiation and low air movement.
Feeding Co-Product Feeds to Cattle on Fescue Pastures
Tall fescue covers 5 million acres of hay meadows and pastures in Kentucky and has been the predominant forage in the state for over 50 years. Popularity of the grass is due to its productivity, persistence, and low cost of management.
Supplementation with Soybean Hulls Can Cost-Effectively Boost Weight of Stockers on Toxic Fescue Pasture
Ergot alkaloids produced by a fungal endophyte that infects most plants of Kentucky 31 tall fescue can induce fescue toxicosis. Cattle exhibiting signs of toxicosis tend to maintain rough hair coats, have elevated body temperatures that causes cattle to be vulnerable to severe heat stress, and have reduced prolactin hormone concentrations that can reduce milk yields by nursing cows.
Is Using BMR Sudangrass Right for Your Grazing System?
Brown Midrib (BMR) Sudangrass is becoming more popular as a forage grass each year. Why are livestock owners choosing to grow the BMR varieties? This hybrid sudangrass is genetically mutated to reduce the amount of lignin present in cell walls and vascular tissue in the plant.
Preparing for Summer – Fighting Heat Stress with Shade!
Kentucky’s high temperatures and humidity can greatly impact herd health. Cows often show decreased conception rates, decreased duration and intensity of estrus, decreased calf birth weight, and increased early embryo mortality when experiencing heat stress.
Controlling Tall Ironweed and Horsenettle: Mike Setters
This past year the Master Grazer Educational program conducted several demonstrations across KY for producers to see best management practices related to pasture management. One of these demonstrations was implemented in Lewis County by cow/calf producer Mike Setters.
Tall Ironweed Control in Grazed Pastures
Tall ironweed (Vernonia altissma Nutt.) is one of the more commonly found weeds in grazed pasture fields and other non-cropland areas. In Kentucky, tall ironweed is ranked as the most troublesome and third-most common weed found in grazed pastures.
