Amazing Graze
A publication of The Ohio State University Extension, Edward M. Vollborn, Editor
January, 1998
Dear Friend:
Spring is my favorite time of year, but since that is just a few weeks away (rye will be ready to graze by mid-March in southern Ohio - 10 weeks) I'll just have to tolerate winter! As I look out my window and see the snow flurry (December 30), it is comforting to know that 163 beef cows and bred heifers are still grazing for all their daily needs here at the Jackson OARDC Branch. The cows at least have another week or ten days of grass. At our family farm, operated by my younger brother, 45 cows just went on hay yesterday and another 45 cows have only about ten days grass. Another 20 bred heifers went on hay in early December. The temptation to run 110 cows instead of 90 has pushed us into the hay pile about three weeks ahead of our January 20 goal. At this point, I look at those of you on a year-round grazing program with envy.
A special thanks to the many people who contributed to this issue! It certainly made my job easier.
Conferences, meetings, magazines and in-depth classes are a good way to get ideas as you plan for next year. Whether you are attending a regional conference or just visiting with a friend at a local quickstop, take time to bounce some ideas around - sometimes the obvious answer is so close we just can't see it!
Sincerely,
Leader, Grazing Program
OSU Extension, South District
Great Lakes Grazing Conference - February 16 & 17, 1998. The GLGC web address is: http://www.msue.msu.edu/jackson/GLGC.htm
American Forage and Grasslands Conference - March 8-10, 1998. Adam's Mark Hotel, Indianapolis. Call AFGC headquarters at 1-800-944-2342 if you have questions.
Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council Annual Meeting, March 28, 1998. Ohio; Department of Agriculture, Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
Grazing in the Northeast - Camphill, Pennsylvania, March 25 & 26, 1998. *For persons with significant experience in grazing. Call 607-255-7654 or e-mail: nraes@cornell.edu.
"Pastures for Profit" Grazing Schools - Throughout Ohio. Call your Extension office for schedule for your nearest location or to express interest in hosting a class in your area.
Why do dairy producers adopt grazing? There are many reasons and they can differ by farm. Usually MIG is adopted as a way of reducing costs, thereby increasing farm income. Others adopt it to reduce machinery and crop expense, improvement of cow health and for man a less stressful way of dairying.
If dairy producers adopted MIG because they think it will prevent their need to expand, then they are mistaken. For the first several years, like adopting most new technology, there will be an advantage. Over time this advantage continues to diminish.
Dairy Farm Business Summaries for New York and Ohio have shown producers utilizing management intensive grazing have an advantage of a $30 - $50 increase in net profit per cow over the average of all dairy farms in the summary. For a 100 cow dairy this would be a nice $5,000 per year raise in income. However, how long would it take before this advantage is not more?
Schnitkey and Polson, in their 1995 paper "Increasing Number of Dairy Cows Needed To Support A Farm Family," showed that to maintain a standard of living, your dairy farm business must grow 60 percent over a ten year period of time. In their paper they reported finding only a very slight increase in net profit per cow over time. Even with improved genetics, adoption of new technology and increased efficiency, the increase in net profit will not keep up with inflation.
Therefore, the dairy producers adopting management intensive grazing will over time loose the economic advantage gained. So, eventually even the dairy grazer will be looking to expand.
For the dairy grazer, expansion might be easier than for a conventional dairy producer. If in the present dairy system little housing is required, then adding cows can be accomplished inexpensively. How about a seasonal expansion? This means milking more cows during the grazing season and then culling heavy in the fall to what the facilities can handle.
Dairying in the next millennium will mean expansion for all dairies. As you look to the future
you might begin planning how this is to be accomplished on your farm.
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF IMPROVED GRAZING MANAGEMENT, Robert Hendershot, Resource Conservationist, NRCS, Natural Resources Conservation Service
PART I:
The environmental benefits of well managed pasture, include reduced soil erosion; improved air and water quality; better plant diversity, vigor and production; and an improved fish and wildlife habitat. Improving grazing management will result in more complete vegetative cover and improved soil structure that will allow a higher percentage of the rainfall to infiltrate the soil where it can be used for plant growth rather than running off where it can result in soil erosion and sedimentation problems. The ecological processes increase decomposition of manure in highly managed pasture. Nutrients can then be recycled several times during the growing season. The overall soil quality improves with improved grazing management.
Water quality improves as the pasture vegetation becomes more dense and the soil conditions
improve. A University of Wisconsin study showed that pastures are the best "crop" for reducing
runoff, erosion, and phosphorus pollution over any other land use. A similar study done by
USDA-Agricultural Research Service, North Appalachian Experimental Watershed, Coshocton,
Ohio revealed that both surface and ground water in the pastured watershed was just as good or
better than water leaving the adjacent pristine wooded watershed. Pasture soils are a terrific
biological filter to recover nutrients passing through the soil. Grass roots are active nearly
year-round and thus can recover nutrients efficiently from pasture soils that can leach from other
land uses.
Water quality emphasis is shifting to non-point sources of pollution. Many grazers are surprised to learn just how good pastures are from an environmental standpoint. Grazers need to understand that their system of farming when reasonably managed is among the best from a water quality and soil erosion standpoint in mainstream agriculture. Ohio has a hydrologic research station where agriculture practices can be studied for their impact on soil erosion, surface water and ground water quality. Dr. Lloyd Owens is a research scientist for the Agricultural Research Service which operates the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed near Coshocton, Ohio in cooperation with The Ohio State University. Dr. Owens has been collecting data from a variety of pasture systems for over 20 years. There was a greater infiltration of rainfall in pastures than the wooded area.
When a fence was added to exclude livestock from the stream and water was provided from another source, annual soil loss from the pasture was reduced from 70.4 tons on the 64 acres (1.1 tons per acre) to 38.4 tons (0.6 ton per acre). This pasture includes slopes from 2% to 35% on soils that are predominately silt-loam.
Pasture systems reduce the time that livestock spend in confinement, thus reducing the concentrated manure control problems. Manure is more evenly distributed with management intensive grazing than with feedlots where there are potential manure odor and control concerns as well as with unmanaged pastures that were in a well managed setting. This combined with the low runoff rate creates a low potential for nutrient runoff.
**This article to be continued in the next issue of "Amazing Graze."
RESEARCH BRIEFS FROM PURDUE, From "Forage Thoughts" January 1998 Newsletter / By: Dr. Keith D. Johnson, Forage Specialist, Purdue University
Significant hay cost savings resulted when mature beef cows in the second trimester of gestation
utilized stockpiled grass pasture or corn residues in late autumn. Studies were conducted at the
Scholer Animal Sciences Farm in Warren County and the Feldun-Purdue Agricultural center in
Lawrence County. Cows grazed corn residue at a stock density of one cow per two acres for 42 to
50 days in 1995 and 35 to 51 days in 1996. Stockpiled pasture, at a stock density of one ace per
cow, was grazed for a similar time period in 1995 and for 45 to 51 days in 1996. Fewer grazing
days occurred at Feldun. Mean hay cost savings when cows grazed corn residue and stockpiled
pasture instead of being fed hay in a drylot were $24.28 and $14.88 per cow, respectively. Range
of dollars saved were $3.74 to $24.91 per cow with use of stockpiled pasture and $11.84 to
$41.08 per cow with use of corn residues. Cow performance, measured by body weight change,
body condition score change and calving variables, indicate that use of these practices was not a
concern to the well being of the livestock.
GRAZING ALFALFA PERSISTENCE STUDY, John Grimes, Troy Putnam, Philip Dotson
A grazing alfalfa persistence study was initiated at the Southern Branch of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at Ripley, Ohio. The purpose of this study is to evaluate different varieties of alfalfa for persistence and durability. Five varieties were utilized in the study: Alfa-Graze, Homestead, Magna-Graze, Pro- Grazer, and Resistar. Plots were no-till seeded into a killed grass sod in August, 1994 at 15 lbs./acre.
Pressure was applied to the stand through a combination of rotational grazing and mechanical harvest. The field was planted in a north-south fashion and fenced east-west so each replication could be grazed in each rotation. Varieties were evaluated in 1995-1997 by taking stem counts. Grazing days and animal gains were recorded. Stem counts were statistically evaluated and differences were noted.
*A complete report will be presented at the March AFGC Conference.
Stem Counts (Stems Per Square Foot) of Alfalfa Varieties Planted at OARDC Southern Branch, Ripley
| Variety | 1995 Count | 1996 Count | 1997 Count |
| Magna-Graze | 52.0 | 40.99 | 29.78 |
| Pro-Grazer | 48.17 | 40.24 | 26.03 |
| Alfa-Graze | 51.71 | 38.33 | 22.71 |
| Resistar | 50.89 | 34.53 | 19.79 |
| Homestead | 42.36 | 19.25 | 11.82 |
| -------------- | ------- | ------- | ------- |
| Mean | 49.03 | 34.67 | 22.03 |
| CV,% | 10.98 | 16.47 | 18.94 |
| LSD, 0.05 | 10.13 | 10.75 | 7.85 |
HIGH TENSILE SMOOTH WIRE FENCE FOR PASTURE SUBDIVISION AND PREDATOR CONTROL, Submitted by: Bob Hendershot, Resource Conservationist, NRCS
When constructing new fence or modifying existing fence, the value of the fence for both improved pasture management and predator control should always be considered. Subdividing large grazing boundaries into smaller units provides more flexibility for altering grazing management and increasing hay production. The importance of properly constructed fence cannot be overstated as a tool for protecting livestock from dog and coyote predation. Highly effective, safe, and inexpensive electric fencing systems has made fencing for pasture subdivisions and predator more practical. High tensile smooth wire electric fence is cheaper and easier to construct than most traditional types of fence. Electrified boundary fence is one of the most effective tools used for predator control, and provides the opportunity to tie in temporary electric fence to facilitate pasture subdivision for improved grazing management.
Boundary fence for sheep should consist of at least five strands of electrified high tensile wire. Internal fence for pasture subdivision requires a minimum of three strands of wire. Internal fence may be permanent or temporary. Types of temporary electric fence include: 1) polywire; 2) polytape; and 3) electric netting. Some of the benefits for temporary fences are: 1) flexibility to subdivide pastures for certain times of the year rather than year-round; 2) the opportunity to experiment before settling on the best combination of temporary and permanent pasture subdivisions; and 3) the opportunity to fence in front of and behind sheep when strip grazing. Temporary fence will not carry a charge as far as high tensile fence, nor is it as effective in controlling predators.
Factors influencing the effectiveness of electrified high tensile fence include: 1) proper construction of fence; 2) sufficient grounding {noted as the most common error by fencing experts}; 3) the amount of vegetative growth coming in contact with the fence; and 4) quality and power of the fence charge. All fence chargers are not built to the same specifications.
Unfortunately, a uniform set of standards for comparison of various makes and models of
chargers is not available. Only high energy, low impedance chargers should be used. When
purchasing a charger, producers should be familiar with the reputation of the company, their
product, their warranty, and their dealer's service record. The company representative should be
willing and able to assist the producer in determining the charger that best meets their needs. In
general, electric fence intended to control sheep and deter predators should average 4000 to 5000
volts and carry a minimum charge of 2000 volts at all times.
BEEF COW WEIGHT CHANGE DURING THE FALL EXTENDED GRAZING SEASON, UTILIZING STOCKPILE FORAGES IN SOUTHERN OHIO, T. Turner, J. Fisher, E. M. Vollborn, G. Balthaser
Cow-calf producers wanting to reduce costs are often concerned that extended grazing of the cow herd through the fall will not allow them to attain animal goals of increased weight and body condition. This study involving 123 cows in 1996 and 131 cows in 1997 grazing a grass-legume stockpile at the Jackson Branch of OARDC, showed a very positive result.
Average daily gain during the 78 day (October 2 - December 19) 1996 trial was 1.65 pounds. Average daily gain during the 89 day (September 24 - December 22) 1997 trial was 1.64 pounds. Body condition scoring using a range of 1 to 9, with a score of 1 representing very thin and 9 extreme fatness was used to evaluate condition. Positive body condition scores took place during both years with an average increase of .88 in 1996 and .34 in 1997. Based on two years of study, it appears animal goals can be accomplished while benefitting from a reduced cost managed grazing fall stockpile forage program.
| Fall Grazing Gain | 1996 (78 days) | 1997 (89 days) |
| Early wean cows (lbs./day) | 1.95 | 1.74 |
| Normal wean cows (lbs./day) | 1.35 | 1.54 |
| All cows ave. (lbs./day) | 1.65 | 1.64 |
The average cow body condition score (1-9) and weight
| beginning BCS | ending BCS | beginning wgt. | ending wgt. | |
| 1996 (123 cows) | 4.95 | 5.83 | 1218 lbs. | 1347 lbs. |
| 1997 (131 cows | 5.20 | 5.54 | 1252 | 1398 |
Note: A complete paper will be presented in March at the American Forage and Grasslands
Conference.
WINTER GRAZING By: Jim Gerrish, Forage Systems Research Center University of Missouri, Linneus, Missouri
Contrary to what some people may think, we really do not see a lot of snow cover in north Missouri, but it can get chilly. Over the last 23 winters, we have only averaged 37 days with snow cover and only about seven of those days with snow deeper than six inches. In spite of this absence of serious snow as a deterrent to grazing, the average Missouri beef producer feeds hay for nearly 140 days every winter. Missouri and Iowa research indicates 50 to 70 cents/day higher feed costs for a beef cow fed hay compared to a cow grazing. Shortening the hay feeding period to 60 days would save cow calf producers $40 to $60 per cow annually. For many producers, that margin is the difference beween making money and losing money.
Because deep snow is not really a deterrent to cattle grazing during the winter months in the lower Midwest and upper South, most livestock producers could probably extend their grazing season well beyond the limits of the growing season. A line drawn from about Lincoln, Nebraska to Cincinnati, Ohio marks the approximate boundary between winter-long snow cover and intermitent snow cover zones. South of this line, producers should give very serious consideration to implementing a planned winter grazing program. This program utilizes a combination of crop residues and stockpiled forages.
Because of differences in growth habit, some forages are better suited for snow-grazing than others. A well stockpiled tall fescue field or a late summer seeded oat crop stand up very well under several inches of snow, even up to a foot of dry snow. Softer grasses, such assorchadgrass or bluegrass, tend to mat under the snow and be much less accessible. In the planned winter strategy, soft grasses should be used when the fields are open while more erect grasses are saved for snow times.
How much snow will cattle graze through comfortably? Producers from across the country have told me they have had their cattle graze through 10 to 12 inches without a problem. A few will claim deeper depths, but a foot seems to be the practical upper limit. Part of the equation has to be the type of forage below the snow. The taller and more erect the sward, the deeper the animals will dig. If the sward height is less than five inches, cows seem to lose interest in grazing much quicker.
On our personal farm this winter, we grazed crabgrass with a little timothy and brome mixed, until the snow fell in early January. The sward height was four to seven inches. We had about four inches of snow cover for the first week. During this peirod, we ran the cow herd one day to crabgrass, followed by a day on the better fescue stockpile. The fescue is both a higher nutritional quality and more accessible than crabgrass under snow.
When we received more snow, giving us about eight inches of average snow cover, we grazed only the fescue pastures. As the snow melted off a week later, we switched back to the crabgrass pastures. I have to confess that when the first snow came, I considered feeding some hay, but got over it fairly quickly when I thought about jump starting the tractor (diesel) at -5 degrees F. I came to my senses as I remembered that success comes from being cheap and lazy, not from running tractors in the cold.
Cattle that are not used to working for a living may have a little difficulty at first adapting to the idea that they won't receive hay just because a few flakes of snow are blowing in the air. Getting the cattle trained to snow-grazing is the next step in being a successful winter-grazier. Well disciplined cows will hit the snow fields, head down, and start plowing for grass while newbie cows will walk the fences looking for the hay rings. They learn in a few days where to find the chow.
At the University of Missiouri's Thompson Farm, the cows were taught to snow-graze this winter with about eight inches of blanketing snow and deeper drifts. When asked how he got the cows adapted, farm supervisor David McAtee answered "We just closed our eyes and went home."
*From "Hoos-Your" Newsletter / Ed Heckman,Wayne Co., Indiana Extension Educator
HERDING IN MONGOLIA, Henry Bartholomew, Southern Ohio Grazing Coordinator, OSU Extension, Hocking County
Last October I had the opportunity to participate in the first team to visit that country for the United Sates Agency for International Development (USAID). Our objective was to spend two weeks visiting farmers, herders, government officials and other international development agencies to assess the current agricultural situation. The team consisted of myself and two paid staff from ACDI/VOCA, which conducts educational projects on USAID's behalf in over 30 countries worldwide. Mongolia was new territory for ADCI/VOCA since the newly elected government had finally gotten serious about reforming the Russian style command economy. Mongolia is an interesting country. It lies north of China, which borders it on three sides and south of Russian Siberia. It is a big, cold, dry, empty country. The size of Mongolia is roughly the same as the U.S. east of the Mississippi River, but with only a little over two million people. The contrast between Mongolia and China in population levels is dramatic with China having a population of 1250 million on an area only a little smaller than the U.S. There are four times as many people in Beijing as all of Mongolia. The Mongolians worry about that some as well they should. Roughly half of Mongolia's population lie in three cities, leaving only one million people for the 18 provincial capitals, county seat towns, nomadic herders and farmers. Mongolia was freed from 70 years of Soviet domination in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet system collapsed. The Mongols celebrated their independence, but then had to face the reality that the old Soviet economy was gone as well as the markets for most of their livestock products. They had a lot to learn about how capitalist market economies function. The 1990's have been a tough decade for the Mongolian people as it has for many in the former Soviet realm.
The best way I can describe Mongolia is Wyoming without roads. There are just a few hundred miles of paved roads and the rest is just a track where others have gone before. What passes for a road in most parts of Mongolia needs some explanation. The roads, or tracks to be more specific, are simply pathways across the countryside and through any streams or rivers you encounter. You may drive anywhere you choose at your own risk. If one portion of the track becomes severely rutted, then a detour may be chosen.
People move by either horse, Russian Jeep or motorcycle. It seems incredible, but there are even small four-wheel drive buses that service selected locations on a somewhat regular basis. The difficulty of not only getting around, but the movement of consumer goods and agricultural products by truck is only done with great difficulty and determination. It would seem to be nearly impossible. Many areas of rural Mongolia are hundreds of miles from the nearest paved road. The unpaved roads are best described as natural. There is no grading or smoothing except by the occasional flash flood. The trip to Ulaanbaatar, the national capital, from one of the provincial capitals we visited, is a minimum of 18 hours in a passenger vehicle and at least two very long days would be required for a loaded truck. That road is 120 miles of track before the final 400 miles of paved road. There are many Provinces hundreds of miles further out.
Mongolia has for over a thousand years been a nomadic society of herders back prior to the era of Genghis Khan, the most famous Mongol. Although the herders livestock were collectivized during the Soviet era, the livestock were returned to private ownership soon after 1990. The pastures are common ground, in that the land belongs to everyone and no one. Private ownership of land is a novel concept in a land of nomads. There are areas traditionally utilized by the same groups of herders each year, but there has been a dramatic increase in the number of herders as unemployed former factory workers returned to the nomadic life. This has led to an increase in the number of conflicts over land. The lack of ownership means that there is no incentive to do anything to manage the range or even maintain pumps at wells.
At the time of our visit in mid-October, there was very little grass for livestock on the range in the areas we visited. The livestock were grazing what could be found. The herders we visited indicated that they made no hay or stored feed for livestock although they were encouraged to by government officials. Body condition of the animals in general was good and I'm sure that a good portion of the energy to survive winter came from the animal's fat reserves. These are very hardy animals which have been subjected to extreme environmental pressure for hardiness and efficient metabolism. Those that are not efficient enough don't survive. Spring growth of new forage begins in May with the first frosts of autumn beginning in August.
Annual precipitation ranges from four inches in the Gobi region to up to twelve inches in the more mountainous areas. Winters are long and cold but sunny in Mongolia with winter lasting from October through April. There are some shelters for the goats and young animals. The principal livestock species are cashmere goats, coarse wool sheep, cattle and yak, horse and camel. Of these, the cashmere goat has been the species with the most income potential. The herder's diet consists mostly of dairy products in the summer due to the lack of refrigeration to keep meat, while meat and dairy products are available in the autumn and winter during the cooler weather. Everything gets milked, from goats to the horses and camels.
Fermented mare's milk is the herders favorite and only alcoholic drink. It's always served to guests either with or without hair. I had it both ways. They buy only a few staples such as tea, flour and sugar. If available and they have the income, vegetables that store well such as potatos, carrots and cabbage are purchased in the autumn. The nearest store may be 40 or more miles away in the county centre village. The herder's shelter is a very substantial round tent called a ger. Animal dung is the principal fuel for heating and cooking.
Marketing the many livestock products is perhaps the greatest challenge. During the Soviet era the herders produced, and it was someone else's job to transport and process the products. Cashmere, wool and skins are more readily transported than milk, meat or live animals. Before reform, many animals were driven across the country during the summer and fattened on their way to markets in Russia, reminiscent of the cattle drives to Dodge City. Now those markets are gone, at least for now, and livestock prices are very weak. Cashmere is about one-half the price it was two years ago, wool is cheap, and meat is almost given away. A live fat lamb is worth $12 while the skin is worth $6, leaving very little for the value of the meat.
China could be a huge market but sanitary standards and import duties imposed by the Chinese are effectively keeping Mongolian meat out.
The herders of Mongolia have my deepest respect. They are intelligent, industrious and very
hardy people.
"QUOTES"
"In a low margin business with a margin (gross sales minus cost) of 20 percent, reducing cost is
much more effective in increasing net income. Reducing cost by two and one-half percent is
equal to increasing production by ten percent. Only when the margin becomes greater than 50
percent, does increasing production pay more than reducing cost.." - Daryl Clark, Zanesville,
Ohio, Memograph, 1990
"Our tall fescue pastures have significantly more white clover than ryegrass pastures (averages of 34.4% and 17.4% respectively). This is a contributing factor to good milk production being achieved on tall fescue pastures." - Ray and Marion Shaw, Dairy Farmers, Ohaupo, New Zealand / From "Dairy Exporter" Magazine, November 1997; Article provided by Bill Dix and Stacy Hall (Athens Co., OH)
***
All educational programs and activities conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to all potential clientele on a non- discriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.
Return to past issues of Amazing Graze or the Fairfield County OSU Extension homepage