Pasture is a valuable forage resource. Like any resource, it responds to management. What is your plan to add value to your pasture in 2013?

It looks like the drought of 2012 is in the record books. Rainfall is back and we actually have seen pastures and hayfields recover and produce some fall growth, while annual crops like oats, cereal rye, field peas and brassicas planted in a timely manner have also grown well. So, life is good and no [...]

Every Monday for the past couple of months on the OSU Extension crop team conference call I have heard Jim Noel from the National Weather Service say that across Ohio we are in a pattern of above average temperatures and below average rainfall. These are not encouraging words for a grazier to hear. This isn’t [...]

Some graziers have already begun the grazing season thanks to the above average winter temperatures we experienced. Other graziers are right there at the starting line, anticipating the spring growth of pastures. The start of the grazing season provides an opportunity to take some time to set some grazing management goals for the year. In [...]

For the grazier, winter means dealing with cold temperatures, wind chill, freezing rain and mud. These weather conditions can negatively impact livestock performance and increase the energy requirement of the animal.

After our county fair in August, Athens County hosted the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council Beef Grazing Tour. One of the discussions during the tour centered on some patches of johnsongrass in a stockpiled field of fescue.

How many goats can I stock per acre of pasture? I’ve increased my pasture rotation to 30 days, how much will this reduce the parasite problem with my sheep? These are a couple of questions that I have been asked recently and each can be used to illustrate some basic differences in pasture management with [...]

The most effective use of pastures does not just happen. Foresight and planning are necessary. At the end of January, I taught a session about evaluating hay quality and use of hay in beef cattle rations at a Hocking County beef school. Farmers had submitted samples of their hay, mostly first cutting, for lab quality [...]

Livestock grazing management strategies can be used to protect those good sod base paddocks.

In our Pasture For Profit grazing schools we talk about pasture management in terms of keeping pasture plants actively growing and matching livestock nutrient needs to plant growth stage. But now its winter and the plants aren’t growing, so what does winter pasture management entail? I want graziers to think about winter pasture management in [...]