Many pastures in Ohio contain tall fescue as one of the cool-season plants which make up our pasture’s mix. Tall fescue is a persistent perennial bunchgrass that adapts to a wide range of conditions.
It is tolerant of low pH, poor soil drainage and can endure drought situations well. Tall fescue adapts to most Ohio […]
The 2008 farm bill provides many opportunities for grazing operations interested in improving their grassland and natural resources.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) has both the traditional program options as well as new initiatives mandated in the 2008 farm bill.
EQIP
One opportunity for farmers interested in assistance with developing or improving their grazing management […]
How are your pastures growing? If you are like most you would reply in terms like fast or rapid.
It is the month of May and pastures should be right in the middle of the ’spring flush.’
‘Spring flush’ is the term to describe the rapid growth of our cool season forages during April, May […]
What are you going to do this summer when growth in your cool-season pastures slows down? What will you do if they stop growing altogether sometime this summer?
You must be thinking, “Aw come on man, why are you asking me that when spring has barely gotten into gear?”
The answer is simply that a […]
Many of you have seen them — farms split into paddocks where the animals are rotated each week, every three days, once a day or even every 12 hours.
Some of you may wonder why? Why go to all of that hassle? Is it really worthwhile?
I suppose to some, all of those division fences […]
In the last “About Grazing” column, Chris Penrose wrote about some early season grazing management. In this column, I want to continue that theme and examine the strategies of set stocking vs. rotation to begin the grazing season.
There is a saying that goes “Well begun is half done.” It implies that how a project […]
By CHRIS PENROSE
When we think of extending the grazing season, we usually think of how long we can go into the fall or winter without feeding stored feed.
Another option often overlooked is how soon we can stop feeding as spring approaches.
Several options
There are several options to accomplish this. The first is by the […]
Some cows I’ve seen lately look thinner than normal for this time of year. With more than a month of winter remaining, it could mean trouble for producers as calving time approaches.
We’ve had colder than normal temperatures, combined with a longer than normal continuous cold spell in our part of the state and this […]
There is no time like the present to evaluate your pasture fields for damage from over grazing and weather related stress. While you are trying to warm up after feeding your livestock and checking on their water, it is a good time to evaluate your recent management successes and challenges.
After dealing with a drier […]
When the management of grazing is discussed, what are the topics of that discussion? Typically, they involve forage growth, forage varieties, soils, animal nutrition, grazing behavior, and paddock layout and design. These are all valuable topics for a grazier to understand and use to effectively manage his system. Rarely do you hear discussions on the […]
