BIG SPRING FARM’s Annual Pasture Walk & Workshop
October 16th, 10 AM-3 PM
RSVP HERE
$20.00 – Farm to Table lunch will be provided – Pay at lunch
This year we’ll discuss:
-stockpiling pastures
-seeding pastures
-feeding hay
-rationing grass
-fly control
-pigs on pasture
-rotating cattle and sheep as a flerd
-corral design
-managing wool sheep
-fencing demonstration
-and your questions and concerns
| A letter from Greg Brann, the host: “This fall has seen great growing conditions on my place and I believe it’s the same all over the east. This is the most important time of the year to grow forage stockpile for winter and then ration it out. The easiest way I know to do this is to feed hay now on a limited acreage to allow the rest of the pastures to grow grass while we have perfect grass growing weather. I know this seems to go against the grain of conventional wisdom but you can grow at least twice as much grass now! Feed your animals on the 10% of pasture acreage that needs fertility or where weeds need stomping and remember to move the hay every time you feed. I prefer to bale graze in the fall rather than unrolling hay because they don’t always clean it up fast enough when it’s unrolled. Another option, if you already have lots of grass, is to keep rotating and only graze the top third of grass. Daily moves will be needed to make this work. A lot of folks don’t apply any N and have good results. Remember, every 1% Organic Matter releases 25 pounds of N per year, legumes also release N. The standard recommendation is to – stockpile one acre or more per cow by grazing or clipping prior to early September – apply up to 60 pounds of nitrogen (N) – stay off it till Thanksgiving – ration the grass The main reason to clip or graze first is to remove warm season competition and weeds to get fresh regrowth. If you have standing desirable grass now, by all means don’t clip it, just graze it earlier than other pastures. Grass with good growing conditions and fertility will grow around 20 pounds per day. When you take into consideration what they actually consume, an acre per cow will last about 32 days but if you already had standing growth it will last much longer. Happy Fall Grazing.” |
TDA’S CORONAVIRUS AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY BUSINESS FUND was established to help ensure stability of the food supply chain and agribusiness economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
