Myth: The Grazing Season Ends When The Growing Season Ends

Myth: The grazing season ends when the growing season ends.

Fact: With a well managed growing season, the grazing season can extend well beyond the forage production months. 

From Jim Gerrish’s Kick the Hay Habit to Dale Strickler’s Managing Pasture, many of the best graziers in the country are demonstrating how livestock producers can reduce their feed costs by grazing instead of feeding hay through the winter . 

Stockpiling summer annual forages allows forutilization of the summer growing season,extending  fall and winter grazing opportunities. Many plants, especially warm season annuals, love to grow in the heat of the summer, soaking up summer sunshine and maintaining forage quality into the colder months. Now is a perfect time to be planting a stockpile grazing mix and here are some quick tips to get you on the right track.  

Tip #1: Determine the best place to plant a mix

Unlike a mechanically harvested crop, you won’t have to worry about getting large machinery into this particular field multiple times.  But if you’re going to graze this area in the winter, you will need to think about fencing set up and water. Is the pasture set up well for rotational grazing? Will I be able to get water to the animals no matter where they are in the field? 

Because the plants won’t regrow in the winter time it’s not as important to back fence when you are rotating them through a pasture. You can simply give them access to a new portion of the field every day or every few days and allow them continued access to all the areas they’ve already grazed. This way you can set the water and leave it in one spot. It’s also important to have a plan for placing temporary posts. By the winter time you are probably contending with frozen ground. Could you place some of the temporary posts before a hard freeze? Thinking ahead on these sorts of things will help save you time in the long run. 

Tip #2: Time your planting right

Timing your planting date is a little bit like the Goldilocks story. A mix planted too early will start to mature and head out, decreasing the forage quality along with it. Plant too late and you run the risk of not getting full biomass production out of the plants. If you plant it just right you’ll achieve maximum biomass without sacrificing quality. Generally we recommend planting a stockpile mix about 8 weeks before your average frost date. This usually gives the plants enough time to grow to their full potential, but the frost will stop their life cycle before they start to set seed. If you know you will be planting earlier than that, consider using species with photoperiod sensitivity, long season maturity, or biannuals. 

Tip #3: Start with a grass

Grasses make up the bulk of the biomass for the majority of our annual grazing mixes. Grasses produce the largest amounts of biomass and provide high quality feed. Warm season annuals such as forage sorghum, sorghum sudan and millet are some of the best options for a stockpile grazing mix. 

Forage sorghum works great if you plan to use the mix exclusively during the late fall or winter. Forage sorghum can produce tons of biomass per acre, but only plan to do one grazing pass over it. Sorghum sudan on the other hand will regrow so you could harvest it (either by grazing or machine) multiple times, allow it to grow back and then graze it again in the winter. Just remember you must give the stockpile mix plenty of time to regrow before the frost sets in. Both forage sorghum and sorghum sudan can be purchased with the dwarf trait. A shorter plant will have better standability which is important for a stockpile mix. 

If you think you might be trying to graze this mix throughout the fall or whenever your average frost date hits, consider using a millet or a grazing corn instead. While millet produces a little less biomass compared to sorghum sudan or forage sorghum, you will not have any threat of prussic acid poisoning. If you are planting later in the summer, consider adding a portion of cool season grass to the mix such as triticale, cereal rye, ryegrass, or oats.

Tip #4: Add legumes and other diversity

Next, add your legumes and other plants to improve soil health. Legumes are known for their nitrogen fixing capabilities and the summer is a great time to take advantage of that. Capture some free nitrogen with the help of your legumes and their microbial companions. Cowpeas, forage soybeans and spring peas are great options. 

In addition, add a few other species to really amp up the diversity of your mix. Sunflowers, rapeseed, forage collards, turnips and safflower are all great additions to a stockpile mix. Not only will the livestock appreciate some other forage options, but your soil microbes will thrive with more plant root diversity. 

Tip #5: Always have a back up plan

While year round grazing might be your goal, it’s always a good idea to have a back up plan. Have a forage plan for each month out of the year and also keep some hay on hand to supplement when things don’t go as planned. 

If you’re curious about a stockpile grazing mix for your operation give us a call today at 402-469-8764 or check out our Stockpile Grazing Mix on our website.