Before investing any money into your grazing operation, get out pencil and paper and develop some goals and a plan to reach them. Without written goals and plans, you won't know where you're going or how to get there. A written plan is more likely to be followed and it's easy to forget about your plan while running day-to-day operations.

• • Is the seed certified?

• • Is it a proven performer in research and on farm trials?

• • Is it adaptable to the climate and soil of your area?

• • Will it produce under your management?

• • Will it have a reasonably long life (for permanent pastures)?

• • What is its nutritional value?

• • Is it palatable?

• • Is it grazing tolerant?

• • Will it be compatible with other species (if used in mixtures)?

• • Is it disease and insect resistant or tolerant (if available)?

tips to A Successful Pasture

• • Write a goal for each pasture and a plan to reach that goal.

• • Soil test and add fertility based on the test results.

• • Identify weeds and a strategy for control.

• • Add a legume such as white or red clover, alfalfa or lespedeza.

• • Design cross fencing to be flexible for water, feed and shade locations.

• • Adjust stocking rate to harvest available forage in short grazing periods (1-3 days) and then rest (21-30 days).

• • Know how much forage to expect from your pasture and when it will produce it.

Grazing Management Tips

• • Cull old cows, poor-producing cows and open cows. It takes just as much feed to overwinter a cull

• cow as a producing cow.

• • Begin the winter period with cows in good body condition and bring them through the winter with enough

• nutrition to successfully calve, rebreed, and wean heavy calves.

• • Economizing and skimping are not the same. Don't eliminate necessary inputs for short-term savings that

• will result in increased costs later.

• • Are your replacement heifers worth feeding through the winter? It may be cheaper to buy replacement

• heifers next spring.

• • Feed dry cows, cows with calves, and lactating heifers separately.

• • Have your hay tested. Balance a ration that matches animal needs.

• • Look for local sources of harvest residues or food processing by-products to feed.

• • Use hay feeder rings, or unroll bales and feed under temporary fence to reduce waste.

• • Feed supplements away from feeder rings to distribute cattle loafing areas.

• • Strip graze stockpiled tall fescue as a protein source for dry pregnant cows. Strip grazing reduces trampling

• damage and increases utilization.

• • Feed your best hay last to provide nutrition for spring-calving cows during the critical period between winter

• feeding and spring grazing.

• • Leaving at least 4 inches of residue after grazing will produce nearly one ton more forage per acre per year

• than leaving less than 4 inches.

• • Annual grasses need to reach a height of at least 8 to 10 in. before being grazed. Leave at least 3 to 4 inches

• of leaf. Closer grazing will cause poor yields and increase winter kill.

• • Turning out too soon on cool-season grasses in the spring will delay spring forage growth.

• • Unroll round bales on spring pasture to increase hay consumption and slow rate of passage of succulent spring

• growth.

• • Move cows frequently so they are top grazing spring growth to lengthen the period of quality forage

• production.

• • Good animal genetics will only produce if given the opportunity.