Content tagged with Pasture Management

What should we expect from our forages? How can we guarantee we are getting the most from them? Learn about some of the guiding principles of forage management.

Question everything you know about nitrogen fertility! Dr. Alan Franzluebbers walks us through his recent research exploring a financially significant question: how much nitrogen does our stockpiled fescue really need?

I love diversity. I love polywire, strip grazing, and red clover. Ray’s Crazy Mix was my introduction to the idea of diversified forages and renovating the soil. I’ve seen what a difference can be made to forage quality by selecting a brown mid rib variety or using a photoperiod sensitive sorghum sudan. I don’t want to take anything away from the…

The importance of balancing forage production! One lesson that farming has taught me is that there is no silver bullet. You hear a lot about selecting THE right forage for your area as if there is a single forage that will meet the need. In the Southeast, as part of the transition zone of the United States, there is no single forage to meet our…

If we knew the reaction of all of our actions it would definitely help guide our actions. Most of us, however, learn by trial and error. Out of errors we are then able to learn and move into the future with a more solidified plan. Then there are those occasions where the negative results of our actions are hard to measure. In these cases it’s easy…

At some point, there will be a lapse in the rain and we can all get in the fields and get to the farm work that has been stacking up. Of this long list, there are a few items that are critical for summer annual forage management.

Horses have different digestive systems and nutritional needs than high-producing ruminants like sheep or cattle, which gives them some unique sensitivities to various forage issues. Horses and other livestock tend to avoid plants that don’t agree with them because they find them unpalatable, unless they lack other feed options (such as in an…

Regular soil testing followed by liming and fertilizing according to recommendations is arguably the one management practice that will have the greatest long-term effect on production per acre.  It should be the first dollar spent when striving to maximize your land’s productivity, help your crops reach their potential, and optimize the cost-…

Questions from readers of OnPasture.com; Answers from Genevieve Slocum and David Hunsberger, King’s AgriSeeds

Shaded pastures are among the more challenging conditions faced by anyone trying to establish a productive pasture. This scenario varies but often involves a grazier who wants to set up a very intentional form of silvopasture, managing both trees and forage to balance the productivity of both. To be clear, there is no forage crop you can grow…