Content tagged with grazing
Cool Season Forages Management
In this blog post, Liliane Silva, Forage Specialist at Clemson University, outlines the steps for cool season forage management.
Staging Winter Annuals
Winter annuals don’t make sense for every operation, but there is a large percentage of us who should be utilizing them to reduce our hay feeding bill and to increase the quality of forage our animals are grazing during the winter.
How do I know when to graze a mix?
Mixtures bring yield stability to a forage field as each species and variety has its own strengths and weaknesses. These factors include: soil adaption, climate adaptation, disease resistance, harvest timing, yield distribution over the seasons, nutrient needs and contributions to soil health, and of course nutrition and fiber for the…
Cool Season Perennial Grass Selection for the Southeast
Adaptation to climate and soil type are not the only considerations when it comes to selecting a cool-season perennial. Farm constraints, management style, and long term goals should all be part of the decision. Take a minute to evaluate where your forage system is now and where you want it to be. From there, you can work towards selecting the…
Small Quick Tips to Prevent Big Trips
80% of your success depends on the actions you take the day you plant. Set yourself up for success and read through these brief planting tips before getting that summer annual in the ground!
When is Corn Alternative Forage?
“Corn” “Diversity” and even “innovative cropping systems” usually don’t go together in the same sentence. When used in a stockpiled winter grazing system, it turns out they occasionally can.
Seeing the Pasture for the Trees
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…
Intentional Management: Matching Needs With Resources
A number of years ago, I had the privilege of visiting one of the many cattle ranches operated by Lykes Brothers in Florida. If you’re not familiar with the name, Lykes is one of the top five largest cow-calf operations in the nation with over 600,000 acres of pasture, orchards and timber and 16,000+ head of cattle. I didn’t exactly know…