Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Taking “Grazing” To The Next Level, Edward N. Ballard

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Since the late 1980’s, producer awareness of pasture management has been increasing. A number of factors have brought this about. Mainly, economic conditions have forced producers to look at their bottom line and this has reflected the low returns from mismanagement of forages and pastures. Also, advancements in the technology of pasture management and improvement have made more intensive utilization of the forage resource more economically viable. Advances in equipment, especially fencing and water equipment, have also helped bring about the increased interest in better grassland management.

My Grazing Experience: Reflections And Observations, Russell C. Hackley

Kentucky Grazing Conference

My pastures are utilized by a beef operation consisting primarily of a small cow/calf herd (30 cows), and a stocker operation numbering from 300-350 head annually, which are grazed only, from spring until fall. These stockers are purchased, continental breed calves, weighing from 500-550 pounds. In the fall, they are sold to Laura’s Lean Beef, usually at a forward contracted price after adding 300 pounds of gain. Occasionally, the stocking includes calves not eligible for Laura’s Lean which are then sold in truckload lots through internet sales.

Options For Getting Water In Every Paddock, Kevin Laurent

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Whether you call it rotational grazing, intensive grazing or management intensive grazing, the economic benefits of controlling how and where your cattle graze are well documented. Increased forage utilization, greater stocking rates, greater legume persistence, reduced hay feeding and more uniform nutrient recycling are just some of the many benefits producers can take advantage of when practicing some form of controlled grazing. However, one of the greatest challenges to implementing a controlled grazing system is the delivery of stock water to the grazing animal.

Stockpiling Tall Fescue: Cost & Return, Greg S. Halich

Kentucky Grazing Conference

An opportunity that Kentucky cattle farmers have in reducing their hay requirements is to apply nitrogen on select pastures to stockpile for fall and winter grazing. By increasing the total pasture production during this time period, the grazing season can be extended and the amount of hay required can be reduced.

Ryzup Smartgrass: Growth Promotion For Forages, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Whenever we discuss grazing management we emphasize how proper grazing will produce the maximum amount of plant growth. Giving forage plants an adequate rest period after each grazing event is essential to allow growth and storage of carbohydrates for the next growth cycle. With grasses, leaving leaf area after grazing allows the plant to maintain photosynthesis and regrow faster. On a more basic level though, all plants regulate growth with hormones. These hormones are termed “plant growth regulators.” Auxin controls cell division and the direction of plant growth. Gibberellic acid (abbrev. GA) has three main functions in plants: 1) stimulate …

Benefits Of "Improved" Grazing--More Important Now Than Ever!, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Grazing Conference

At this Conference twelve years ago I talked about the “Benefits of Improved Grazing”. We have had aspects of that theme at every Kentucky Grazing Conference since and also emphasized that message at 10 Heart of America Grazing Conferences and three National Grazing Conferences. With all that emphasis, why do I bring this up again and even have the nerve to say “More Important Now than Ever”? Well, the short answer is “things are different now!”

Foreword And Kfgc Award Winners [2011], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Photo Highlights Of The 14th Heart Of America Grazing Conference, Heart Of America Grazing Conference

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Extended Grazing And Reduced Stored Feed, Edward N. Ballard

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Feed costs represent the major cost in most livestock production systems. A recently completed analysis of 225 Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) Beef Cow Records on herds in Illinois and Iowa showed that feed cost was the overriding factor determining profitability, explaining over 57 percent of the herd-to-herd variation. Typically the cost of supplying nutrients to ruminant livestock is much greater using harvested feedstuffs as opposed to grazing pastures or crop residues. The primary function of a grassland farm is to convert solar energy to marketable livestock products in the most efficient manner. The fewer steps between the animal product and …

Grazing Non-Traditional Forages, Jeff Mccutcheon

Kentucky Grazing Conference

In the Heart of America region we are blessed with perennial cool-season grasses and legumes as the bulk of our forage production. Efficiently taking advantage of that perennial production is the focus of most grazing operations. Occasionally there are times when the production from our cool- season grass and legume pasture is not sufficient. In Ohio, that is late summer and late fall through winter till early spring. Nontraditional forages could be used when cool season forages are not producing. Non-traditional forages can provide a large volume, of high-quality feed during specific times of the year.

Grazing Goats And Cattle And Other Co-Species Grazing, Jason Tower

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Multispecies, co-species, mixed species grazing, it does not really matter what it is called they all revolve around the same premise; grazing more than one species of livestock on a given land area to improve resource use efficiencies.

Integrating Weed Management Practices To Enhance Productivity Of Grazed Pastures, Jonathan D. Green, Joshua Allen Tolson

Kentucky Grazing Conference

As animal grazing has intensified within Kentucky and the surrounding region problematic weeds such as tall ironweed, spiny amaranth, horsenettle, buttercup, common cocklebur, and thistles have been increasing. These weeds become prominent in pastures because they have spines, thorns, or are unpalatable to animals. Animals selectively graze and avoid these weedy plants and with intensive grazing practices their populations are allowed to increase. Livestock producers are seeking ways to increase pasture productivity by minimizing the impact of these and other weeds on grazed lands.

Mob Grazing, High Density Grazing, Management-Intensive Grazing: What's The Difference?, Mark Kennedy

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Before we can answer that question we need to review some basic fundamentals of successful grazing management. Four goals of any sustainable grazing management strategy should be: 1) Meet the nutritional needs of livestock from standing pasture as many days as possible; 2) Optimize pasture yield, quality and persistence; 3) Maintain or enhance the natural resource base; 4) Integrate the appropriate technology and knowledge into a practical and profitable system that fits your available resources and meets your objectives. We will use these goals to compare and contrast these 2 grazing management techniques. Both techniques should be considered tools in …

Organic Dairying: Role Of Grazing, Jake Schmitz

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Certified organic and many conventional dairy farmers are using grazing techniques for a number of reasons, including building better soil, reducing feed costs, improving milk quality, and enhancing herd health. Additionally, certified organic farmers must utilize their pastures because the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organic rule requires organic cows to graze. Both the farmer and the USDA are working hard to ensure that “organic dairy” is synonymous with “grazing cows,” because the organic consumer vehemently demands dairy products from pasture-grazed livestock.

Impact Of The Endophyte On Animal Production, Glen Aiken

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Tall fescue is productive and well adapted to the soils and climate in a region commonly referred to as the “fescue belt”, which overlays the transition zone between the temperate northeast and subtropical southeast. Persistence of the grass under low input management is attributed to a fungal endophyte that infects most fescue plants and produces alkaloids that impart tolerance to heat, drought, and grazing stresses. Unfortunately, the endophyte also produces ergot alkaloids that can induce toxicosis. Signs of “fescue toxicosis” are elevated body temperature and respiration rate, retention of winter hair coats through the summer months, hormonal imbalances, and reduction …

How Much Pasture Do I Have And How Long Will It Feed My Cows?, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Grazing Conference

A very common question asked by cattlemen is, “How much pasture do I have and how long will it feed my cows.” The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidelines and tools for answering this question. In pasture systems, determining the amount of pasture is much harder than in grain-based feeding systems because feed may be allocated for more than one day and feed quantity and quality is influenced by weather, fertility, stand density, and season. In addition, not all the available forage is consumed and the plants continue to grow after they are grazed. Variation in quality …

From Confinement To Grazing, Bill Payne

Kentucky Grazing Conference

A Tale of Two Businesses:

I would like share an account of a transition from a conventional dairy operation to our current Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) enterprise. In 1974, I joined my father who had been dairying on a 265 acre farm in Lincoln County, Kentucky for twenty five years. We fed our registered Holsteins corn silage and alfalfa haylage and purchased a manufactured feed. Our herd of 70 Holsteins spent most of their time on concrete. We did make an effort to allow access to an exercise lot when weather permitted. However, during most of the 1990’s we spent …

Foreword And Conference Information [2011], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.