Soil Science Commons^™

Growing Forage Crops For Wildlife, Don Ball

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Numerous forage crops adapted in the Southeast offer benefits in production of various domestic animals including beef and dairy cattle, horses, and sheep (Ball, et al., 2002). Many of the same attributes these plants offer when grown in connection with livestock enterprises are also valuable in wildlife settings. Furthermore, the attitudes of many wildlife managers are changing, and their desire for knowledge of forage crops is on the rise. Consequently, forage crops are becoming more important and more greatly appreciated by wildlife enthusiasts within our region.

Maximizing Production Of Beef Cattle On Pastures, Justin Sexten

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Standardized performance analysis (SPA) of beef cattle operations continues to demonstrate the importance of reducing feed related costs. As producers look for alternative methods to reduce feed costs the benefits of improved forage management become increasingly important due to the opportunity to reduce feed costs while improving animal performance. One note of caution related to maximizing beef production from pasture, maximizing anything must be done carefully, the difference between maximum success and a total disaster is a fine line.

Grazing Program For Goats, Greg Brann

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Goats are often referred to as four legged bush hogs and actually they perform best when consuming browse. Goats eat from the top down so fields have a mown appearance even when forage is three feet tall. The typical browse height for goats is up to four foot however, they will rise up on their hind legs and sometimes prop on others backs to reach higher. Goats have an affinity for high quality forage. Much of the vegetation we have considered weeds as beef producers is excellent forage for goats. Goats select the high quality leaves and tender growing tips …

From Traditional Confinement Dairying To Grazing Replacement Heifers, Bill Payne

Kentucky Grazing Conference

I would like to 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 at that time 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 the greater part of the 1990’s we …

Pastures For Horses: Challenges And Opportunities, Robert Coleman

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Horses were born to eat grass and how they evolved has allowed them to be efficient users of a high forage diet. In fact, for many of today’s horses, they will survive and thrive on an all forage diet.

Can We Graze Year-Around In The Heart Of America, 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 …

Foreword And Conference Information [2006], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

2004 Forage Spokesperson Contestants, James Chestnut, Jimmy May, Steve Meredith, Bill Payne

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Reducing Stored Feed Requirements, Don Ball

Kentucky Grazing Conference

A basic, desirable goal for virtually any livestock producer is to minimize stored feed requirements. It is less expensive to have livestock harvest forage for themselves by grazing than to harvest it for them; therefore, the greater the extent to which pasture can be used to provide nutrition, the more profitable a livestock operation will generally be. Thus, it is worthwhile to consider all options that might be available for reducing stored feed needs.

Stocking Decisions: They Make Or Break You, Glen E. Aiken

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Decisions on species and variety of forage to plant and manage are economically critical because it establishes the potential to meet a particular production goal. However, the stocking rate used to graze these forages is more critical because it ultimately determines if a targeted level of production is reached. Most cattlemen aim for a stocking rate that provides maximum economic return, but it should be emphasized that an economically optimum stocking rate is one that potentially provides sustained economic return. It is obvious that dollar return is not maximized if excessive heavy grazing results in costly pasture renovation, ranging from …

Grazing: Getting From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be, Gary Bates

Kentucky Grazing Conference

When trying to design a forage and grazing program, producers often try to consider so many factors that it becomes mind-boggling. If basic plant physiology, how and when a forage plant grows is considered, improving a forage program will usually become easier, especially in developing a controlled grazing system. The purpose of a controlled grazing system should be to improve the utilization of the high quality forage produced on the farm. In order to improve this utilization, it is helpful to understand plant growth and quality, and the factors that affect them.

Will Improved Grazing Pay For Extra Fencing And Water Cost?, Ken Johnson

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Expectation is founded on faith, and in faith lays opportunities. I suppose as we look at most farming operations most changes occur from force not by choice. What I propose today and hope to convince most of you; is that here is an opportunity to make more profit, if you’re willing to change and have faith that it will work. Most of us have heard of, if not practiced rotation grazing for a long time. The question many ask, is it worthwhile. Does better grazing management make me any more money? I hope to at least provide some insight as …

Present And Future Tall Fescue Varieties, Timothy D. Phillips

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Tall fescue has played a key role in forage production over the past century in the USA. It has other uses besides forage applications, such as turf, mine reclamation, and highway rights-of-way, but in this presentation we will focus on forage varieties. Several hundred turf-type tall fescue varieties have been developed over the past 30 years, mainly by private seed companies using material from Reed Funk at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Forage varieties aren’t as numerous. I will discuss some of the older and current forage tall fescue varieties, and finish by discussing the newest varieties, and those that …

Fertilizing Pastures For Profit, Byron Sleugh

Kentucky Grazing Conference

It has been known for centuries that providing certain nutrients to plants is critical for high productivity. The nutrient source and manner in which it is applied may vary, but the desired outcome is the same: high crop yield and quality. Fertilization is the most practical means that producers have to ensure that crops receive the nutrients they need. While increasing fertilizer application and managing pH by liming can lead to increase forage production, your investment should be measured against the potential return. Also, over application of nutrients can potentially cause environmental problems.

Role Of Legumes In Pasture Systems, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Successful livestock programs are dependent on forage programs which supply large quantities of adequate quality, homegrown feed. A major percentage of the feed units for beef (83%) and dairy (61%) cattle come from forages. In addition, forages supply an estimated 91%, 72%, 15% and 99% of the nutrients consumed by sheep and goats, horses, swine and ruminant wildlife, respectively. These values can be put in perspective when we consider that 63% of Kentucky's Agricultural Cash Receipts are from livestock and livestock products. Cash hay accounts for approximately 28% of the total crop value. Hay ranks second only to tobacco in …

Foreword And Kfgc Award Winners [2004], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Efficient Grazing Systems: Putting Pieces Together, Charles T. Dougherty

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Pros and cons of grazing systems are well-known to this audience. Efficient grazing systems, however, are a different story. What is an efficient grazing system? I think we could argue that topic until the cows come home and I do not believe we could come to any agreement. I am going to approach the subject of efficiency from several angles but you will probably see them differently. Economic efficiencies will not be covered.

Kentucky Goat Friendly Pasture Concepts, Terry Hutchens

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Goats are accomplished grazers of grass and browse plants. In addition, they can be managed within a grazing system both intensively or extensively as long as quality forage is made available. Goats are facultative browsers, they prefer to feed at eye level and upward and then feed on forage from the top of the plant down. Goats prefer to move freely from plant to plant-removing foliage from select portions of plants. Foliage meals are dictated by quality factors that insure adequate protein and energy levels. Each stem or leaf is clipped with precision leaving the forage residue standing equal in …

Effective Use Of Pastures For Horses, Robert Coleman

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Pastures can serve two very necessary functions for the care and maintenance of horses. Not only do these areas of grasses and legumes provide a place for the horse to exercise, they can provide a significant portion of the horse’s nutrient requirement. Horses evolved as a grazing animal, so it is reasonable that many classes of horse can be adequately maintained on well-managed pastures.

The Economics Of Integrating Crop Land To Mig Grazing, Edward N. Ballard

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Illinois soils vary in their properties and producing capacities. Large areas of the state have soils that are among the most productive in the world. Other areas have soils that, because they are too steep or droughty or have some other undesirable features, are not the most productive for corn and soybeans.

However, over the past 30 years there has been a trend to place more acres in Illinois in corn and soybeans and less acres in small grains, legumes and pasture crops. Government incentive programs have encouraged more acres to be place into corn and soybean production.

Environmental Benefits With Improved Grazing, David Stipes

Kentucky Grazing Conference

The public is becoming better educated about the environment and will continually question activities that are perceived as being harmful to soil, water, air, plants, people, animals and other concerns. Livestock producers who implement well-planned grazing management systems have an excellent opportunity to compliment both production and natural resource conservation considerations. All segments of the population involved in production agriculture will be held accountable for environmental impacts that result from their operation. A proactive approach is needed by livestock and other agricultural producers to sustain the protection of the environment that is in harmony with a healthy ecosystem. All those …

Grazing Systems For Beef Cattle, John Johns

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Beef cattle represent the most important grazing livestock enterprise to Kentucky producers. As of January 1, 2003 there were 1,120,000 producing beef brood cows on 39,000 farms in the state. In addition, more than 600,000 yearling cattle are also produced. The number of total beef animals is increasing as producers put more economic reliance on beef and forage programs. In many cases, beef cattle represent the only practical method of converting high quality forage to income for producers.

Grazing Systems For Dairy, Donna M. Amaral-Phillips

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Forages which are grazed can provide anywhere from 25 to 100% of the forage consumed by growing dairy heifers, dry cows or the milking herd. In this paper, I would like to specifically deal with devising a grazing program for a dairy lactating or milking herd. Lactating dairy cows are a “high performance animal” and, as such, any decreases in the availability or quality of forage can quickly decrease milk production. Thus, the goal when designing a grazing system is to provide adequate quantities of high-quality, vegetative forage to prevent decreases in performance. These decreases in performance occur in all …

Opportunities For Warm Season Grasses, Ken Johnson

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Today I would like to do two things, first talk a little about warm season grasses, where they come from, and where they might fit in your grazing program; and second, talk about the four major native grass species and two introduced species.

Native warm season perennial grasses were an important part of the native forage species of Kentucky, supplying food and cover for deer, buffalo, and other wildlife when settlers arrived into Kentucky. With settlers plowing, overgrazing, and the introduction of other forages, Native Warm Season Grasses (NWSGs) were on the brink of extinction. These grasses included switchgrass, eastern …

Optimize Grazing--Minimize Stored Feed, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Grazing Conference

The title “Optimize Grazing – Minimize Stored Feed” appears to be a bit redundant at first glance. Indeed if we optimize grazing, we will certainly minimize the amount of stored feed required to winter our animals. Putting both concepts together can serve as a reminder of the tremendous benefit of both.

Grazing represents the cheapest source of nutrients for our beef industry. Several studies have shown that the best predictor of profitability in the beef industry is cost of stored feed. In Kentucky, specifically, that means cost/amount of hay required to winter on beef animals.

Foreword And Kfgc Award Winners [2003], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.