Manipulating Summer Alfalfa Grazing

As hard as they try, folks who graze cattle run short or long on forage for their herds nearly every summer. Here are some hints of how to work around these problems.

If you see or think you are going to run short on grazing:

1) Subdivide paddocks again and make the livestock eat it all; (clean it up).

2) Restrict the time they graze on a new field. When the quality is tops, an hour is all they need to get a fill, especially dairy cattle that have already been fed grain at milking. After the hour, it is rest and defecation time so move them to another area. Bedding and manure damage can reduce carrying capacity by 30-50%

3) Open a new field, maybe even an old alfalfa or clover hay field that’s not yielding up to par. This will give your prime grazing paddocks a chance to recover for the next round of grazing.

4) Feed hay. There is no law that says hay is to be fed only in the winter.

5) With lower grain prices, this might be a good time to supplement energy with grain (¼ to ½ pound per 100 lbs. of live weight). This is especially good for beef nursing calves and growing stocker cattle..

If you have more grazing than you need, don’t waste it. Chances are you can and will need it later in the season and certainly before the year is out.

1) Subdivide paddocks so that you can accumulate and harvest the surplus grazing for hay.

2) When you grow grazing tolerant alfalfa, these varieties can be harvested more frequently than hay-type alfalfa varieties. Frequent harvests means less forage yields yet protein and digestibility are increased. You are not going to kill these alfalfas with the frequent cuts. In fact we have seen the results of harvest studies that confirm yield reduction per harvest yet retain similar yields for the year and protein levels much higher than the usual 30-40 day intervals between cuttings.

The watchword then is to keep your grazing program flexible. You know that you are going to have surpluses and shortages so plan for them.