Pasture Rotation: Efficient Grazing and Forage Management, Slides of Biology

Download Pasture Rotation: Efficient Grazing and Forage Management and more Slides Biology in PDF only on Docsity!

Pasture Rotation

Pasture Rotation

• Definition:
  • The use of several pastures, enabling one to be grazed, while the others rest

Three Principals of

Pasture Rotation

• Nutritional needs of livestock can be met efficiently
• Forage yield and quality and pasture persistence can be optimized
• Economic profit can be realized through improved efficiency and productivity of livestock

Nutritional Needs

• Enables managers to make best decisions regarding quantity and quality of forages
• Requires a good mix of forages
• Pasture must be made available in quantities large enough for animal’s nutritional requirements

Economic Profit

• Improves livestock efficiency and productivity
• Increased animal gains per acre
• Increased gains per acre compared to continuous grazing - Virginia’s increased gain per acre is 61%

Rotation Considerations

• Fencing
• Current resources
• Good forage mix
• Lanes for moving
• Existing facilities
• Water availability
• Think before acting!

Pasture Maps

• Maps should include:
  • water in each field
  • access to facilities
  • fences
  • notes on pasture type (if more than one)
  • location of gates

Scope of Paddocks

• How big?
  • Size paddock varies with animal units and quality of pasture.
  • 1000 lb. Cow with calf = 1 AU (animal unit). Assuming excellent pasture, would need one acre/month/AU
• How many?
  • Start with 5-8; allows paddock to be grazed for 3-5 days, and then rested for 25-30.

Selecting Forages

• Based on animal type, size, stage of growth
• For example, average milking beef cow needs 10% crude protein and 56% TDN.
• Orchard grass fits the bill.
• Try mixing red or white clover with it.

Creep Feeding of Calves

• In Cow-Calf operation, can give calves a head start by setting the electric fence high enough that they can slip through a day or two in advance of the cows into the new pasture, thus getting “the best stuff”

Scenario

• Cow-Calf operation
• Don’t worry about number of head right now
• Select grasses/forages
• Mark off appropriate paddocks
• Allow for lanes
• Show where waterers would be, etc..