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Managing Stockpiled Forage

Managing Stockpiled Forage. Bob Woods Area Extension Agronomy Specialist Poteau, OK – July 23, 2009. Forage Growth. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. Cool-season Grass. Cool-season legume. Bermudagrass. Native Range.

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Managing Stockpiled Forage

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  1. Managing Stockpiled Forage Bob Woods Area Extension Agronomy Specialist Poteau, OK – July 23, 2009

  2. Forage Growth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Cool-season Grass Cool-season legume Bermudagrass Native Range

  3. Post-oak savannah Harvest pine-burn annually After 16 years of treatment

  4. Thousands of acres in central and eastern Oklahoma are just like this – unmanaged and unproductive • Control – no treatment 267 acres/cow

  5. 23 acres/cow 267 acres /cow Harvest pine-thin hardwood- burn every 3 years Maximizes wildlife objectives

  6. 10 acres/cow 267 acres /cow Maximizes livestock objectives Harvest pine-thin hardwood- burn annually

  7. Success Depends on Stocking Rate • WRONG QUESTION • Can I run 500 cows? • RIGHT QUESTION • How many cattle can my forage system support?

  8. Forage Requirement for a Spring Calving herd under 4 different management options Each 100 pound increase in cow weight adds 950 pounds to yearly DM requirement

  9. Determining Stocking Rate on Native Range or Unfertilized Pasture

  10. Web Soil Survey - Home Electronic version of the old soil survey books

  11. 79870 26035 91875 1875 173,646 • Lbs X 25% X Acres = harvestable yield • 4900 X .25 X 16.3= 19967 • 6350 X .25 X 4.1 = 6508 • 5250 X .25 X 17.5 = 22968 • 1875 X .25 X 1 = 468 • Total 49911/39 = 1280 lbs/A

  12. Fence or Patch Burn?

  13. OSURR-Tallgrass Dec.1 – Sept.1 60 Control Gain/ha (Kg) 50 Patch Burn 40 30 Treatments applied 20 10 0 1998 1999 2000 Year

  14. Cattle PerformanceTallgrass Prairie PreserveIES (April 1-July 15 2001) Average Daily Gain (lb.) 2.6 2 1.4 0.7 0 Traditional, All Burn Patch Burn

  15. Stockpiling on Native Sites • Get the stocking rate right • Patch Burning • Fencing

  16. Stockpiled Fescue

  17. AUY = 9360 pounds • 9360/1280 = 7.3 acres • Stockers SL = 3.6 A/hd • Stockers IES = 1.8 A/hd • Lbs X 25% X Acres = harvestable yield • 4900 X .25 X 16.3= 19967 • 6350 X .25 X 4.1 = 6508 • 5250 X .25 X 17.5 = 22968 • 1875 X .25 X 1 = 468 • Total 49911/39 = 1280 lbs/A • Fescue Survey, 1994-95 • 276 lb. of Forage per Inch of Height

  18. Growing Steer

  19. Fall Fertilized Fescue 2001 Cherokee Craig Delaware Mayes Muskogee Nowata Okfuskee Ottawa Wagoner Washington Unfert. Lbs/A 865 1108 778 885 1117 659 1329 1382 885 723 Fertilized Lbs/A 3803 2174 2111 2281 3201 2419 3733 4520 5480 1574 Increase Lbs/A 2938 1067 1333 1396 2084 1760 2404 3138 4596 851

  20. Stockpiled Bermudagrass

  21. 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Late Summer Fertilization, Cherokee Co. 1996 (LB./a) Yield lbs./A 0-N 50 N Urea 100 N Urea 150 N Urea 150 N Am. Nit.

  22. Live Wt. Change, Year 1Nov.4 - Jan. 22 (77 days) 60 40 46 46 44 40 20 0 -20 -20 -20 -33 Weight lbs. -40 -60 Period 1 -84 Period 2 -80 -100 CONT LOW MED HIGH Treatment Period 2 QuadraticEffect (P<.05)

  23. Overall Wt. Change, Year 2Nov. 3 - Feb. 2 91 97 83 61

  24. Chemical composition of grazed forage samples at Stillwater, percent of dry matter

  25. Forage Growth, Rainfall, and Fertilizer Timing Fertilize cool season grass

  26. Rainfall for Leflore County (1971-2000) Fertilize warm season grass Fertilize cool season grass Fertilize Warm or cool season grass 47.9 inches average total rainfall Varies from 42 to 51 from north to south

  27. Rainfall Exceedence (2 in 10 years)Sallisaw April 1893 – Feb 2004

  28. Legumes are not a free fertilizer option! P, K, pH – According to Soil Test 3 Tons/A contribution that did not require N

  29. Legume Management • Residue Management – 2 inches or less in late summer or fall. • Follow soil test recommendation • Drill to establish if possible • Plant cool season legumes in late summer or early fall, lespedeza in late winter or early spring • Innoculate the seed

  30. Small Grains Planting Dates Picture taken 11/30/99 11/4/99 9/10/99 10/7/99 10/21/99 9/23/99 First planting was clipped 10/27/99 removing 1,880 lb/a of forage

  31. Hay Avoidance Strategy • Graze Bermudagrassto be overseeded with a cool season legume in August and Sept., • Graze fertilized and stockpiled bermudagrassin October until fully grazed • Graze native range with added protein supplement until cool season grass is sufficient. • Graze fertilized stockpiled fescue after stockpiled bermudagrass and native grass is grazed

  32. Survival in the Cow Business The Right Stocking Rate Make the Cow do the Work Smart use of Fertilizer Grazing Strategy

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