A group of Northeast Nebraska farmers who raise beef and dairy cows on pasture have decided to learn some new tricks of the trade. Using a practice called Management-Intensive Grazing they have found that they can decrease feed costs while improving the condition of their grasslands. They focus on the grass, or better yet, a mixed grass and legume pasture, and how to graze it when it is most nutritious. If grazed too early, productivity is lost; if too late, then the quality suffers. The management comes in determining just when to graze, for how long, and how much regrowth to allow after grazing. When done right, supplemental feed costs are reduced or eliminated and pasture quality improves.
To help learn this method of grazing, seven farmers in Cedar County formed the Hoofmasters in 1995. They meet several times a year to discuss their experiences and try to find solutions to each other’s problems. Their goal is to improve the quality and productivity of their pastures. With high quality pastures they hope to feed less grain to their cattle, use less costly fertilizers and pesticides, and thereby increase their profit. In addition to increased profits, they hope to increase their quality of life by spreading labor requirements more evenly throughout the year.
A key element in this system is the division of fields into small paddocks. Electric fencing is used because it allows flexibility if changes need to be made. Small troughs on the fence lines provide fresh water in each paddock. Paddocks are grazed for a period ranging from one to several days and then allowed to recover. The duration depends on the amount of forage the farmer wants to feed, the number of animals grazing and the condition of the forage. Compared with continuous grazing, this system employs more animals concentrated on a smaller area for a shorter period. The leafy growth provides livestock with highly nutritious forage for most of the season while maintaining the highest productivity.
Some of the farmers have found that they enjoy farming this way more than their previous method of confined feeding. Ken Kruse, a Hoofmaster member, runs 50 lactating cows on 47 acres of intensively managed pasture. He says if he had to go back to a confinement system, he’d quit milking.
Hoofmasters has held field days to demonstrate grazing systems to neighbors and farmers from nearby counties. Group members want to show that there is an alternative to high cost mechanical harvest and feeding systems for beef and dairy. University Extension Educators and specialists have been good resources for the group, but their main support is each other.
In their first year, group members learned how to work as a group and focused on learning the details of Management-Intensive Grazing. They also experimented with grazing standing corn as a way of augmenting the summer production slump of cool season grasses. Kruse tried grazing corn in 1995 and 1996. It worked well for him, but he thinks it is more expensive than feeding the cows on good pasture.
In 1996, Hoofmasters members planted legumes in their pastures. They hoped that this would decrease nitrogen fertilizer needs and increase forage quality. The farmers compared a creeping type of alfalfa, red clover, and alsike clover. These were planted into existing pastures by no-till drilling, disking followed by boradcast seeding, frost-seeding, and frost-seeding with cattle trampling.
After taking stem counts, measuring plant heights, and making visual observations, the members met to discuss their findings. Although they decided that one season was not enough to determine the best planting method, they did note some trends. They found that broadcasted red clover did better than alfalfa. Alsike clover thrived only in low laying areas and trampling after broadcasting gave the best overall results. They plan to continue monitoring their pastures and developing their observational skills.
Overall the Hoofmasters are pleased with the changes they’ve made in their operations. Their successes keep them motivated to continue to learn. They think they can iimprove their grazing systems as they improve both their management skill and their pasture quality. One member summed it up, saying the new grazing system "made farming fun again."
Contact: Ken Kruse, Bow Valley, 402-357-2107