Maintaining Pasture

It sounds odd to many that pasture requires management.  Its just grass, right?  Well, yes and no.  Pasture doen't need constant cultivation, management of insects or harvesting like corn, but since it composes such a staple of our cows' diets we strive to keep it the best quality possible.  There are more varieties of grass, legumes and herbs than I care to count and they all have different nutritional quality, preferred growing seasons and life-spans.  Some that you want to grow side-by-side often compete with one another for nutrients, cows have preferred species and many become tough and undesireable to the cow after setting seed.  Often the best varieties don't occur naturally in a pasture without encouagement and weeds can quickly overcome a field without management. 

So that's where we come in!  We are continually seeking to improve the condition of our pastures through soil testing, fertilization, planting custom blends of forage, intensive rotation (breaking each pasture up into smaller paddocks and only allowing the cows to graze each paddock for a day or two at a time), and mowing.  This Spring we were returning a couple of corn fields to pasture.  Mom and Dad spent several weeks deciding what forages would be best for that field's terrain, handle cow traffic and give us the most longevity and nutrition for the cows.  Blends of grass and legumes are most often preferred because they complement each other with one having high carbs and the other higher protein.  Additionally, the legumes work to fix atmospheric nitrogen, feeding themselves, the grass around them and enriching the soil at the same time.  Once chosen and planted the routine management kicks in - grazing rotation and mowing!

While its not something we need to do on a weekly basis, we do keep an eye on the pastures and try to mow them when the grasses begin to head (make flowers and seeds).  We choose to mow at this time because the grass becomes much tougher and less desireable for the cows.  Also, when the grass begins getting this big it is competeing with the surrounding plants for more than its share of light and nutrients.



Before.............After!

As you can see here the grass is getting unruly (on the left) and gets a severe hair cut (on the right) to reign it back in.  After a week it will recover nicely and be producing new tender leaf blades that the cows will gobble up!

At the same time we are checking the growth of the grass we are giving the legumes a chance to take off.  You can see here how nicely the red and white clover have been uncovered after the grass is cut back.  Leaving the clippings on the field helps increase organic matter content and continue improvement of the soil.

As with most things in life, clean pastures involve a lot of work - but it is totally worth it to see the cows hurrying to the field, udders swinging to find her favorite spot!