The fall of the year can be a problem for producers. Even if you had forages growing, their overall quality declines drastically during this time of year. As the forages mature, they become more fibrous, their crude protein level goes down, and they become less palatable. If a producer has his herd calves in the fall, the problem becomes even more of an issue.
The issue with having a fall-calving herd is that the quality of forages goes down as her nutrition needs increase. The critical thing to remember is to meet the cow’s nutritional demands. It may seem impossible, but that is not the case. With some proper planning, it is possible to avoid having this become an issue.
Why nutrition at this time matters for fall calving
As I mentioned earlier, the cow’s nutrition demands will increase as forage quality decreases. The most significant needs increase is from the cow’s last trimester to the beginning of lactation. Lactation puts even more stress on the cow because the cow is trying to maintain its body at the same time this is going on. Now, how much of an increase there is during this time?
To give you a baseline, a dry cow that does not have a calf only requires 7-8% CP and 45% TDN to maintain her overall condition. In this scenario, your basic, medium-quality forage is more than enough to meet those demands without supplementation. A lactating cow, on the other hand, needs 10-12% CP and 50% TDN to do the same job. Even in a good year, your average warm-season grass will have a hard time providing this. So you can see why planning ahead can be important here.
What can be lacking
The area where you are will play a role in what you will need to be supplementing. In your mild winter areas, protein will be your more lacking nutrient. An easy way to cover that is the producer can put out some lick tubs. In your northern regions, where winters can get extremely cold, energy will be lacking more, according to Dr. Bart Lardner of the University of Saskatchewan. This is more important because it is needed so the cows can keep warm when temperatures reach way below freezing.
This year, finding enough feedstuffs to meet those demands can be tricky. Across most of the country, hay may be nearly impossible to find. And if you can find someone willing to sell, the price could make it unprofitable to use it. So, it is necessary that producers get a little “creative” when it comes to what supplements to use. If you are looking for alternatives, then check out my previous post, “How to replace hay in a drought year”.
Possible nutrition shortfalls
As I mentioned a couple of times already, nutrition levels of forages decline as we go into fall. As the plant matures, most of the nutrients are moved to the lower third. This movement is so the plant will survive the colder weather that is coming soon.
Understanding the nutrition levels of your forages is essential. Before you start putting out hay, it is a good idea to have it tested so you know what it will provide. Once you see that amount, you can start planning if you will need to provide over supplements to fill in the gaps. Testing for nutrition is not just for hay either. It would help to have your forages in the field tested at different intervals to know what is being provided under other conditions.
Cool-season forages are key.
As any producer will tell you, you will be less profitable if you have to buy store-bought supplements constantly. In order to be as efficient as possible, you will need to extend your grazing season for as long as possible. Extending the grazing season is where using cool-season grasses can help you.
As your warm-season grasses begin to decrease, cool-season forages can take their place. When using these, your grazing season can be almost year-round. Depending on which type you go with, they can produce from November all the way to April and even May.
Types of cool-season grasses
Though there are many different varieties that you can go with, here are a few of the most common ones. Consider your location and growing conditions when picking a cool-season forage.
- Oat: this particular one is the least winter-hardy of the group. However, it can be an option in areas like South Texas because of fewer hard freezes. Early fall is the best time to plant oats, as they will likely produce the most dry matter of any cool-season crop. They do not grow well on sandy soils but do tolerate wet, poorly drained soils.
- Rye: this is the most winter-hardy of the group. Compared to the others, this produces more fall and winter forages. It will mature earlier in the spring than most wheat varieties. Rye grows well on well-drained soils with a sandy texture.
- Ryegrass: This is adapted to a wide range of soil types, growing better on wet soils than most other cool-season annuals. It is easy to establish by simply broadcasting seeds on the surface. Production of dry matter will be late in the cool season. Mixtures of small grains with ryegrass can extend the grazing season well.
- Fescue: This type is the most dominant cool-season perennial grass used in the Southeastern U.S. While it is most adapted to Arkansas, Missouri, Tennesse, and Kentucky, it can also be found in eastern Oklahoma and Northeastern Texas. It grows well on a wide variety of soil types, but it performs best on loam or clay soils with some water-holding capacity. In fescue, endophytes are a significant problem. Some varieties out there do not form this, in any case.
Pasture management is key.
As with growing any forage, how you manage your pasture will determine its success. You will need to give the plants a chance to establish themselves before you turn cows on it. You want to avoid overgraze them, too, since this will reduce their growth. A rotational type of grazing system will benefit you greatly in maintaining a high forage production.
Using this type of system, you want to follow the old “graze half, leave half” rule. What this means is that you want to move the cows off once they have grazed the forages to half height. With most of your forages, this means when the grass has reached a peak of 4-6″. Before you rotate them back, you will want to give the pasture enough rest for the forages to get back to a height of 10-12″.