Maintaining your pasture during the summer is a crucial task that requires your diligent attention. In a matter of minutes, it can transition from adequate moisture to extremely dry. As a manager, your role is pivotal in preventing your pasture from suffering too much.
Though I don’t know how it is where you are in West Texas, keeping pastures productive can be challenging during this time. Mother Nature seems to have not wanted to cooperate with you for most years and has held back the needed moisture.
While you can not control the weather, you can take steps to give your forages a fighting chance. Practices like rotational grazing and maintaining the correct stocking rate can significantly improve your pasture’s health. Here are some strategies to consider when facing another dry summer and hoping for a more productive season.
Having a good summer pasture management plan can save you many headaches later on. It will allow you to put out potential fires, not literally, before they occur.
Deciding which cows to cull is a challenging task for most producers. Sometimes, their personal feelings about that particular animal get in the way. There are even sometimes, they need to know which ones are underperforming and which ones need to be kept.
Grazing management in the fall can have an impact on your future forage production. The intensity of your grazing animals determines what state they will be in. Also, grazing during the winter may be limited depending on what forages you have available.
Growing your own feed despite the cost of time and equipment can have many benefits. Having an inventory on hand can reduce some risks of short supplies. It can also help protect you from any seasonal price volatility. Both energy and protein production can better match your herd’s requirements for simple feed use.
Destocking is a prevalent practice during a drought. Doing this is rarely easy to do and will still cost you most of the time. However, drought is a common consequence of ranching, so it will still need to be made. It is important to include plans for when droughts occur so producers are always prepared.
Maintaining your pasture during the summer can take much work. It can go from adequate moisture to extremely dry in no time. Managers must be on their game to keep their pasture from suffering too much.
Having a good summer pasture management plan in place can save you many headaches later on. It will allow you to put out any potential fires, not literally, before they can occur.
2023 is right around the corner. With the current year ending, we are drawn to look back and reflect. As the new year approaches it brings with it the promise of things getting better than what we have experienced.
Deciding which cows to cull is not an easy task for most producers. Sometimes their personal feelings about that particular animal get in the way. There are even sometimes they do not even know which ones are underperforming and which ones need to be kept.
