Aside from visiting loved ones, my favorite thing about the holidays is the food. Particularly the big sit-down meal shared with a full table. So my question today – what would that holiday spread look like for a blade of grass in the pasture? Simply put – what can we, as grass growers, provide to satisfy our pastures in the growing season?

Preparation: Groceries & cooking for me, soil test & expert advice for my pasture

A good holiday meal is not a one-day endeavor and should not rely solely on one person. Preparation is key. The same is true in order to feed our pastures a good “meal”. Starting by taking a soil test to identify what nutrients are adequate or lacking is like taking inventory in your pantry and making a grocery list. To plan how much you need, you rely on others to tell you how many to prepare food for. For the pasture, working with agronomists, extension specialists, or other experts can help you correctly identify how much fertilizer to buy, and what it should contain to avoid over or underspending. 

Table Setting: Good dishes for me, fence & water infrastructure for my pasture

A memorable holiday meal has a beautifully set table. For our pastures, at minimum we need an exterior fence (plate) and a water source (silverware). We can greatly improve our table by going beyond the minimum with centerpieces, napkins, etc. In pastures, adding paddocks to rotate and additional water sources play a huge role in grazing utilization, distribution, and the growth patterns of our grasses.

Now, for the dinner itself!



Main dish: Prime rib for me, water for my pasture

I realize irrigating most pasture ground isn’t feasible. We’re at the mercy of Mother Nature, kind of like we’re at the mercy of our wallet when selecting the main dish for our holiday dinner. However, when it comes to what is the most nourishing, growth promoting dish on the table, it’s the main course. For grass in the pasture, this is without a doubt, water.

Vegetable: Green beans for me, lime for my pasture

As I’ve grown older, the importance of veggies has become more pronounced… without fiber, I get an upset stomach and the joyful bliss following a tasty meal is short lived. Lime is a useful product for pastures because of its influence on soil pH. If soil pH is not optimal, plants don’t get good utilization from the other nutrients provided. A high pH will tie up nutrients like iron and manganese while a low pH can tie up sulfur, potassium, and phosphorus. The general rule is a pH around 6 is ideal for cool season grasses, while a slightly higher (less acidic) pH of 6.5 is ideal for clovers and grass/legume pasture mixes.

Sides: Potatoes for me, phosphorus for my pasture

Sides can cause quite a debate in the human world, but I would bet most of us picture a starch heavy side. For us, starches are high energy feed sources. In plants, a major role of phosphorus is in ATP, which is the driving compound for a plant’s energy system. Phosphorus is also in DNA, RNA, and phospholipids, making it a critical nutrient to utilize when trying to optimize and improve pasture growth.

Drink: Wine for me, potassium for my pasture

For a prime rib holiday dinner, wine is often the beverage of choice. It pairs nicely with the rest of the meal and helps wash things down. Additionally, red wine in particular is touted to have an effect that can increase our metabolism. In plants, potassium plays a major role in metabolism, and is necessary for photosynthesis and protein synthesis (i.e. - growth). In addition, potassium has a role in a plant’s drought tolerance and winter hardiness, which for me, gives an added comparison with the alcohol content of the wine helping me relax in some dinner conversations.

Dessert: Pie for me, nitrogen for my pasture

I have a sweet tooth, and that dessert is immediately satisfying. Plus, the more I eat the quicker growth I experience (even if it’s not exactly the type of growth I want). In pasture, nitrogen fertilization is best known for its ability to induce a positive growth response. How well it responds depends on a variety of factors.

Seasonings: Midwest made blends for me, micro and macro nutrients for my pasture

There is a wide variety of seasonings available, just like there are a wide variety of micro and macro nutrient and additive options to apply to a pasture. The right choice is strongly influenced by the unique palettes of people sitting at the table. Each pasture is unique. Geography can tell us a lot about what might be a good fit. Different regions have different nutrient deficiencies in their soils. Knowing the region, utilizing soil test reports, and customizing a fertilization plan for each pasture is kind of like selecting the seasonings that make the meal as a whole just right.

We could go on with this list. The more options at the table, the better the meal becomes. The complexity of growth in a pasture and symbiotic relationships between different plant species growing make feeding and caring for perennial pastures so unique, challenging, and fun.

Happy holidays! I hope your table is full of family, friends, and food!

While limited water presents significant challenges for livestock producers during drought, low water levels do offer an opportunity to make improvements in infrastructure to capitalize on future precipitation. Implementing effective water management strategies ensure productivity and health of the cow herd. 

Over time, cattle traffic in and out of the pond can hinder dam integrity and result in shallow waters at access points. While water levels are low, consider cleaning out the ponds and restoring to a desirable slope of 3:1 (for every 3 feet in horizontal depth, there sound be 1 foot in rise) to reduce growth of unwanted vegetation along the shorelines including cattails. Low levels also allow for giving attention to drain and overflow pipes, fixing any leaks in the dam, and renovating the dam including removing unwanted debris including trees and management of undesirable wildlife. Care should be given to not disturb the clay lining.

If properly managed, vegetation around the water source aids in precipitation infiltration allowing for forage utilization and travel to the water storage basin. In addition, vegetation allows for reduced erosion, preserving water quality by not adding extra sediments to the pond. While it’s too late to focus on forage recovery for this year, prioritize fostering vegetation growth around the pond next spring. Options include allowing rest and interseeding a cool season annual forage. Having forage up to the side of the pond can also provide some shade and ultimately insulate water and reduce evaporation.

Water quality is already a concern during drought as nutrients and sediments are concentrated when water levels are reduced. Unlimited access for cattle allows further degradation of water quality. Fencing around the pond or streams can help protect water quality and reduce erosion. At least a 50-foot-wide buffer is suggested, but up to 100 feet may be ideal for steeper slopes.

In addition to fencing off the pond, adding a stock tank below can prove beneficial. Previous research documented almost a 10% increase in weight gain of nursing calves when pairs drank from a water tank compared to directly from the pond. While pumping into a tank didn’t significantly improve water quality, the aeration appeared to help with water intake and palatability. Plan to have 3 inches of linear water space per pair and adequate water pressure to refill the stock tank in a timely matter.

Many climate reports are not optimistic for rainfall in the 2024 growing season. If the drought-stricken ponds from 2023 face additional shortages of precipitation, the need for water infrastructure improvements will be emphasized, particularly for those forced to haul water. With high calf prices this year and the current state of ponds in the pasture, the prospect of laying pipe and connecting to rural water sources are worth exploring. Water is the most critical nutrient for all livestock and having a reliable source is essential to production.

Soon it will be bull shopping time for most cattlemen. During this time cattlemen spend hours reviewing sales catalogs and driving hundreds of miles to find the progressive herds that have the top genetics. From there they will research pedigrees, decipher EPDs, and make visual evaluations to ensure that they purchase a bull that will improve their herd’s potential. This is an important piece when striving to raise top quality cattle, but it’s only one of them. When shopping for genetics, a producer needs to look beyond the cattle and their herd’s genetics. The forage program and pasture genetics are also important.

Genetics play a huge part in the potential success of animal performance, but that success can be limited if not given the right tools to achieve performance potential. One of the biggest limiting factors could be the forage base in which you grow your animals on. Significant improvements have been made to grasses and legumes that increase the overall productivity through not only yield, but also better quality and palatability. 

In a test conducted at the University of Missouri’s SW center, cow/calf pairs were separated into two groups. One group grazed a traditional tall fescue pasture (KY31) while the other group was put on an improved soft leaved tall fescue (BarOptima +E34). The test was run for two years using fall pairs grazing in the spring for two months. Weights and BCS were taken on the cows and calves when turned out in the spring and again at weaning. The results from this test showed a significant difference in animal performance with the only difference being the forage they consumed. The pairs that were grazing the improved fescue (BarOptima +E34) had increased ADGs of 1.65 lbs./day more in the cows and 1.23 lbs./day in the calves compared to the pairs coming off the old traditional KY31 fescue pasture.

Another test was conducted by the University of Arkansas using stocker calves split between traditional fescue pasture (KY31) and improved soft leaved fescue pasture (BarOptima +E34). The trial was conducted with a 5-month grazing period. In the end, calves coming from the BarOptima +E34 pasture gained 419lbs/acre compared to 264lbs/acre from the traditional KY31 pasture. The results show 59% more weight gain per acre from the improved BarOptima +E34 pasture compared to the traditional fescue genetics. 

From these trials you can see the potential for improved forage grass genetics to show a quicker return to the producer than improving the genetics of his herd through a bull. So when the time comes to shop for genetics to improve your operation, maybe you need to look at the genetics in your forage program first. The return will be greater than you think.

For more information on improved grasses that will work for you, please visit barusa.com.

No, not the crabgrass that robs summer hours to be pulled and pried from flower and vegetable gardens just to regrow from a missed stubborn stolon. Not the prostrate crabgrass that creates a perfect matted circle rooted down at intervals, claiming its right to grow despite every effort to mow it off. But an “improved” variety to feed livestock. An improved variety to increase forage production and fill the dry summer slump.

Typically grown in the southern United States, Digitaria cilaris (southern crabgrass) has been in the improvement stages of development for the past 35 years⁴. Recent forage cultivars boast high production (yields of 4,000-12,000 pounds per acre), are highly palatable, and are broadly adapted to various soil types, grazing and harvesting methods, and crop rotations⁴.

Forage crabgrass needs warm soil temperatures, 65℉, to germinate. The timing fits well for planting after harvesting cover crops, where winter damage has occurred in hay fields, or for planting winter sacrifice pastures. Seeds are small and require a clean seedbed, shallow planting, and a roller to ensure adequate seed-to-soil contact.

Forage crabgrass emerges quickly and is ready for grazing at four to six inches tall in approximately 40 days¹. The stand quickly regrows and can be grazed several times until frost. Trials have found stockers to gain 1.5 to 2.0 pounds per day³. For optimum regrowth for multiple harvests nitrogen application will need to be considered².

In order to be productive in the hot and dry summer season, plants produce large root systems for water uptake, which also helps decrease soil erosion. Unlike many annual forage crops, forage crabgrass does not contain prussic acid. However, after a frost it loses palatability.

As a hay crop, forage crabgrass can make two or more hay cuttings for many livestock types, including horses, due to its low sugar content³. The fine leaf and stem harvested in the heading stage can have crude protein amounts as high as 15% CP and 60% total digestible nutrients (TDN). Forage crabgrass grows and matures quickly; therefore, producers must keep a keen eye out for stem size, as larger stems increase the drying time. When allowed to produce seed later in the fall, the seed is persistent, behaving more like a perennial crop. Again, the seedbed will need to be rolled for proper seed germination.

Remember, not all crabgrass is a weed, and sometimes taking a moment to strike up a conversation around a different way of production can be an innovative way to increase forage productivity, accommodate the nutritional needs of animals during the summer slump, and incorporate annual forage crops into a more extensive cropping system.

¹King, M. (2019, June 18). Improve summer pastures with crabgrass. Hay & Forage Grower. https://hayandforage.com/article-2543-Improve-summer-pastures-with-crabgrass.html

²Pedreira, B., Yasuoka, J., Barros, I., Helwig, D., Farney, J., & Sassenrath, G. (2023). Management strategies to improve forage accumulation and nutritive value in crabgrass hayfields. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 1-8. doi:10.1017/S0021859623000485

³Siller, A. & Hashemi, M. (2022). Evaluating yield and quality of new upright crabgrass varieties as a summer forage in the Northeast. Crop, Dairy, Livestock, & Equine Newsletter. UMass Extension. V22, n6. cdle_spring_2022_newsletter_final.pdf (umass.edu)

⁴Trammell, M. & Butler, T. (2020, May 19). Forage crabgrass, Bob Dylan, and the changing times. Hay & Forage Grower. https://hayandforage.com/article-3022-forage-crabgrass-bob-dylan-and-the-changing-times.html

Pasture, Range and Forage (PRF) insurance is a risk mitigation option for producers with perennial pasture and forage acres to consider. If you have heard about PRF insurance in the past and are curious about options, the December 1^st deadline is rapidly approaching.

Talk to your crop insurance agent now for the 2024 growing season.

Southern Iowa Grazing Conference

Well-known grazier Greg Judy will be the featured keynote for this two-day event.

The conference will be held Friday, February 16^th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm, and Saturday the 17^th from 8 am – 4 pm at Quality Truss & Design in Bloomfield, IA. Topics include multispecies grazing, grazing for dairy production, beekeeping, and other pasture utilization tips. Pre-registration offers a discounted price, at $48. For more information and to pre-register, call Steven Gingrich (641-722-3279) or Eli Schrock (641-664-1926) or email anastasia.prassas@usda.gov

Iowa Beef Center Winter Cow Feeding Program Series

Multiple locations across the state will host a workshop dedicated to planning the winter cow feed program. Forage quality, quantity, cow nutrient requirements, cost effective supplements, and lingering drought impacts will all be topics addressed. Details for the locations of these 12 meetings can be found in this IBC news release.  

Education Funds Available

Planning a forage-related meeting and looking for sponsorship dollars to offset meeting expenses? The Iowa Forage & Grassland Council provides an Education Grants Program which is designed to assist with funding forage education activities in Iowa including forage field days, informational meetings, and pasture walks. For 2024, the limit will be raised to $250! Learn more about the grant on the IFGC website.