OhioRiver
Well-known member
Plush and full?>????
Nowland Farms":2jvd9kij said:Time & Money
Scotty":3oimo2yn said:Nowland Farms":3oimo2yn said:Time & Money
And hard work. Disipline to not overgraze and take more than the pasture can offer.
The best pasture I have was obtained because the man before me way overgrazed the property. He fed hay most of the year. More like a feed lot. After resting the property the grass came back to where my cattle cant keep up with it. This is the pasture where he fed. The rest of the property is pretty sparse. Even after soil tests and fert, the other pastures cannot keep up.MikeC":313fl264 said:The trick to better pasture is to have the correct forage for your soil type, and concentrate your efforts towards building a good root system for that forage by properly fertilizing.
Soil tests provide you with a minimum amount of nutrients to apply for cost effective top growth without really addressing the root needs.
I usually double the K amounts when I apply fertilizers to a K deficient pasture and can tell a huge difference when I don't.
Micro-nutrient needs must be kept up with to have above average pastures also.
Chris H":nt8paf5w said:Also depends on your idea of 'super pasture'. In the production of almost anything, there is a point of diminishing returns. You can fertilize, control weeds, manage grazing, plant the best forage for your weather, etc., but the maximum input to produce the maximum output may not be your maximum return on your investment.
Jogeephus":c1vhdun1 said:Chris H":c1vhdun1 said:Also depends on your idea of 'super pasture'. In the production of almost anything, there is a point of diminishing returns. You can fertilize, control weeds, manage grazing, plant the best forage for your weather, etc., but the maximum input to produce the maximum output may not be your maximum return on your investment.
Well said. Additionally, to me a super pasture would be one where the different paddocks consist of different grasses which exhibit their maximum growth at different seasons of the year. Establishing this balance is a trick unto itself but will yield to maximization of forage and forage quality throughout much of the year. A good general source for this type info can be found at this link. Their book on forages is very good and well worth the money.
http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/newspa ... 16a02.html
Chris H":3elzwdmn said:Jogeephus":3elzwdmn said:Chris H":3elzwdmn said:Also depends on your idea of 'super pasture'. In the production of almost anything, there is a point of diminishing returns. You can fertilize, control weeds, manage grazing, plant the best forage for your weather, etc., but the maximum input to produce the maximum output may not be your maximum return on your investment.
Well said. Additionally, to me a super pasture would be one where the different paddocks consist of different grasses which exhibit their maximum growth at different seasons of the year. Establishing this balance is a trick unto itself but will yield to maximization of forage and forage quality throughout much of the year. A good general source for this type info can be found at this link. Their book on forages is very good and well worth the money.
http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/newspa ... 16a02.html
And a fine addition from you, too. We have multiple species of forages on our farm but each pasture has a primary forage with a primary purpose, with soil types and location being contributing factors. For example, a wet, fertile field has a monoculture of switchgrass. It's heaviest production is in June/July. Several rolling fields with shelter belts on the prevailing wind side are perfect for stockpiling fescue for winter grazing. Other fields vary a great deal. Few of the fields look alike, the ryegrasses are all grazed down at this time of year, the switchgrass is tall and brown, but the fescue is deep & green. In July/August, the 'best' pasture is certainly not the fescue! The goal is to maximize profit overall.
GMN":devtw8is said:I'd have to say it takes time first, when we started the ascs agent told us it would take 5 years to turn one of our feilds around that had been abused by the previous owner with corn, and I really thought he was exxagerating, but he was correct.
Secondly money, to be able to lime to get the soil up to par, and then seed and fertilize to keep it that way.
GMN