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<blockquote data-quote="Mark Reynolds" data-source="post: 1806265" data-attributes="member: 43196"><p>I see this is a post from a year ago. Clipping seed heads in late spring/early summer is done for a much more important reason than making the pasture look tidy. I'm making an assumption here that you are talking about cool season grasses, most likely tall fescue. The reasons don't apply to warm season grasses.</p><p></p><p>The intent of a pasture is to produce forage for the livestock. Generally speaking, the more forage produced in the pasture, the more the animals can graze on their own which in turn means a decrease in need for hay, which is a lot more expensive forage than pasture grass. The heads/seed heads of any grass produce hormones that are sent to the rest of the grass plant. These hormones tell the grass plant "hey, you have produced enough carbs/food to make seed this year, you don't need to keep growing." As a result of that message being sent from the seed head to the rest of the plant, the growth of the plant slows down, meaning not as much new forage is being produced so there is less for the livestock to graze on. That in turn means an increased need for hay later on, and/or lighter selling weights of livestock going to market.</p><p></p><p>IF you normally produce an excess of forage in your pastures and have forage to spare (this is a very small, select group of producers but they are out there) you can forgo clipping seed heads in your pasture. If you aren't in this group, then expect pasture forage production to drop due to slowed growth due to seed head formation (other factors can also contribute to slower pasture growth) and hay demand will increase.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mark Reynolds, post: 1806265, member: 43196"] I see this is a post from a year ago. Clipping seed heads in late spring/early summer is done for a much more important reason than making the pasture look tidy. I'm making an assumption here that you are talking about cool season grasses, most likely tall fescue. The reasons don't apply to warm season grasses. The intent of a pasture is to produce forage for the livestock. Generally speaking, the more forage produced in the pasture, the more the animals can graze on their own which in turn means a decrease in need for hay, which is a lot more expensive forage than pasture grass. The heads/seed heads of any grass produce hormones that are sent to the rest of the grass plant. These hormones tell the grass plant "hey, you have produced enough carbs/food to make seed this year, you don't need to keep growing." As a result of that message being sent from the seed head to the rest of the plant, the growth of the plant slows down, meaning not as much new forage is being produced so there is less for the livestock to graze on. That in turn means an increased need for hay later on, and/or lighter selling weights of livestock going to market. IF you normally produce an excess of forage in your pastures and have forage to spare (this is a very small, select group of producers but they are out there) you can forgo clipping seed heads in your pasture. If you aren't in this group, then expect pasture forage production to drop due to slowed growth due to seed head formation (other factors can also contribute to slower pasture growth) and hay demand will increase. [/QUOTE]
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