Next Article photo by Walter Schacht Spring green meadows nestled between the dunes of Nebraska's Sandhills could offer an economic advantage to cattle producers. Research shows cows grazing on spring meadows can use the high-quality forage instead of hay. The grazing also contributes to improved hay quality later in the year. An aerial shot of the Sandhills shows the dominant dunes intermixed with meadows.
Research shows spring meadow grazing has a lot to offer.
Grazing spring meadows has much to offer In early May the faded browns and beiges of winter still color grass covering the wind-sculpted dunes of the Sandhills. Not so in the wet meadows nestled between the dunes. There, luxuriant new green growth of Kentucky bluegrass, timothy, bromegrass, wheatgrass and other cool-season species announce that the growing season is well under way. Schacht, agronomy graduate student Marc Horney, Range Scientist Steve Waller, and Don Adams, beef nutritionist at NU's West Central Research and Extension Center, study ways to reduce ranchers' costs by minimizing inputs. Harvested forage, or hay, is an expensive input, accounting for 18 to 24 percent of the total cost of producing a weaned calf.