msu-ceco/aec_v1 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Storage 35 58 5 23
Feeding 30 71 8 29
Total loss - 71 29
a Losses of dry matter present at the beginning of a step.
b Losses accumulate with each step.
Source: Dr.
Mike Collins, University of Kentucky.
Possible pasture combinations by region
N umerous strategies discussed within this publication can be used to help extend grazing and reduce the number of days stored feed must be provided to livestock.
Obviously, some are appropriate only in certain geographical areas or on certain farms within an area, and some are likely to be of much more value in a specific situation than others.
No particular set of strategies is appropriate for every producer, even within a given geographical area.
In most areas, exploiting forage growth distribution differences offers much opportunity for extending grazing.
Figure 5 illustrates some forage species or categories of species that often work well for producers in selected areas of the nation.
The graphs show a few general combinations likely to be used in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, in the Tall Fescue Belt, in the Deep South, and in the Humid Southwest.
Once pasture forage growth distribution has been maximized, other strategies to lower stored feed requirements can be employed.
These may include changing the breeding season, selling animals at certain times of the year, use of creative grazing management, or implementing practices to minimize hay waste.
Almost anything a livestock producer can do to shave days off the length of time stored feed would otherwise need to be fed will favor increased profitability.
Figure 5.
Growth patterns of forage species by region.
Corn Belt, Upper Midwest, and Northeast
Autumn and winter growth varies due to several factors including date of planting, species planted, and geographical location.
Ten keys to a profitable forage program
1 Remember that you are a forage farmer.
Forage typically accounts for over half the cost of production of forage-consuming animals and provides most of their nutrition.
Thus, it has a major influence on both expenses and income.
Efficient forage production and utilization are essential to a profitable operation.
2.
Know forage options, animal nutritional needs, and establishment requirements.
Forages vary as to adaptation, growth distribution, forage quality, yield, and potential uses.
Various types and classes of animals have different nutritional needs.
Good planting decisions depend on knowing forage options for your land resources and the nutritional needs of your animals.
3.
Soil test, then lime and fertilize as needed.
This practice, more than any other, affects the level and economic efficiency of forage production.
Fertilizing and liming as needed help ensure good yields, improve forage quality, lengthen stand life, and reduce weed problems.
4 Use legumes whenever feasible.
Legumes offer important advantages including improved forage quality and biological nitrogen fixation, whether grown alone or with grasses.
Once legumes have been established, proper management optimizes benefits.
5 Emphasize forage quality.
High animal gains, milk production, and reproductive efficiency require adequate nutrition.
Producing high-quality forage necessitates knowing the factors that affect forage quality and using appropriate management.
Matching forage quality to animal nutritional needs greatly increases efficiency.
6.
Prevent or minimize pests and plant-related disorders.
Variety selection, cultural practices, scouting, pesticides, and other management techniques can minimize pest problems.
Knowledge of potential animal disorders caused by plants can help avoid them.
Strive to improve pasture utilization.
The quantity and quality of pasture growth vary over time.
Periodic adjustments in stocking rate or use of cross fencing to vary the type or amount of available forage can greatly affect animal performance and pasture species composition.
Matching stocking rates with forage production is also extremely important.
8.
Minimize stored feed requirements.
Stored feed is one of the most expensive aspects of animal production, SO lowering requirements reduces costs.
Extending the grazing season with use of both coolseason and warm-season forages, stockpiling forage, and grazing crop residues are examples of ways stored feed needs can be reduced.
9.
Reduce storage and feeding losses.
Wasting hay, silage, or other stored feed is costly.
Minimizing waste with good management, forage testing, and ration formulation enhances feeding efficiency, animal performance, and profits.
10 It's up to you.
Rarely if ever, do we get something for nothing.
In human endeavors, results are usually highly correlated with investments in terms of thought, time, effort, and a certain amount of money.
In particular, the best and most profitable forage programs have had the most thought put into them.
Dr.
Don Ball Extension Agronomist/Professor Auburn University
Ed Ballard Animal Systems Educator University of Illinois Extension
Mark Kennedy State Grazing Lands Specialist USDA/NRCS, Houston, MO
Dr.
Garry Lacefield Extension Agronomist/Professor University of Kentucky
Dr.
Dan Undersander Extension Agronomist/Professor University of Wisconsin-Madison
James B.
Cropper USDA/NRCS Forage Management Specialist Greensboro, NC
Leah Miller Director, Small Farm Institute Coshocton, OH
R.L.
Dalrymple Agronomist , The Noble Foundation Ardmore, OK
Dave Forgey Forgey's River-View Farm, Inc.
Logansport, IN
Jim Gerrish Grazing Lands Consultant, American Grazing Lands Services, LLC May, ID
John L.
Merrill XXX Ranch, Inc.
Crowley, TX
Dr.
Jim Russell Professor of Animal Sciences lowa State University Ames, IA
Kimberli R.
Stine USDA/NRCS National GLCI Coordinator Fort Worth, TX
Dr.
Matt R.
Sanderson USDA/ARS Pasture Systems/Watershed Management Research Unit University Park, PA
Irrigation Practices efficiency of different systems determined by various factors
An efficient irrigation system depends upon adapting equipment and practices to the soil type and contour of the land being worked.
An irrigation system which has proved satisfactory in one area will not necessarily work well in another.
The tools of irrigation are limited to a few standard ones-ditches and pipe lines for distribution of the flow to the sides of the field, delivery gates on the ditches, or siphons and outlet valves on the pipe lines.
Other devices used to bring water to the soil are the sprinkling system and the spud ditch which is used in some areas to bring the water table up into the root zone of the crop by seepage from the ditch.
Soil types range between the extremes of peat-which is wholly organic-and sand-which may be almost pure quartz.
The soil may vary in texture from the sands which are loose and porous to the clays which are sticky and relatively impervious to water.
Another basic factor for consideration in planning an irrigation system is the contour or general slope of the land, which is likely to vary greatly even in short distances.
The great variability in soil type and contour compels modification of irrigation practices from one locality to another.
In adapting the tools of irrigation to the soil type, a number of factors determine the best method of irrigation.
These determining factors include seepage, operation simplicity, maintenance, rodent destruction, life of the system, first cost, weed contamination, degree of interference with cultivation and contour of the land.
As far as seepage is concerned, use of the ditch will result in high and wasteful percolation losses when passing through sand; moderate but occasionally high losses when passing through loams, and low to negligible losses through clay.

Storage 35 58 5 23

Feeding 30 71 8 29

Total loss - 71 29

a Losses of dry matter present at the beginning of a step.

b Losses accumulate with each step.

Source: Dr.

Mike Collins, University of Kentucky.

Possible pasture combinations by region

N umerous strategies discussed within this publication can be used to help extend grazing and reduce the number of days stored feed must be provided to livestock.

Obviously, some are appropriate only in certain geographical areas or on certain farms within an area, and some are likely to be of much more value in a specific situation than others.

No particular set of strategies is appropriate for every producer, even within a given geographical area.

In most areas, exploiting forage growth distribution differences offers much opportunity for extending grazing.

Figure 5 illustrates some forage species or categories of species that often work well for producers in selected areas of the nation.

The graphs show a few general combinations likely to be used in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, in the Tall Fescue Belt, in the Deep South, and in the Humid Southwest.

Once pasture forage growth distribution has been maximized, other strategies to lower stored feed requirements can be employed.

These may include changing the breeding season, selling animals at certain times of the year, use of creative grazing management, or implementing practices to minimize hay waste.

Almost anything a livestock producer can do to shave days off the length of time stored feed would otherwise need to be fed will favor increased profitability.

Figure 5.

Growth patterns of forage species by region.

Corn Belt, Upper Midwest, and Northeast

Autumn and winter growth varies due to several factors including date of planting, species planted, and geographical location.

Ten keys to a profitable forage program

1 Remember that you are a forage farmer.

Forage typically accounts for over half the cost of production of forage-consuming animals and provides most of their nutrition.

Thus, it has a major influence on both expenses and income.

Efficient forage production and utilization are essential to a profitable operation.

2.

Know forage options, animal nutritional needs, and establishment requirements.

Forages vary as to adaptation, growth distribution, forage quality, yield, and potential uses.

Various types and classes of animals have different nutritional needs.

Good planting decisions depend on knowing forage options for your land resources and the nutritional needs of your animals.

3.

Soil test, then lime and fertilize as needed.

This practice, more than any other, affects the level and economic efficiency of forage production.

Fertilizing and liming as needed help ensure good yields, improve forage quality, lengthen stand life, and reduce weed problems.

4 Use legumes whenever feasible.

Legumes offer important advantages including improved forage quality and biological nitrogen fixation, whether grown alone or with grasses.

Once legumes have been established, proper management optimizes benefits.

5 Emphasize forage quality.

High animal gains, milk production, and reproductive efficiency require adequate nutrition.

Producing high-quality forage necessitates knowing the factors that affect forage quality and using appropriate management.

Matching forage quality to animal nutritional needs greatly increases efficiency.

6.

Prevent or minimize pests and plant-related disorders.

Variety selection, cultural practices, scouting, pesticides, and other management techniques can minimize pest problems.

Knowledge of potential animal disorders caused by plants can help avoid them.

Strive to improve pasture utilization.

The quantity and quality of pasture growth vary over time.

Periodic adjustments in stocking rate or use of cross fencing to vary the type or amount of available forage can greatly affect animal performance and pasture species composition.

Matching stocking rates with forage production is also extremely important.

8.

Minimize stored feed requirements.

Stored feed is one of the most expensive aspects of animal production, SO lowering requirements reduces costs.

Extending the grazing season with use of both coolseason and warm-season forages, stockpiling forage, and grazing crop residues are examples of ways stored feed needs can be reduced.

9.

Reduce storage and feeding losses.

Wasting hay, silage, or other stored feed is costly.

Minimizing waste with good management, forage testing, and ration formulation enhances feeding efficiency, animal performance, and profits.

10 It's up to you.

Rarely if ever, do we get something for nothing.

In human endeavors, results are usually highly correlated with investments in terms of thought, time, effort, and a certain amount of money.

In particular, the best and most profitable forage programs have had the most thought put into them.

Dr.

Don Ball Extension Agronomist/Professor Auburn University

Ed Ballard Animal Systems Educator University of Illinois Extension

Mark Kennedy State Grazing Lands Specialist USDA/NRCS, Houston, MO

Dr.

Garry Lacefield Extension Agronomist/Professor University of Kentucky

Dr.

Dan Undersander Extension Agronomist/Professor University of Wisconsin-Madison

James B.

Cropper USDA/NRCS Forage Management Specialist Greensboro, NC

Leah Miller Director, Small Farm Institute Coshocton, OH

R.L.

Dalrymple Agronomist , The Noble Foundation Ardmore, OK

Dave Forgey Forgey's River-View Farm, Inc.

Logansport, IN

Jim Gerrish Grazing Lands Consultant, American Grazing Lands Services, LLC May, ID

John L.

Merrill XXX Ranch, Inc.

Crowley, TX

Dr.

Jim Russell Professor of Animal Sciences lowa State University Ames, IA

Kimberli R.

Stine USDA/NRCS National GLCI Coordinator Fort Worth, TX

Dr.

Matt R.

Sanderson USDA/ARS Pasture Systems/Watershed Management Research Unit University Park, PA

Irrigation Practices efficiency of different systems determined by various factors

An efficient irrigation system depends upon adapting equipment and practices to the soil type and contour of the land being worked.

An irrigation system which has proved satisfactory in one area will not necessarily work well in another.

The tools of irrigation are limited to a few standard ones-ditches and pipe lines for distribution of the flow to the sides of the field, delivery gates on the ditches, or siphons and outlet valves on the pipe lines.

Other devices used to bring water to the soil are the sprinkling system and the spud ditch which is used in some areas to bring the water table up into the root zone of the crop by seepage from the ditch.

Soil types range between the extremes of peat-which is wholly organic-and sand-which may be almost pure quartz.

The soil may vary in texture from the sands which are loose and porous to the clays which are sticky and relatively impervious to water.

Another basic factor for consideration in planning an irrigation system is the contour or general slope of the land, which is likely to vary greatly even in short distances.

The great variability in soil type and contour compels modification of irrigation practices from one locality to another.

In adapting the tools of irrigation to the soil type, a number of factors determine the best method of irrigation.

These determining factors include seepage, operation simplicity, maintenance, rodent destruction, life of the system, first cost, weed contamination, degree of interference with cultivation and contour of the land.

As far as seepage is concerned, use of the ditch will result in high and wasteful percolation losses when passing through sand; moderate but occasionally high losses when passing through loams, and low to negligible losses through clay.