She\u2019s a graduate student at Colorado State University researching livestock forage.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrazing is the cheapest source of nutrients,\u201d she said during a seminar at the Four States Ag Expo on Friday. \u201cEvery day grazing is money saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Optimizing pasture yields takes planning. Undergrazing a pasture is inefficient and forces livestock to overeat and get fat, a waste of protein. What happens is the animals, especially horses, gorge on the best plants, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat allows other valuable forage in the field to grow too much, losing their palatability and nutrients,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Uniform grazing is ideal. Livestock excrete 70 to 90 percent of what they eat, which helps fertilize the soil and plants.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh stock density does not equal overgrazing if done properly,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Ag land should be divided into pastures and livestock rotated throughout to allow healthy regrowth for each pasture.<\/p>\n
She recommended grazing when forage is 8 inches tall, and ending at 4 inches. Pastures should be left alone five to seven days before regrazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might seem like its a waste to leave that four inches, but the most important thing for regrowth is leaving enough room for some leaves,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Ninety percent of the plant\u2019s reserves are in that 4 inches, added CSU ag extension specialist John Rizza.<\/p>\n
Managing pastures during summer months is challenging because regrowth is more difficult, and needs more time between grazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t use a calendar for grazing rotations,\u201d Jones said. \u201cObserve the livestock and condition of your pastures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irrigation should occur once livestock are taken off a pasture.<\/p>\n
Another effective technique is to occasionally let a pasture grow through its entire cycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cLetting it go to seed and then knocking it down is really beneficial,\u201d Rizza said.<\/p>\n
Other suggestions: Conduct soil tests every three years to see if nutrients are needed; lure livestock to lesser-used areas of the field with mineral blocks and water; take an aerial photo to organize pasture fencing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have good water-management technicians who will come out to your farm for testing and to provide information, and it is all for free,\u201d Rizza said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
She\u2019s a graduate student at Colorado State University researching livestock forage. \u201cGrazing is the cheapest source of nutrients,\u201d she said during a seminar at the Four States Ag Expo on Friday. \u201cEvery day grazing is money saved.\u201d Optimizing pasture yields takes planning. Undergrazing a pasture is inefficient and forces livestock to overeat and get fat, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6363],"tags":[188],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-113694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ds-news","tag-dolores-star"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113694"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=113694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}