Eddie Baggs

It is hot and dry again. After some rains this spring, we are really beginning to dry out, and pasture grasses are starting to get short with slow regrowth. This will have some effect on livestock feeding and grazing management systems.

Generally, grazing animals will consume 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent of their body weight in dry forage each day if it is available. This percentage is assuming that the animals are supplied all their nutritional needs through pasture or hay sources (many times horses will be fed a concentrated supplement).

Don’t let livestock overgraze your pastures during stressful weather periods, since overgrazing can permanently damage the forage base. This may cost you dearly down the road.

Eliminate continuous grazing if at all possible. Divide the pasture into smaller sections and move the animals from one section to another. This is a simple rotational grazing plan. It is healthier for the animals and the grass.

Allow the animals to graze no more than 30 percent to 40 percent of the available forage. This will allow the grass to recover before it is grazed again and will permit you to use your pasture more efficiently. Don’t overlook the importance of providing a water source in each of the pasture sections.

When ample forage is available for grazing, but you suspect it’s of poor quality, a good mineral supplementation — 10 percent to 20 percent salt, 12 percent calcium, 12 percent phosphorus, 5 percent magnesium, 0.9 percent zinc and 0.2 percent copper — will help maintain forage intake and utilization of poor-quality grass or hay.

Supplementation with a protein supplement of 1 to 2 pounds per head per day for dry cows and 2 to 3 pounds per head per day for lactating cows will also benefit intake and utilization of poor grasses as well as energy preservation. Protein supplementation may take the form of cottonseed meal, protein blocks, liquid supplements or range cubes.

When the problem is both quantity and quality, feeding a 20 percent protein range cube or a mixture of grain and cottonseed meal at rates of 3 to 5 pounds per cow daily may work for a while. Cubes with natural protein and low crude fiber (less than 10 percent) would be best.

When pasture is extremely short, buying hay or a replacement feed must be considered, as well as reducing livestock numbers. Remember that most grass hay has only 50 percent to 65 percent the energy content of grain, so that one pound of grain can replace 1.5 to 2 pounds of hay. A pound of grain will only replace 1.2 to 1.4 pounds of alfalfa hay.

These practices will help ease the stress caused by another season that is proving to be detrimental to livestock and forage-based feeding programs.

EDDIE BAGGS, county extension agent with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Denton County, can be reached at 940-349-2880.