A footprint should sink no deeper than a centimetre in a field to be seeded to pasture.
A firm seed bed is one of several ingredients for establishing a productive pasture that Gerry Duy-nisveld shared with farmers at the recent Manitoba grazing school.
The perfect pasture has an even stand, with grasses that quickly grow back after cattle graze and keep growing throughout the grazing season, said Duynisveld, production manager with Northstar Seed Ltd. in Neepawa, Man.
Before seeding, producers need to talk to their herbicide dealers to make sure residues won’t affect fine forage seeds, he said.
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Grasses might have problems in fields treated with Edge within the past 12 months, and with Treflan, Avadex, Fortress, Muster, Pursuit, Sencor and Assert in the past two years.
Legumes might be affected by past applications of Banvel, Lontrel, Ally and Curtail.
Duynisveld told producers to match varieties to their soil and moisture conditions.
“Some grasses love a drier situation and produce well,” he said, adding others do well in heavy soils.
Do it properly
Most pastures are seeded only once every three to five years, so it pays to do a good job.
The easiest way is to contract the work to a custom applicator with a Valmar or similar air seeder.
A fine seed metering roller should be used on air seeders. Chaffy grasses like meadow brome should be bulked up with two parts fertilizer to one part seed to avoid bridging, said Duynisveld.
Farmers using a press or hoe drill should bulk up with fertilizer and use a grass seed attachment to meter seed more accurately.
If a pasture is needed to fall graze, Duynisveld recommended direct seeding. Standing stubble in a field will protect seedlings from wind and conserve moisture.
He suggested producers seed early, burning off weeds with a glyphosate herbicide such as Roundup before seedlings emerge, or seed after a Roundup application in early June.
Phosphorus, potassium and sulfur can be applied at or before seeding but nitrogen will spur weed growth, so should be left until after the forage has established, he said.
Correct depth
Farmers in wet areas might want to try fall seeding. Duynisveld cautioned seeds must be placed 1.25 cm deep so they don’t germinate during mid-winter warm spells.
Most producers prefer to seed forages with a cover crop, often cereals. These pastures are not ready for grazing until the following fall, noted Duynisveld.
Producers should use a wide row spacing, like 30.5 cm (12 inches), and a seeding rate of less than one bushel per acre.
A 50-bu.-per-acre cover crop will out-compete weeds and the forage seedlings, said Duynisveld.
Farmers should seed as early as possible so they can harvest the cover crop early to give seedlings a chance for strong growth before winter.
Straw can be baled if bales are removed quickly, or producers can chop and spread the straw behind the combine, or harrow straw piles evenly across the field.
Canola makes a good cover crop because it emerges early, said Duynisveld. But swaths, if left for a couple of weeks, can kill seedlings underneath.
Canola chaff must be spread because it can kill seedlings, said Duynisveld.
