ARTHUR, Ont. — Cattle producers who want to extend grazing into the winter must start planning in the spring, says mob grazing advocate Greg Judy.
Judy said he accounts for central Missouri’s dry mid-summer weather and the requirement for stockpiled pastures during winter when calculating the carrying capacity of his pastures,.
“Stockpiling is the biggest money saver in a grazing operation,” he said.
Judy avoids grazing immature plants in spring and grazes as lightly as possible during this critical period to ensure there’s enough re-growth for summer. As well, stockpiled winter pasture should be grazed no shorter than seven to 10 centimetres.
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Pastures to be stockpiled are grazed at least once during the regular grazing season. This produces dried top growth with energy-rich seed heads as well as green plants in the under storey that the animals can reach.
Judy said his plants continue growing in this under storey until December.
“My pastures used to be killed with the first frost in October,” he said.
“A mature sward insulates the ground. I’ve seen stockpiles from the previous fall and in March the clover is still green under the fescue.”
Judy maintains a spring calving herd, avoids harvesting market cattle during winter and allows his cows to wean their own calves. Cows that fail to wean their calves in a timely manner are culled.
Maintaining body conditions over winter is important, which makes it important to feed good quality hay when stockpiled pasture is unavailable. Judy said he aims for a cow condition rating coming out of winter of 3.25 out of five.
Extending the pasture season may be more difficult in Ontario than Missouri, but Judy sees stockpiling as a way to extend the pasture season for a few weeks.
Jack Kyle, a grazier specialist with Ontario’s agriculture ministry, said tall fescue and trefoil can be best stockpiled in Ontario.
