For Immediate Release 08/03/2006 Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy Livestock, Healthy People | Contact: Reggie Destree (608) 785-2790 |
Grass based rotational grazing Intensive rotational grazing is nothing new. In 1987, I was a guest speaker at a pasture walk in upper state New York. That is nearly 20 years ago. Since that time, the grass based rotational grazing system has gained substantial momentum. I heard one fellow refer to rotational grazing as this, “Yah, Pa used to do that, then we called it putting the cows out to pasture”. Both rotational grazing and pasturing offer fresh, uncut forage and that is where the similarities end. As a rotational grazier, you must make that mental adjustment from pasturing the cows. Under intensive grazing systems we are relying on the forage to maximize nutrient uptake not just dry matter production. Are You Ready to Feed Your Paddocks or Pastures? Most organic growers are very passive when it comes to fertility programs. Yet you expect large returns from the land you set up for rotational grazing. The benefits are many and the yields can be huge. Recent field trials at the University of Minnesota recorded yields of 6.5 ton to 7.9 ton of dry matter per acre from rotational grazed paddocks. Is your soil nutrient profile ready to supply the plant nutrients for that production? Probably not! The plant nutrient requirements for those production goals will drain your soil nutrient level extremely fast. Once the soil nutrient levels are drained then the livestock health diminishes and the milk quality falls off. To maximize production and milk quality you must consider a nutrient package on the land. You must deal with maintaining the full mineral profile of macro minerals and micro minerals. In grazing, these are the most critical nutrient problems that are, generally, encountered by graziers. Let’s address what are considered the most defining organic shortfalls or misunderstanding in soil biology and mineral nutrient management. Plant Nitrogen Conventional crop specialists still have no clue on how we can intensively graze organic paddocks without commercial nitrogen. It’s all about soil biology. Once you have your soil built up with large populations of soil bacteria, your soil is ready to give you natural, nitrate nitrogen. Here are the steps of the nitrification process. Life soil bacteria are flourishing at soil temperatures between 70-85 degrees. The bacteria are being produced in very large quantities as they consume carbon and nitrogen compounds, they then die off, they become food for other soil microbes, the protozoa. Now, he protozoa have a higher demand for carbon and not as much demand for nitrogen as the simple soil bacteria they are consuming. The protozoa, not needing this nitrogen, excrete it as nitrate nitrogen. Thus, the nitrate nitrogen supplies are made available for plant uptake. One big concern organically, how do we deal with the early season requirements for nitrogen when soil temperatures are not at ideal levels for biological activity? As organic growers, we can expand our grazing season by doing an early season application of foliar nutrients including organic nitrogen sources like chilean nitrate, Dramm Liquid Fish and Organic 10 (an ammonical nitrogen). With this program, your grazing season can start as much as 10 days earlier. Extend the season as much as two week longer into a drought. Then with a fall foliar application about Sept 1-15, give you an extended fall pasture program. Soil Sulfur Needs In grazing and hay production, I’m continually addressing sulfur deficiencies in grass and legume production. Your first sign of sulfur deficient soils is a high level of potassium (K) in your feedstuffs. Yet, sulfur, is not an input that many grazier’s consider that essential. Consider these sulfur needs, as an organic grower in the 80’s and 90’s, some of the crops I was growing were organic potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and onions. These crops require up to 160# of sulfur per year. Now let’s reflect on 7-8 ton of grass and legume combination. That is going to require 120-140# of sulfur. Where is that going to come from? Not the manure, additional supplementation is necessary. To supply sulfur, your best choices are going to be gypsum (calcium sulfate), potassium sulfate or maybe a small amount of magnesium sulfate, depending on your soil type. Seasonally, we use all these inputs in the foliar application to work as a catalysis to enhance the uptake of the nutrients into the plant. Calcium: relating to Sulfur and magnesium Generally, the Midwest soils are identified as calcitic soil, yet less than 10% of the soils have adequate available calcium to feed the plants. The application of calcium sulfate has proven to be most beneficial for a couple of reasons. One, make more available calcium available. Two, increase the sulfur levels in the soil. The increased sulfur will then work to leach out the high magnesium levels in tight compacted soils. Also, the sulfur will be available to maximize crop production. Potassium Potassium is essential for milk production. Small applications of K-Sulfate in a foliar will help maintain plant potassium levels. Many producers continue to see excessively high levels of potassium in there feedstuff yet there soils are being depleted of potassium. Remember it is high sulfur that will hold the potassium to reasonable ratios in the plant. As for the nutrient uptake of the cows, the best ratio of Ca:K is generally 1 part Ca to 1.1-1.2 K Magnesium When you address the soil profile, you will work with biology, humates and sulfur. These inputs will effectively reduce compaction and a hard pan. Generally, expect the aerobic zone to increase by about 1 inch the first year. Then as the years go on it will increase by .5 to 1 inch a year over a 6-10 year period. Now we are attempting to reduce the magnesium levels in the soil and your concerned about Grass Tetney, a magnesium deficiency. In the early part of the growing season, when conditions are cool, damp or wet, magnesium is not taken up into the plant. This is where you need of foliar program, including the Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), to put magnesium into the plants. Summary of Macro Minerals The interrelationship of the minerals is the most critical issue to address with herd health and production. Also the other critical relationship is with the trace minerals. Trace Minerals For organic production, we have to do a soil test or plant analysis test to determine trace mineral deficiencies before you can apply the traces. Once you have identified this you are ready to put together a program for foliar feeding. Soil Biologicals It’s necessary to use soil biology to improve livestock health. According to Dean Craine of AgriEnergy Resources, you can feed the soil; the soil biology can feed the crop. To maintain soil health a regular soil testing program and summer petiole testing program is very important. These tests will determine the needs of the plant; the plant needs will relate to the livestock needs. Under a closely evaluated program the value to you is the healthy cow and the high quality, high value milk. The more we work with the biological package the more we learn organically as to how to correct the nutrient deficiencies. Presently, we find that the addition of the biological package, plus trace minerals in a product we call Foundation, plus the Dramm ONE Fish product give us all the nutrients to maximize nutrient uptake. Yes, to meet this biological combination, we customize this formula as it is necessary for organic production. Historically, organic growers will do the organic spring program and consider the job done. Managing biology is a year-round job. We know that if we can put the crop to sleep healthy in the fall, we will reduce winter kill and stress. With this in mind, foliar in late summer with Foundation, extra K-Sulfate, AER SP-1, Chilean nitrate and Dramm ONE Liquid Fish. This will give you added fall grazing and a healthy paddock next spring. When you refer to soil biology, you must understand there are over 10,000 soil microbes. This diverse soil microbial population is the most important “livestock” you are growing. The alfalfa/grass you produce is purely a byproduct of the microbial population. In grazing, the two decomposition issues are the manure and the dead, unconsumed grasses and weeds. We want to reduce them to organic matter as soon as possible. The microbial population in a grazing program is important to the decomposition process. When you get a diverse microbial population you will find rapid degradation of the waste materials. As for the rhizosphere and the root zone, soil biology will add protection to the root over a long period of time. In times of stress, healthy plants will ward off disease. One group of microbes that you must consider if you are going to begin a pasturing program is mycorrhizal fungi. These organisms live symbiotically with the roots of the plants. The colonized root system resists and antagonizes soil born diseases. When you are seeding paddocks, plan to protect your investment with the mycorrhizal fungi. Myco Seed Treat, or MST, is the best dollar-per-acre you will ever spend. Often grazing will increase compaction. To offset this, the soil microbes will build up organic matter, increase the worm population and give you good, healthy, aerobic soil. Remember, it is the soil microbes that are going to cycle nitrogen and fix free atmospheric nitrogen to maximize yield. A fertile soil is a soil with the highest quantity and diversity of soil microorganisms. A fertile soil will help “weather proof” your farm by eliminating compacted layers which impede water movement. The resulting tilth will increase water infiltration during wet periods, and enhance capillary action during drought conditions. Proper capillary action brings sub-soil moisture to the surface to water your crop during dry periods. So remember to always include biology with fertility programs. The microbes will anchor the excessive nutrients, reduce nutrient tie-up, reduce nutrient leaching, buffer fertilizer applications and enhance the plant’s metabolic rate. That’s a full time job for the soil microbes … don’t leave them in short supply. Forage Quality – notes from Doug Gunnink, Grazier’s Supply Carbohydrates/energy is normally the limiting factor for dairy cows. Ruminant animals need large amounts of structural carbohydrates/fiber to produce acetic acid in the rumen, which is the energy for a cow. Quality forage (grass and legumes) have highly digestible fiber and high sugar. Factors that effect digestibility are: forage species/varieties; mineral content; and stage of harvest/graze. Protein is another important factor for digestibility, BUT very high protein (over 21%), often results in too much nitrate. Too many nitrates (free nitrogen) cause a very volatile atmosphere in the rumen producing high BUN and MUN levels, which requires extra energy to process in the animal. This prolonged situation will lead to thin cows, acidosis and less production and breeding problems. Your quality forage should: 1-be highly digestible species such as: Ryegrass, Soft-leafed Tall Fescues, Timothy, and Mountain Brome. 2-have good mineral content as determined by plant test; especially Ca, P, Mg, Na, S, Cu, B. 3-be harvested at late vegetative stage (grasses –flag leaf stage or earlier). How do you determine the “quality of forage” and the digestibility of the fiber? Most forage tests determine the amount of fiber and calculate ‘relative feed value’, the lower the fiber, the higher the ‘relative feed value’. A better test is one that determines the digestibility of the fiber and then calculates ‘relative feed quality’ (RFQ). In this type of test, the forage is placed in rumen fluid to see what percent of the forage is digested by microbes. Figures like IVTD (invitro total digestibility), CWD (cell wall digestibility), dNDF (digestible neutral detergent fiber) are measured to calculate the RFQ. This is a much better measure of energy in forages, especially grasses. This fiber is what the microbes in the rumen use to produce acetic acid, the energy for the ruminant animal. Starch or grain in the ration produces more proprionic acid and may lead to acidosis if fed at high levels. A blend of half alfalfa/clover and half highly digestible grasses, coupled with a good foliar program will produce a lot of milk, with little grain needed in the ration. The economics and herd health of a high forage ration are very good for both conventional and organic herds. Foliar Applications Continue To Enhance Feed Quality Historically, over a five state area, we continue to find that with a foliar program we increase the relative feed value by a minimum of 20%. That is a very bold statement. In 2002, we did some fresh forage testing on an alfalfa-ryegrass blend and increased the RFV from 204 to 246 (22% increase). In this study, in cooperation with Grazier’s Supply, Gaylord, MN, we also did a Vitamin Assay. The foliar application increased the Vitamin A (Beta Caratene) content by 97% and the Vitamin D content by 93%. What can you expect with a well balances foliar program? Improved Herd Health Maximize Milk Quality |
For Immediate Release 08/03/2006 Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy Livestock, Healthy People | Contact: Reggie Destree (608) 785-2790 |
Grass based rotational grazing Intensive rotational grazing is nothing new. In 1987, I was a guest speaker at a pasture walk in upper state New York. That is nearly 20 years ago. Since that time, the grass based rotational grazing system has gained substantial momentum. I heard one fellow refer to rotational grazing as this, “Yah, Pa used to do that, then we called it putting the cows out to pasture”. Both rotational grazing and pasturing offer fresh, uncut forage and that is where the similarities end. As a rotational grazier, you must make that mental adjustment from pasturing the cows. Under intensive grazing systems we are relying on the forage to maximize nutrient uptake not just dry matter production. Are You Ready to Feed Your Paddocks or Pastures? Most organic growers are very passive when it comes to fertility programs. Yet you expect large returns from the land you set up for rotational grazing. The benefits are many and the yields can be huge. Recent field trials at the University of Minnesota recorded yields of 6.5 ton to 7.9 ton of dry matter per acre from rotational grazed paddocks. Is your soil nutrient profile ready to supply the plant nutrients for that production? Probably not! The plant nutrient requirements for those production goals will drain your soil nutrient level extremely fast. Once the soil nutrient levels are drained then the livestock health diminishes and the milk quality falls off. To maximize production and milk quality you must consider a nutrient package on the land. You must deal with maintaining the full mineral profile of macro minerals and micro minerals. In grazing, these are the most critical nutrient problems that are, generally, encountered by graziers. Let’s address what are considered the most defining organic shortfalls or misunderstanding in soil biology and mineral nutrient management. Plant Nitrogen Conventional crop specialists still have no clue on how we can intensively graze organic paddocks without commercial nitrogen. It’s all about soil biology. Once you have your soil built up with large populations of soil bacteria, your soil is ready to give you natural, nitrate nitrogen. Here are the steps of the nitrification process. Life soil bacteria are flourishing at soil temperatures between 70-85 degrees. The bacteria are being produced in very large quantities as they consume carbon and nitrogen compounds, they then die off, they become food for other soil microbes, the protozoa. Now, he protozoa have a higher demand for carbon and not as much demand for nitrogen as the simple soil bacteria they are consuming. The protozoa, not needing this nitrogen, excrete it as nitrate nitrogen. Thus, the nitrate nitrogen supplies are made available for plant uptake. One big concern organically, how do we deal with the early season requirements for nitrogen when soil temperatures are not at ideal levels for biological activity? As organic growers, we can expand our grazing season by doing an early season application of foliar nutrients including organic nitrogen sources like chilean nitrate, Dramm Liquid Fish and Organic 10 (an ammonical nitrogen). With this program, your grazing season can start as much as 10 days earlier. Extend the season as much as two week longer into a drought. Then with a fall foliar application about Sept 1-15, give you an extended fall pasture program. Soil Sulfur Needs In grazing and hay production, I’m continually addressing sulfur deficiencies in grass and legume production. Your first sign of sulfur deficient soils is a high level of potassium (K) in your feedstuffs. Yet, sulfur, is not an input that many grazier’s consider that essential. Consider these sulfur needs, as an organic grower in the 80’s and 90’s, some of the crops I was growing were organic potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and onions. These crops require up to 160# of sulfur per year. Now let’s reflect on 7-8 ton of grass and legume combination. That is going to require 120-140# of sulfur. Where is that going to come from? Not the manure, additional supplementation is necessary. To supply sulfur, your best choices are going to be gypsum (calcium sulfate), potassium sulfate or maybe a small amount of magnesium sulfate, depending on your soil type. Seasonally, we use all these inputs in the foliar application to work as a catalysis to enhance the uptake of the nutrients into the plant. Calcium: relating to Sulfur and magnesium Generally, the Midwest soils are identified as calcitic soil, yet less than 10% of the soils have adequate available calcium to feed the plants. The application of calcium sulfate has proven to be most beneficial for a couple of reasons. One, make more available calcium available. Two, increase the sulfur levels in the soil. The increased sulfur will then work to leach out the high magnesium levels in tight compacted soils. Also, the sulfur will be available to maximize crop production. Potassium Potassium is essential for milk production. Small applications of K-Sulfate in a foliar will help maintain plant potassium levels. Many producers continue to see excessively high levels of potassium in there feedstuff yet there soils are being depleted of potassium. Remember it is high sulfur that will hold the potassium to reasonable ratios in the plant. As for the nutrient uptake of the cows, the best ratio of Ca:K is generally 1 part Ca to 1.1-1.2 K Magnesium When you address the soil profile, you will work with biology, humates and sulfur. These inputs will effectively reduce compaction and a hard pan. Generally, expect the aerobic zone to increase by about 1 inch the first year. Then as the years go on it will increase by .5 to 1 inch a year over a 6-10 year period. Now we are attempting to reduce the magnesium levels in the soil and your concerned about Grass Tetney, a magnesium deficiency. In the early part of the growing season, when conditions are cool, damp or wet, magnesium is not taken up into the plant. This is where you need of foliar program, including the Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), to put magnesium into the plants. Summary of Macro Minerals The interrelationship of the minerals is the most critical issue to address with herd health and production. Also the other critical relationship is with the trace minerals. Trace Minerals For organic production, we have to do a soil test or plant analysis test to determine trace mineral deficiencies before you can apply the traces. Once you have identified this you are ready to put together a program for foliar feeding. Soil Biologicals It’s necessary to use soil biology to improve livestock health. According to Dean Craine of AgriEnergy Resources, you can feed the soil; the soil biology can feed the crop. To maintain soil health a regular soil testing program and summer petiole testing program is very important. These tests will determine the needs of the plant; the plant needs will relate to the livestock needs. Under a closely evaluated program the value to you is the healthy cow and the high quality, high value milk. The more we work with the biological package the more we learn organically as to how to correct the nutrient deficiencies. Presently, we find that the addition of the biological package, plus trace minerals in a product we call Foundation, plus the Dramm ONE Fish product give us all the nutrients to maximize nutrient uptake. Yes, to meet this biological combination, we customize this formula as it is necessary for organic production. Historically, organic growers will do the organic spring program and consider the job done. Managing biology is a year-round job. We know that if we can put the crop to sleep healthy in the fall, we will reduce winter kill and stress. With this in mind, foliar in late summer with Foundation, extra K-Sulfate, AER SP-1, Chilean nitrate and Dramm ONE Liquid Fish. This will give you added fall grazing and a healthy paddock next spring. When you refer to soil biology, you must understand there are over 10,000 soil microbes. This diverse soil microbial population is the most important “livestock” you are growing. The alfalfa/grass you produce is purely a byproduct of the microbial population. In grazing, the two decomposition issues are the manure and the dead, unconsumed grasses and weeds. We want to reduce them to organic matter as soon as possible. The microbial population in a grazing program is important to the decomposition process. When you get a diverse microbial population you will find rapid degradation of the waste materials. As for the rhizosphere and the root zone, soil biology will add protection to the root over a long period of time. In times of stress, healthy plants will ward off disease. One group of microbes that you must consider if you are going to begin a pasturing program is mycorrhizal fungi. These organisms live symbiotically with the roots of the plants. The colonized root system resists and antagonizes soil born diseases. When you are seeding paddocks, plan to protect your investment with the mycorrhizal fungi. Myco Seed Treat, or MST, is the best dollar-per-acre you will ever spend. Often grazing will increase compaction. To offset this, the soil microbes will build up organic matter, increase the worm population and give you good, healthy, aerobic soil. Remember, it is the soil microbes that are going to cycle nitrogen and fix free atmospheric nitrogen to maximize yield. A fertile soil is a soil with the highest quantity and diversity of soil microorganisms. A fertile soil will help “weather proof” your farm by eliminating compacted layers which impede water movement. The resulting tilth will increase water infiltration during wet periods, and enhance capillary action during drought conditions. Proper capillary action brings sub-soil moisture to the surface to water your crop during dry periods. So remember to always include biology with fertility programs. The microbes will anchor the excessive nutrients, reduce nutrient tie-up, reduce nutrient leaching, buffer fertilizer applications and enhance the plant’s metabolic rate. That’s a full time job for the soil microbes … don’t leave them in short supply. Forage Quality – notes from Doug Gunnink, Grazier’s Supply Carbohydrates/energy is normally the limiting factor for dairy cows. Ruminant animals need large amounts of structural carbohydrates/fiber to produce acetic acid in the rumen, which is the energy for a cow. Quality forage (grass and legumes) have highly digestible fiber and high sugar. Factors that effect digestibility are: forage species/varieties; mineral content; and stage of harvest/graze. Protein is another important factor for digestibility, BUT very high protein (over 21%), often results in too much nitrate. Too many nitrates (free nitrogen) cause a very volatile atmosphere in the rumen producing high BUN and MUN levels, which requires extra energy to process in the animal. This prolonged situation will lead to thin cows, acidosis and less production and breeding problems. Your quality forage should: 1-be highly digestible species such as: Ryegrass, Soft-leafed Tall Fescues, Timothy, and Mountain Brome. 2-have good mineral content as determined by plant test; especially Ca, P, Mg, Na, S, Cu, B. 3-be harvested at late vegetative stage (grasses –flag leaf stage or earlier). How do you determine the “quality of forage” and the digestibility of the fiber? Most forage tests determine the amount of fiber and calculate ‘relative feed value’, the lower the fiber, the higher the ‘relative feed value’. A better test is one that determines the digestibility of the fiber and then calculates ‘relative feed quality’ (RFQ). In this type of test, the forage is placed in rumen fluid to see what percent of the forage is digested by microbes. Figures like IVTD (invitro total digestibility), CWD (cell wall digestibility), dNDF (digestible neutral detergent fiber) are measured to calculate the RFQ. This is a much better measure of energy in forages, especially grasses. This fiber is what the microbes in the rumen use to produce acetic acid, the energy for the ruminant animal. Starch or grain in the ration produces more proprionic acid and may lead to acidosis if fed at high levels. A blend of half alfalfa/clover and half highly digestible grasses, coupled with a good foliar program will produce a lot of milk, with little grain needed in the ration. The economics and herd health of a high forage ration are very good for both conventional and organic herds. Foliar Applications Continue To Enhance Feed Quality Historically, over a five state area, we continue to find that with a foliar program we increase the relative feed value by a minimum of 20%. That is a very bold statement. In 2002, we did some fresh forage testing on an alfalfa-ryegrass blend and increased the RFV from 204 to 246 (22% increase). In this study, in cooperation with Grazier’s Supply, Gaylord, MN, we also did a Vitamin Assay. The foliar application increased the Vitamin A (Beta Caratene) content by 97% and the Vitamin D content by 93%. What can you expect with a well balances foliar program? Improved Herd Health Maximize Milk Quality |