By Daniel Olson

Lena, Wisconsin — Most of you have seen those “growing curves” for perennial, cool-season grasses. The curves spike in mid-spring, crash in the summer heat and revive in time for the early-fall grazing period. The biology of this is that a perennial can’t afford to put all of its energy into production, as it needs to survive the heat of summer and the cold of winter in order to live to reproduce again next year.

Advanced management has helped us graziers cope with the curve. Longer rest periods and stockpiled forage reduce the impact of the summer slump while extending the grazing season well beyond the growing season. The downside to such stockpiling is that much of the forage is not dairy quality, and thus limits animal performance. Continue reading “Options for adding annuals to your operation”

By Cheyenne Christianson

Chetek, Wisconsin—As most of you know from my previous articles, over the past two years I have taken steps toward “mob” grazing — especially with the non-milking cattle. We went through a multi-year drought and, as I analyzed my farm, its growth patterns and fertility levels, I realized we needed to take some steps to offset the next drought. With our sandy loam topsoils and pure sand subsoils, we were drying out too fast.

I felt we needed to do something to capture more of those big dumps that seemed to be the source of most of the rain we did get — things like trampling more organic material to provide a soil mat that would retain more moisture, and feeding the soil life that builds humus and organic matter, became top priorities. I am intrigued by the concept of soil biology releasing tied-up nutrients in the soil. Over the years I have applied some trace minerals, rock phosphate and high-calcium lime, and have done some foliar feeding. However, a truly sustainable/organic farming system should be pretty much self-sufficient, and it appears that mobbing may make that goal more possible. Continue reading “What we’re learning about dairy mobbing”

Steve Guell would rather graze than feed more grain and hay

Waupun, Wisconsin—How much should a small-scale dairy grazier with limited acreage spend to ensure that his cows have full grazing through all those dry spells? If you have just 30 cows and maybe 40 or 50 acres of pasture, what would it be worth to keep that forage green and palatable straight through a long growing season — even in a region with enough rainfall to supposedly do the job?

How about $14,000? Continue reading “Small-scale irrigation offers alternative”

Sixty-five cows, 100 acres and no input purchases required

By Nathan Weaver, Canastota, New York — If you read Joel McNair’s column last month, you are expecting this article.

I do not greatly disagree with the presentation on heavy supplemental feeding, and the numbers presented from the featured farms are impressive. I do not expect these on-farm financial situations to change drastically and suddenly. Continue reading “A self-sufficient, competitive no-grain dairy”