Author: Stacy White
Planning Unit: Whitley County CES
Major Program: Forages
Plan of Work: Effective Resource Management
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
From ID 143, Rotational Grazing, we learn that rotational grazing can help Kentucky farmers increase forage productivity, which can increase yield of animal products per acre and may increase profit margins for forage-based farming systems. At the same time, rotational grazing has the potential to accomplish the following: reduce cost of machinery, fuel, and facilities, reduce supplemental feeding and pasture waste, improve monthly pasture distribution and yield, improve animal waste distribution and nutrient use, improve pastures’ botanical composition, minimize daily fluctuations in intake and quality, and allocate pasture to animals more efficiently based on nutritional needs. A rotational grazing program can generally be defined as use of several pastures, one of which is grazed while the others are rested before being regrazed. Continuous grazing is the use of one pasture for the entire grazing season. The ANR agent has promoted this system of forage management over the years. One case in point is the Partin Farm in Frakes, KY. Initially the farmer was doing minimal management: no soil testing, no grazing management, no genetic improvement efforts, etc. Over a period of time, several improvements have been put in place including heat synchronization and AI, regular soil testing, pasture renovations, cross fencing, watering distribution systems, and rotational grazing. The overall system improvements have saved the farmer considerable money and improved the genetics of his herd tremendously. He uses approximately 25% of the hay now that he used prior to the improvements. In his own words, “I put more money in my pocket now than I did when I was feeding hay all the time”.
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