Profit from forage production strategies

Land & Livestock Post

FORT WORTH -- The U.S. economy is forecast to be volatile through 2009. The situation has livestock and forage producers making production and management decisions that are even tougher than usual.

"Have a written plan. This is probably one of the things we spend the least amount of time talking about, but may be one of the most critical aspects," said Larry Redmon, state forage specialist for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. "The ag economist tells us you can not manage what you do not measure."

Redmon spoke recently at the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association's 15th school for successful ranching. He presented the top 10 strategies producers can utilize for survival in forage production.

A written business plan should consist of an operation's goals and objectives. A plan can help minimize wasted time, effort and money.

The business plan should also be monitored and reviewed annually.

"We go back and see did we achieve what we wanted to this year," Redmon said. "If not, we need to try and modify the plan."

Not knowing the nutrient value of soil being used for forage production is one area where wasted dollars can add up.

Fertilizer is too costly to purchase and apply without knowing the exact nutrient needs of the soil and forage being grown. Underapplying or overapplying nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is costly, wasteful and can affect forage potential, Redmon said.

"Bermuda grass is a high-performance grass that was bred and selected for response to fertilizer and tolerance to grazing. In those well-managed conditions, it's hard to beat it," Redmon said. "If you don't fertilize it, it goes away."

He acknowledged that the price for nitrogen and phosphorus have declined. Once the economy begins to recover, those input costs will move upwards again, he said.

Topography, soil profile and land management are different for each site. Soil samples should be taken from all areas of a given site, such as uplands, lowlands and areas with varied soil profiles.

"Your neighbor's soil test shouldn't be used for you to make decisions. Everybody treats their property differently," Redmon said. "Some places have been grazed forever. The nutrient status in those soils is going to be higher probably because we've been recycling a lot of those nutrients over time. A cow doesn't take much in the way of nutrients to town. Most of it, up to 90 percent, is going to be recycled back into the pasture."

Land that has been used for years to grow crops such as corn, cotton or hay can be extremely nutrient deficient.

"So get a soil test. It's the cheapest $10 that you can spend in that pasture," Redmon said.

Weed and insect management programs also can improve forage production's bottom line.

Weeds compete with forages for soil nutrients, sunlight and space. Also, it only takes 10 grasshoppers per square meter to consume up to 60 percent of total forage, Redmon said.

"One bright spot in all this is the cost to control pests has not increased that much," said Redmon. "So, if we're talking about weeds or we're talking about insects, the cost to control those are still relatively inexpensive."

Redmon said herbicides are the most effective weed control method under good growing conditions.

But during drought, mowing pastures can be the best method of keeping weed populations down, he said.

"Only under drought conditions do I ever even mention the word shred or mow," Redmon said.

Utilizing alternative fertilizers such as poultry litter or Class A biosolids are options that can prove cost effective.

Incorporating forage legumes such as clover into a warm-season grazing system is another production strategy.

Legumes fix nitrogen back into the soil, in turn reducing nitrogen fertilizer needs. Legumes also can help suppress weed populations, reduce winter feeding costs and extend grazing seasons.

Research has shown ranchers can save $60 to $70 per head when legumes are incorporated into grazing systems.

Another alternative to feeding hay all winter is using stockpiled warm-season forages. These standing forages can be incorporated into a grazing system that also utilizes pastures with clover or small grains.

Redmon explained some basic steps for stockpiling forage:

n Six to eight weeks before first frost-graze pasture to a 1-2 inch stubble height or harvest the final hay cutting.

n Know nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrient needs through soil test results.

n Defer pasture from grazing to allow forage to accumulate until frost or until forage is needed.

"You can go through winter without hardly having to feed any hay," Redmon said.

Producers also can save money and labor by purchasing hay instead of producing it themselves, Redmon said.

He also stressed the importance of having a hay analysis done for nutritive value. This can eliminate losses due to incorrectly estimating its nutritive value when feeding.

For example, if a producer overestimates the crude protein value of hay, he can start seeing the body condition of cattle slip because they aren't getting enough crude protein.

In turn, a producer can spend excess money on supplements if he underestimates the hay's nutritive value.

He cautioned that producers need to know the nitrate level of hay from warm-season annual grasses such as sorghum-sudan or haygrazers.

"These grasses can accumulate toxic nitrate levels during less-than-optimal growing conditions, such as drought," he said. "Nitrate does not diminish with time. If you cut and roll it up and it's toxic, it will always be toxic."

The stocking rate or carrying capacity of a grazing system is critical to an operation's success. Considerations that should be included in a stocking rate management plan are forage type, environment, soil fertility and cattle size.

"Stocking rate is the most critical aspect to livestock production," Redmon said. "If you're stocked appropriately for your forage base and for your environment any of them will work."

History reveals that drought is a factor six out of ten years in Texas.

"So if drought is always a part of our lives, would it not make sense to stock for drought always?" Redmon asked. "The definition of drought is when you can see less than 75 percent of your long-term historical rainfall."

Finally, producers should consider their forage base.

"We are experiencing a paradigm shift because of global economics associated with fertilizer," Redmon said. "I'm going to suggest to you we may have outlived our bermuda grass, because without adequate fertilizer, bermuda grass will not stay with you."

Redmon said transitioning pastures to native forages is another management possibility. Native forages can be Bahia, Old world bluestems and kline grasses. A forage specialist can assist in determining which native grass fits an operation's environment.

Benefits from native forages include eliminating fertilizer expenses and providing cover for wildlife.

"If you're in the hay business you need to stay with bermuda grass because we're not going to cut these natives for hay," Redmon said. "That's not the way those [native grass] systems develop. They develop under grazing and fire pressure."

E-mail Beverly Moseley at beverly.moseley@theeagle.com.