Transcript Ten Musts for a Forage Program (10 slides, 85 KB .ppt)

Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Know Animal Nutritional Needs and
Forage Options
• Stage of Pregnancy
• Stage of Lactation
• Body Weight of Livestock
• Animal Age
• Soil Type
• Growing Conditions
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Establish it Right
• Use High Quality Seed
• Do Timely Planting-April/May or Aug for
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Legumes
June seeding for Warm Season Annuals
Get the planting depth Right
Seed at the Right Number of seeds/sq foot
Make sure seed is in solid seed bed
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Soil Test and Follow Recommendations
• Add lime-cheapest nutrient to add
• Add Phosphorus and Potassium as needed
• Test the field by soil type if possible
• Add nutrients to the same rate as you remove
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them
Benefits are increase yield and longer stand
survival
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Use Legume if Possible
• Improve forage quality
• Add Nitrogen
• Increase Stand Diversity
• Manage pastures to support legume retention
• Increase total forage yield
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Place Greater Emphasis on Forage Quality
• Rotational Graze at optimum times
• Match forage quality to nutritional needs of animals
• Manage the grazing unit-graze some too early and
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some too late to get maximum returns
Select forages that mature at different times and
have different responses to drought
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Minimize Pest and plant related disorders
• Grasshoppers can be an issue
• Rust can affect grasses
• Weeds reduce forage yield and quality
• Diseases can reduce plant populations
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Improve Pasture Utilization
• Rotational Grazing
• Adjust Stocking Rates
• Vary forage types
• Adjust rest periods based on plant recovery periods
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and less on calendar days
Fertilize grass pastures with Nitrogen
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
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Reduce Your Stored Feed Requirements
• Greatest area to reduce production costs in a cow-
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calf operation
Use extended grazing programs
• Stockpiling forages
• Crop Residue (corn stalks, hay fields)
• CRP Acreage
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
Reduce Storage and Feed Losses
• Store Hay Under Cover
• Store Hay Off the Ground
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• Prevents Wicking of Moisture
Feed in feeders or bunks
• Reduce waste by 30%
• Round Bale feeders cost effective-6% loss
• Make sure adequate space available
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County
Ten Must For a Forage Program
Plan Ahead to Get Maximum Returns
• Have a written action plan on production practices
you need to be successful
• Make sure you have adequate capital to implement
you plans
• Think Ahead
• Continue to look for Ways to Improve
Keith Vander Velde, Marquette County