K CI;:~CULATING CO?Y CIROlIlATlNG co SOUTHERN ILLINOIS PASTURES. Productive. eepmg AGRICULTURE L1BRARyAGRIClILTV ~: I.. : r", (

Transcription

1 K CI;:~CULATING CO?Y CIROlIlATlNG co eepmg AGRICULTURE L1BRARyAGRIClILTV ~: I.. : r", ( SOUTHERN ILLINOIS PASTURES Productive BY H. A. CATE A CONTRIBUTION OF THE DIXON SPRINGS STATION 740 r OF ILLINOIS, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE EXTENSION SERVICE IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS

2 CONTENTS Pa ge PERMANENT PASTURES NEED LEGUMES PASTURE PLAN KEEPS PRODUCTIVITY HIGH RENOVATION REQUIRES PREPARATION GOOD GRAZING MANAGEMENT INCREASES GAIN.. 11 Urbana, Illinois April,1955 Cooperative Extension vvork 111 A griculture and Home Economics: University of Illinois, College of Agricu lture, and th e U ntted States D epartment of Agriculture cooperating. LOUIS B. HOWARD, D!redor. Acts approved by Congress May 8 and June 30, 1914.

3 I Keeping SOUTHERN ILLINOIS PASTURES Productive By H. A. CATE First Assistant, Dixon Springs Experime nt Station PASTURES I SOUTHER ILLI~OIS can make money. In fact, when kept at the height of productivity, these pastures bring a double gain: they increase farm income through livestock profits and at the same time help to conserve the soil. Unfortunately permanent pastures are not always money-makers. Often they are grazed for ten, fifteen, or twenty years without reworking. By this time the legumes in the stand have died out, the fertility of the soil has declined, and the pasture is producing about one-fourth its potential. A clearer idea of what can reasonably be expected from permanent pastures grew out of a study of sixty acres of pasture at the Dixon Springs Experiment Station in southern Illinois. The study brought out these facts: Productivity of pastures is closely linked to the life of the legumes in the stand. The legumes provide summer grazing when the grasses are slow growing, they supply needed protein for the animal diet, and they return nitrogen to the soil. Pastures seeded with grasses and legumes are most productive in the second, third, and fourth year of their growth. After that, the legumes begin to disappear and reworking and reseeding are necessary. It is most practical to renovate pastures according to a five-year plan which calls for reworking one-fifth of the pasture annually and resowing it with a basic seeding mixture. Renovation requires a completely new seedbed, properly fertilized. Half tillage is not enough. Good grazing practices increase the total profit. These include turning the animals on pasture at times when the forages offer the most gain, alternating the grazing to allow for plant recovery, and using high-quality animals. 3

4 4 Circular No.740 PERMANENT PASTURES NEED LEGUMES Legumes lengthen the grazing season. Grasses in the young, rapidly growing stages are as nutritious as legumes, but the periods of their rapid growth are short. While grasses alone can provide excellent livestock gains during the spring and the fall months, legumes are needed in the summer. A mixture of legumes and grasses provides choice grazing at different times of the year and in this way lengthens the grazing season, as shown in the illustration below. Legumes furnish summer protein. The mixture of grasses and legumes also insures a better balance of nutrients in the forage. The proteins which the legumes add at the time of the year when the grasses are low in protein are essential for high milk and meat production and reduce the need for expensive protein supplements. Legumes supply nitrogen; grasses provide mulch. Legumes can supply nitrogen to the soil more effectively and more economically than fertilizer. It was found that an acre of tall fescue, even when heavily fertilized with nitrogen, was less productive than an acre of Ladino clover and fescue. PERCENT 100 I c: 90 \ \ /' \ \ \ / GRASSES vi' PERCENT OF LEGUMES AND GRASSES IN FORAGE (ORY MATTER BASIS) LEGUMES \..."', I/ 20 \.,.. 'J 10 JULY 10 AUG.28 SEPT. 21 OCT. 2 In early spring when grasses are lush, legumes are just beginning to grow ; in late summer when grasses are dormant, legumes reach their most productive period.

5 Southern Illinois Pastures 5 Grasses, on the other hand, aid legume growth by providing a mulch or cover against winter-killing and heaving. They also reduce the danger of bloat. Legumes disappear sooner than the grasses. There are certain practices that tend to lengthen the life of the legumes in the stand, such as selection of disease-resistant varieties, proper soil treatment, and sound grazing management. Nevertheless if the pasture is not reseeded after four to six years, the legumes will disappear. The grasses at Dixon Springs steadily increased after the seeding year, but some of the legumes began to fall off as early as the second season (Table 1). On the whole, the second, third, and fourth years were most productive of fresh forage. The number of grazing days, the dry-matter yield, and the gain in animal weight for these three years were correspondingly high (Table 2). During the fifth year, however, there was a marked decrease in forage yield and animal gain. The rapid gains followed by a quick drop-off in the fifth year point to the need for reworking and reseeding permanent pastures every fiv e years. Table 1. - Changes of Permanent Pasture Species by Percent of Ground Covered (Dixon Springs ) Species 1948, Fall 1949, Fall 1950, Fall 1951 Spring Fall Ladino Lespedeza Alfalfa Tame grass Weeds and wild grass Spring Fall 63 5 Table 2. - Grazing and Yield Data of Permanent Pasture (Dixon Springs ) Pounds of Days Animal- Pounds of Year gain per pastured unit a days dry matter acre per acre per acre , , , " , , ,316 Average ,814 a An animal unit is one mature cow or bull or one of the following equivalents: 1Vz yearling cattle, 2 weaned calves, 3 cattle on feed, 5 mature sheep, 10 weaned lambs, or 15 spring or summer pigs.

6 First-year pasture can profitably include small grain. Here wheat is growing with clover. The wheat can be harvested and sold to help repay seeding costs. The second-year pasture should be one of the most productive. The legumes in this pasture are mixed with timothy and bromegrass.

7 Third- and fourth-year pastures often consist of Ladino clover and grasses. This picture from Dixon Springs shows fescue growing with Ladino. The fifth-year's grasses should be consumed as completely as possible. The fescue which was protected by the wire cage indicates how much grass was available in this fifth-year pasture before it was heavily grazed.

8 8 Ci rcular No PASTURE PLAN KEEPS PRODUCTIVITY HIGH It is not practical to tear up and reseed the entire pasture every five years. A more sensible plan is to rework and reseed one-fifth of the area annually. This plan will provide in anyone year five pasturestrips each having a different age, productive capacity, and type of forage. The pasture calendar on the opposite page shows how the grazing picture will look. Five-year plan depends on basic seeding mixture. To make the variety of forage possible, a basic seeding mixture is needed. The following mixture is one that has been used successfully in southern Illinois. Amount per acre Rye - 1 bushel Timothy - 2 pounds Redtop - 2 pounds } Seeded in the fall Orchard grass or fescue - 6 to 8 pounds Sweet clover - 3 pounds Red clover - 3 pounds } Broadcast in the spring Korean lespedeza - 7 pounds Ladino clover - 1 pound As the five years go along, this mixture produces a succession of predominant plants. The pattern on each strip runs like this: First year Second year Third year Fourth year Fifth year Rye Red clover Ladino Ladino Grasses Korean lespedeza Sweet clover Grasses Grasses Grasses Seeding mixture creates balance in feed. If each of the five pasture strips is reseeded in a different year, a well-balanced forage diet will always be possible. Rye or winter cereal will be available each fall and spring. A stand of lespedeza is assured for late summer when a deficiency might otherwise occur. The flush grazing season will fall in ~I[ay and June and the excess forage may be harvested as hay and grass silage. The strip which is in its fifth year may be heavily grazed; since this strip vvill be reworked the following season, overgrazing is not a problem. Reseeding only a part of the pasture each year reduces the loss that might be caused by seeding failure in anyone year. Also the continual renovation keeps all pasture strips comparatively new and therefore in a better condition to withstand drouth.

9 Southern Illinois Pastures 9 Field I RYE LESPEDEZA ---- ( NUMBERS INDICATE ANIMAL-UNIT DAYS PER ACRE) RYE 45 LESPEDEZA 40 Field 2 RED CLOVER 150 SWEET CLOVER GRASS Field 3 LADINO GRASS Field 4 LADINO 190 GRASS Field 5 GRASS ~ RESEED ~Eii I I I I I I I I I I I JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC By following a five-year renovation plan, forage of one type or another is available throughout the year. RENOVATION REQUIRES PREPARATION A good fertility program is fundamental to good pastures. A program such as that at Dixon Springs includes the following steps: 1. Test the soil. 2. Apply limestone, potash, and phosphate according to the needs indicated by the tests. 3. D isk the fertilizers into the soil before seeding. 4. At seeding time, use a starter fertilizer such as at the rate of 200 to 300 pounds per acre. 5. Later topdress pastures annually with the equivalent of 200 pounds of per acre. Apply nitrogen to grass pastures, but only to grass pastures, at the rate of 40 to 60 pounds per acre. Different strips in a Dixon Springs pasture were treated with different fertilizers over a period of seven years ( ). As shown on page 10, all treatments gave an increased dry-matter yield and ground coverage. When lime, phosphate, and potash,,'ere combined, the percent of ground covered by desirable species was almost doubled.

10 Tillage necessary to prepare seedbed. Reseeding legumes m a grass cover is usually not successful because grasses and weeds already established create too much competition for the legume seedlings. Half tillage, light disking of the grass sod, is also not enough. The kind of seedbed that is needed is one that is firm, moderately fine, moist, and weed-free. Various tools may be used to prepare it. The heavy disk is best for brushy fields and is satisfactory on long steep hillsides where an erosion-resistant bed is needed. The field cultivator is excellent on hillsides and fields free of trash. Where weeds and weedy grasses are a problem and " 'here erosion is not a problem, use the moldboard plow. Work the soil several weeks in advance of the seeding date, allowing time to 'work limestone and other fertilizers into the bed. Intermittent tillage gives a better weed kill, and provides a reservoir for moisture. Grasses and alfalfa are seeded in the fall; other legumes broadcast in the spring. Seed grasses in late August to mid-september. This insures stronger plants going into winter and more effective cover against erosion. Spring seedings, except for legumes, are usually not successful in southern Illinois. Legumes, other than alfalfa which is best fall-seeded, may be broadcast in late February and early March. Nurse crop provides cover and helps pay reseeding costs. A light eeding of cereal grain planted in the fall with the grasses produces a quick cover for the soil, forms a protective mulch for the grasses, and, especially if rye is used, serves for fall and spring grazing. However, if the grain crop is to be harvested, wheat, oats, or barley is preferable to rye. Selling a small-grain crop will help pay for the reseeding. Cover the small-seeded grasses lightly. The larger-seeded grasses such as fescue, orchard grass, or bromegrass may be covered deeper. In fact, there is an advantage in drilling the large-seeded grasses. High-quality stands have been obtained by mixing and drilling the large-seeded grasses with the companion cereal. Care must be taken, however, not to drill too deeply. Table 3 lists some forage plants adapted to southern Illinois and their seeding rates and dates. Pounds oj dry Percent oj ground matter per acre covered by desirable Treatment (7-year average) species, 1950 None , Lime , Lime-phosphate , Lime-phosphate-potash , Circular No. 740

11 Southern Illinois Pastures 11 Crop Table 3. - Seeding Rates and Dates of Forages Adapted to Southern Illinois Pounds per acre Time of seeding Alone In mixtures Fall Spring Alfalfa Aug Birdsfoot trefoil April-May Bluegrass Aug. S-Sept. 15 Feb.-May Bromegrass Aug. 1S-Sept. 15 Alsike clover Aug. 1S-Sept. 15 Feb. 20-April 10 Ladino clover Aug. 1S-Sept. 15 March-May Mammoth clover Aug. 1S-Sept. 15 Feb.-Apr. Red clover Aug. IS-Sept. 15 Feb.-Apr. Tall fescue Aug. IS-Sept. 15 Korean lespedeza Mar.-Apr. Kobe lespedeza Mar.-Apr. Sericea lespedeza Feb.-Apr. Orchard grass Aug. IS-Sept. 15 Redtop Aug. 1S-Sept. 15 Feb.-Apr. Reed canary grass Aug. 1-Sept. 1 Mar. 1-Apr. 15 Sweet clover Aug. 1 Mar.-Apr. Tall oat grass Aug. 1S-Sept. 15 Timothy Aug. 1S-0ct. 1 Feb.-Apr. GOOD GRAZING MANAGEMENT INCREASES GAIN Grazing management of permanent pastures is much more difficult than management of short-term or rotation pastures. The aim in grazing pastures left down for only a year is to have the forage consumed when it offers the most gain. Permanent pastures should also be grazed \yhen they offer the most gain, but care must be taken so that the plants, especially the legumes, are not grazed beyond recovery. Grasses produce the most gain if grazed in the spring and fall months when they are low in fiber and high in protein. They have a limited value for summer months, except for maintenance of mature animals and as a precaution against bloat. Legumes are best in late spring and summer. Since the summer carrying capacity is somewhat less than that of spring, stocking rate must be adjusted to summer unless supplements are given. Alternate grazing profitable. At Dixon Springs, moderate alternate grazing resulted in more gain than heavy continuous grazing ( Table 4). There was a decrea e of legumes in the stand under both systems, but the decrease was more rapid under heavy grazing. In 1951, the moderately grazed field was stocked with more animals simply because by that time this field had a better stand of forage. The total figures show there was more gain when pastures were moderately grazed.

12 12 Circular No Table 4. - Heavy Continuous Grazing Compared With Moderate Alternate Grazing (Dixon Springs ) Heavy continuous grazing Moderate alternate grazing Year Pounds of Animal Percent of Pounds of Animal Percent of animal gain units legumes in animal gain units legumes in per acre per acre a the stand per acre per acre a the stand Average a Sec footnote on page 5. High-quality animals pay. A poor-producing CO\\' or ewe requires almost as much forage as a good producer; a poor-quality steer may gain as rapidly as a high-quality steer, but each pound of gain will return less profit. For maximum profit, use high-quality animals. The danger of bloat may be reduced. If a good stand of grass is maintained in the mixture, bloat is less likely to occur. Approximately a balance of grasses and legumes is desirable but hard to maintain. Selecting one kind of fertilizer rather than another is one way of preserving the balance. On soils of low fertility, superphosphate and nitrogen favor grasses; rock phosphate and potash favor legumes. N ever turn hungry animals on lush legumes. Fill them first with hay or other dry feed, and then keep dry feed before them until they become accustomed to pasture. Once they are put on pasture, leave them on. Continual shifting makes it impossible for them to adjust their appetites to the forage. Season influences grazing practices. Grazing rules are difficult to set up because of changes from year to year and season to season. These, however, are a few guides: 1. Delay grazing in the spring until the forage, usually the grasses, reaches a height of about five inches. 2. Stock pastures heavily enough to consume the grass before it makes seed. This all o\\'s the legumes to come on and gro\\. 3. Do not graze legumes closer than three to four inches, but rotate livestock to allow recovery. In southern Illinois, pastures should be grazed lightly betv,'een September 15 and frost so that root development in the legumes may be encouraged. 4. Do not expect any pasture to remain productive under 365 days of continuous grazing. 1 5 i\i -~