The groundhog predicted that we would have an early spring and I guess this year he was right. We have experienced abnormally warm weather in January and February off and on, and March is starting to look the same. But that does not mean we won’t get one of those late March or early April snowstorms either.
Without one of those good deep freezes and temperatures above normal, this weather can trick our pastures and hay field grasses into the growing season early — only to be stunted later if we have another freeze. This is turning into a no-win type of spring.
Once that grass starts to green up in spring, it is hard to keep the livestock you are feeding focused on the hay you are giving them. The bright green, fresh grass on the other side of the fence becomes mighty tempting. You will need to keep those fences strong, tight and hot to prevent livestock from grazing too early.
Grazing too early can reduce the grasses’ productivity and longevity of your pasture stand. Giving those grasses a sufficient growth period after they break out of dormancy in the spring — and before grazing — allows the grass plants to develop their photosynthetic capacity so they can start building up their sugar content and restore some of their depleted root reserves to grow new roots.
Allowing livestock to graze these pastures short to early in the growing season only hurts future forage production and grass stands, and damages the tillers that produce new growth. The grasses need to be able to fully leaf out and get a good start before livestock start eating new growth.
Something to consider is that young forage is high in water content and low in highly digestible fiber when grazed too early in spring. This can limit the animals’ dry matter intake, so it is important to supply the animals with hay if you must start your grazing season early. Often when we graze our pastures too early, the forage stand is sparse which will increase the animals’ traveling distance and reduce their intake. An increase in traveling distance and reduced forage intake can reduce gains for growing livestock, increase their body condition loss and reduce milk production in lactating animals.
How to manage early grazing
If you must start your grazing season earlier than normal, there are some ways to manage it. One way is to shorten your grazing rotation. If you normally start your rotational grazing with a four-week rotation, drop it to a two-week rotation. This will provide enough forage for livestock without stunting forage growth.
These are the recommended grazing heights to consider when rotational grazing in early spring:
Grass species start grazing and end grazing
- Orchard grass 20-25” 10-15”
- Timothy 20-25” 10-15”
- Kentucky Bluegrass 20-25” 10-15”
- Tall Fescue 8-10” 3-4”
- Alfalfa Bud Stage 2-3”
- Other Cool-Season Grasses/Legumes 8-10” 3-4”
Beginning grazing earlier in the spring than normal means that you need to be very aware of both what your pastures are doing and the overall health of your animals. Remember to always supply your animals with the proper type and amount of minerals. Supplying a high “mag” mineral to cows will help reduce the risk of grass tetany on early grazed pastures and should be fed until the temperatures remain above 60 degrees.
Start your grazing season off right by managing the current conditions you are dealing with. Then, early spring management of both livestock and pastures can help to maximize the success and production of forages for the whole grazing season.
