Extension Notebook: Now is the time to take stock of your pastures

Most of Illinois during 2024 experienced drought that directly impacted pastures. In some areas last fall, hay was fed much earlier than wanted since pastures lacked forages. Now with the severe weather across Illinois, livestock will need additional nutritional resources to overcome the brutal cold and windchill. Based on conversations with numerous cattlemen, hay supplies should be sufficient to last until spring.

However, it is important to make an assessment right now of your hay reserves. Do you have sufficient hay reserves to last until spring or even longer? Have you adequately accounted for storage losses?

How and where hay is stored after baling also has a significant effect on the amount of dry matter (DM) lost. Weathering (environment) reduces the dry weight of hay and changes its composition. Weathering lowers the feeding value of hay 15% to 25%, in addition to any dry matter losses. Weathering losses are greatly influenced by climatic variables; higher rainfall and more humid conditions cause more loss than drier climates.

Protecting hay from the environment, especially moisture is crucial to prevent DM loss. A worst-case scenario would be bales wrapped with twine and stacked uncovered directly on the ground. This scenario could result in over 25% DM loss in one year. Ideally, hay bales would be completely protected. This protection could come from a permanent structure like a barn, or from more individual/temporary measures like bale sleeves or individual wrapping in plastic wrap. These forms of protection reduce DM storage losses to around 5%.

Remember, weathering occurs not only on the tops and sides of hay stored outside, but also where hay contacts moist ground. Research in Indiana has shown that storing bales on crushed rock versus the ground reduced the weathered portion from 23% to 11% of the original bale weight.

I realize that livestock producers will want to utilize pastures as soon as they can, but ask yourself the following question: “What shape are my pastures in?” Were your pastures overgrazed last year and maybe the year before? Were you able to stockpile forages or were the pastures grazed down? Do you have extra hay to delay pasture turnout in spring? A critical assessment of pasture health is needed now to plan for the future.

While contemplating your pasture assessment, remember that fall is an important time for pastures. Decreasing day length, cooling temperatures, and little to no rain impedes growth. Then add overgrazing during times when temperatures allow for plant growth. If there was growth, the plants were taking reserves out of the roots, which would impact future performance. Were your pastures overgrazed and/or subjected to below-normal precipitation or drought?

The amount of forages left after grazing is the biggest factor in how well your pasture will bounce back. This is a juggling act between getting the most out of your forages while leaving enough to grow back. Keep in mind that it is critically important to not overgraze your pastures.

Letting your grasses have enough rest in between grazing is a major factor in having lush pastures or scrubby, weed-infiltrated pastures. If plants have enough rest, then the root system will stay healthy. Keeping the roots healthy will determine how well the plant can take in moisture and nutrients and grow back.

Overgrazed pastures represent an excellent opportunity to frost seed legumes or grasses. Frost seeding involves broadcasting certain legume and cool-season grass seeds in February and March. At this time of year, the soil surface is honey-combed with openings created by daily temperature fluctuations. During nightly freezing and daily thawing, seeds are pulled deep into the soil through these openings.

Though conventional seeding practices usually have higher rates of success, frost seeding is still worth considering, especially if your pasture is badly damaged or terribly overgrazed from the last growing season. Overgrazed or damaged pastures already have areas of bare soil which means better seed-to-soil contact for the broadcast seeds and a greater opportunity for success. Frost seeding is also less expensive than conventional practices and, if timed right and properly managed, can be an effective way to meet your pasture renovation goals.

If you do decide to try frost seeding, here are a few tips to improve your success:

• Select your seed carefully. Use improved (inoculated) clover and cool-season grass seed; the plants will be more vigorous, hardier and have longer lifespans. Cool-season grasses vary in their ability to compete with frost-seeded legumes like clovers. Of the cool-season grasses, perennial ryegrass and orchard grass demonstrate the highest success rates using this technique.

• If you use a broadcast seeder, make sure to broadcast legume and grass seeds separately. Attempts to broadcast both seeds types together will result in poor seed dispersal due to differences in the sizes and densities of the seed. If possible, broadcast on shallow snow. The white background makes it easier to see the seed! A thick snow layer may displace seeds when it melts causing poor seed success.

• Carefully manage the renovated pasture during the first year. If you have obtained a soil test and didn’t apply the recommended plant nutrients in the fall, apply those nutrients in late April or early May. Omit the nitrogen component because the newly introduced legumes will provide a significant amount of nitrogen.

Now is the time to take stock of your pastures — have the forages grown back sufficiently or have they been overgrazed? Understanding the impact of severely reduced rainfall, drought, and/or overgrazing on your pasture can provide direction for planning and mitigating impacts. Planning ahead can reduce the long-term impacts and help make difficult decisions easier in the heat of the moment.

Teresa L. Steckler is a University of Illiinois Extension specialist, commercial agriculture.