From the Barns: Ways to diversify

As I write to you this morning, Oct. 4, we are receiving some very beneficial rain to the tune of about an inch. That is a huge amount for us, as we have not had a rain for some time and were becoming, again, dangerously dry. Our late-summer reed canary grass pastures will show significant compensatory growth until frost hits them and our stockpiled fescue will sure add to what was looking good even without any moisture.

Our corn was taken out Sept. 25, so we have one group of cows grazing corn residue and the other group still being rotated through the reed canary grass. Using the standard of one acre of corn residue per cow for 30 days, we can see the end for the first field, as manure is piling up a bit, indicating below desirable levels of protein. We don’t want much of that for cow groups that will be calving in February.

Carson’s family has been working in soybeans to finish before they get any drier, so I have been looking after the cows — a pleasure for me to do that, especially with adequate forages, hot fences and obedient cows. As corn harvest progresses around the neighborhood, I can’t help but think how much corn residue feed goes to waste under tillage equipment striving to deal with all that volume of dry matter.

Will we someday return to a more diversified Midwest agriculture economy incorporating livestock into row crop operations? Ten or 20 years ahead will we find crop prices dictating that or interested young farmers and ranchers adding livestock as an added enterprise to allow them to return to a family farm that has become so automated that the labor requirements were less or the income was not adequate to support another family?

As cover crops become more popular as a soil production tool, will their use remain single faceted or multifaceted with the addition of a livestock enterprise? Will further Environmental Protection Agency regulations mean that a livestock enterprise will include intensely managed grazing and then transition to a confinement system and harvested forages until the next growing season? These are just a few questions that arise as we try to forecast the future livestock industry.

We had a successful Grazing School here at River Oak on Sept. 6-7. Over 20 full-time students enjoyed perfect weather, good speakers and time in the pastures, good food and plenty of time for some good networking. The Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition is already planning for the 2025 State Grazing Conference at the Northfield Inn, Suites and Conference Center in Springfield in February. More on that in the coming months.

According to the long-range forecasts, there will be plenty of time to complete this harvest, so don’t push beyond safety and stay sane, too.