FORAGE: Manage above and below the ground

the growth and productivity of your pasture.

The best time to evaluate and measure your pasture’s productive capacity is the end of June or the beginning of July when a mix of cool and warm season grasses are present.

The USDA has several programs available to help ranchers develop and implement these grazing management plans with some federal financial assistance. One such program is the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQUIP) that can help with investments in wells, tanks, cross fencing and water systems to allow for rational grazing protocols. By developing rotational grazing systems, some land is idle (free of grazing) for a period of time each year to help the plants recover and stock up nutrients. In the event of the fire, these “rested” paddocks should be more likely to bounce back with the presence of adequate rainfall.

The No Till on the Plains is also offering educational programs to producers interested in utilizing grazing management as a means of increasing productivity. One such event will be held in Franklin on June 14 in conjunction with Arrow Seed and Ward Laboratories. The Wine Glass Ranch Whirlwind Event will take place near Imperial on June 20. For more information on these educational opportunities and to learn more about the benefits of fire to forage growth, visit www.NoTill.org.

For those who have had grazing lands that have burned, the USDA has a Wildfire Assistance Program through the NRCS that includes numerous options for deferring pasture that has been burned in a wildfire from 64-365 days.

No additional management practices are required but the land must sit without grazing livestock for the period of the contract prior to funds being dispersed. For more information or to consider seeking wildfire assistance, contact your local NRCS office.

The Natural Resources District also has state funds through a program of the Nebraska Soil Water Conservation Program that offers cost share funds for pasture or rangeland that is similar to EQUIP but offers different options.

Again, the NRCS office is where you need to go to get more information.

Also of great concern in the Sandhills following a fire or drought is erosion by wind and even water when all of the organic matter and plants have been removed as cover. Particularly where the soil is choppy sand, producers may need to apply a thin layer of litter (cornstalks, old hay or bean stubble) if possible, to prevent a blowout from occurring. With the excessive winds we have had, that is certainly a concern. This supplemental ground cover also keeps the soil cool after it has been warmed by the fire which has a blackened surface that attracts more sun. The cover discourages warm season grasses from coming up too early.

If only a portion of a grazing area is burned in a pasture, ideally that burned area should be fenced off so that livestock are not able to graze it.

Once the grass does come in, it will be very high in nutrients and very preferable to the animals so they will over-consume in that area before the roots have time to recover. It is extremely important to closely monitor grazing areas following a wildfire or a controlled burn to make sure you are allowing for good root development of the forages. According to Kelsey, “It’s important to manage for what’s above the ground but also for what is below ground” when building up the quality of your soil and forages in tandem.

In addition to the wildfire programs offered by the USDA through the NRCS, the Nebraska Cattlemen have also started gathering funds to support and assist ranchers who have been through these fires and perhaps need to replace fence or purchase hay to feed their animals. More information on that program is available at http://www.nebraskacattlemen.org/wildfire-resources/.

Not unlike the years prior to the covered wagons rolling west, we are still dealing with wildfires. What’s different is the way we must now utilize good management techniques to ensure the sustainability of the range for the long term while still providing feed for the ruminants in our care. Fortunately, there are tools and techniques available at our disposal to do just that.