Amazing Graze

A publication of The Ohio State University Extension, Edward M. Vollborn, Editor
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March, 1999

Dear Friend:

Carefully weighing all of the options, developing a plan, implementing the plan, giving attention to detail and being flexible enough to adjust, seem just routine for good farm managers. Graziers who substitute superior management for reduced purchased inputs leave no room for error.

Winter 1999 grazing events have been well attended (Great Lakes International Grazing Conference attracted some 500 people). Questions during and after each meeting/class indicate that many options have been studied. Good luck implementing and carrying out your plan!

Looking ahead - summer field days, farm tours and pasture walks happen because many people agree to host these events. The OSU Integrated Forage Team and other groups such as the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council stand ready to help organize and promote these events. If you are ready to host an event, let us know!

Sincerely,

Edward M. Vollborn

Leader, Grazing Program

OSU Extension, South District

RESEEDING QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

1. Do you have a current soil test?

2. Why does the field need reseeded?

3. Did my management favor the desired species?

4. Am I willing to change my management?

5. If I changed my management, do I need to reseed?

6. Will the cost of seeding be justified in return?

7. Are the species adapted to the soil type?

. . . From a grazing school lesson plan by Mark E. Smith, USDA-NRCS

FERTILITY MANAGEMENT OF MEADOWS - Clif Little, OSU Extension, Guernsey County**, Jeff McCutcheon, OSU Extension, Perry County** (. . . Continued from the last issue of Amazing Graze)

The most common way to increase the soil pH is to apply lime. Common agricultural liming material includes: burned lime, hydrated lime, carbonate lime, agricultural limestone, pulverized agricultural slag, etc. The two factors which greatly influence Ag lime quality are: 1) its Total Neutralizing Power and 2) the fineness of the grindings. Both of these factors affect the neutralizing value of a product. Total Neutralizing Power (TNP) is a measure of the ability of liming material to raise the pH. Pure calcium carbonated has a neutralizing power of 100. All other liming materials are compared on a percentage basis with pure calcium carbonate. TNP of liming materials is affected by percentage of calcium, percentage of magnesium and impurities such as silt and clay. The finer a given liming material is ground, the more rapidly it reacts with the soil to raise pH. Over time all the particle sizes will react to neutralize soil acidity, but a coarser grind will take more time to reach the desired results. Basically, if you apply a coarser ground product, then you will need to apply more of it to get the same results as agricultural ground limestone. The Ohio Agronomy Guide lists equivalent amounts of different liming materials based on TNP and fineness. Utilize this table when you are considering which liming material to purchase.

When financial constraints require a choice of using fertilizer or applying needed lime, usually lime is the best choice. The decision of whether to use dolomitic or calcitic lime should be based primarily on the amount of Mg available as indicated by a soil test. The calcium to magnesium ratio is calculated on the basis of percent saturation of the soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) by each element. If the Ca to Mg ration is 1:1 or (less Ca than Mg) a calcitic lime should be purchased. When both Ca and Mg are needed, buy dolomitic lime.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The 1999 Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers - Emphasizing management intensive grazing. Application deadline is April 1. Classes offered November 1999 to March 2000. For more information contact Dick Cates, WSBDF Coordinator at 608-262-5200.

COVE MOUNTAIN SEASONAL DAIRY - By Bob Hendershot, Grassland Management Systems Conservationist, USDA-NRCS

The American Farmland Trust (AFT) has recently founded a 330 acre grass-based dairy farm in Franklin County Pennsylvania, named the Cove Mountain Farm. Taking the lead from a small but growing number of farmers and ranchers using animal harvested grasses and legumes as their primary feed source, AFT's goal is to demonstrate grazing techniques and encourage livestock producers to adopt pasture management systems says Bryan Petrucci, Director of the Farm Division of AFT's Center for Agriculture in the Environment. We want to show that grass-based dairies represent a viable access to capital and willing to undergo modes expansion, says Petrucci.

The tenant farmer at Cove Mountain incurs all the expenses just as a normal farmer would. This seasonal dairy calves all the cows within a 30 to 45 day time frame. The farmer chooses to calve in early March to mid-April. Grass production peaks on this farm around the middle of June and the cows lactation will peak about 45 to 60 days after calving. A quick look at the calendar and some simple math, you can see that these two peaks nearly coincide. A simple but important point.

The farm consists of 200 acres of pasture and hay land. The milking herd is made up of 82 Holstein, Jersey, and Jersey-Holstein crossbred cows. Bluegrass and tall fescue are the main forages on the farm. White clover and Birdsfoot Trefoil are the legumes present but not in an over abundance. Hay was the only crop harvested in previous years.

The water system consists of collecting spring water into a reservoir. Then, utilizing a solar submersible pump to lift the water to a large holding tank on top of the hill. From there, the water gravity flows in surface laid pipe to portable water tanks moved to the different pastures. There is some permanent fence around the large fields. The farmer uses poly wire and step in posts to subdivide the fields into smaller more efficient and manageable paddocks.

Jana Malot, NRCS District Conservationist gathered fecal samples to monitor and assist in animal nutrition utilizing the NUTBAL computer program. The monthly fecal samples from April through October determined the digested crude protein level to range from a low of 14.3 percent in August to a high of 20.3 percent in May for the cows entire diet. The percent Digestible Organic Matter ranged from 69.5 to 61 percent. The farmer fed 14 pounds of corn and 2.5 pounds of soybean meal everyday throughout the lactation. The month of April, the farmer also fed 15 pounds of corn silage a day to supplement the grass that was only starting to grow. Then in October, the farmer fed 14 pounds of haylage and 8.5 pounds of hay a day to supplement the slow growing grass.

The farmer projected a net farm income of $48,787. The gross income per cow was $1,723 and all costs including a land rent charge of $90 an acre for the 200 acres of pasture and hay land was $1,128 per cow.

Dr. David Zartman, Ohio State University spoke to those that attended the October 2 Seasonal Dairying Field Day at the Cove Mountain Seasonal Grass Dairy.

"STEADFAST"

Dr. Paul Beuselick from the University of Missouri has developed a new legume - a variety of trefoil. The plant known to most of us as Moroccian Trefoil has been given the name "steadfast." Most of the excitement surrounding "steadfast" is the fact that it is rhizomatous. It is hoped that the underground stolons will make it more grazing tolerant. Early studies show it more resistant to crown and root rots than our traditional varieties.

Closely grazing grass pastures followed by no-till drilling in late February or March is the best way to get good soil-to-seed contact. Like other trefoil varieties, "steadfast" will lack seedling vigor and be difficult to establish. Seed is expected to be in limited supply until the spring of 2000 due to severe winter kill in Minnesota seed fields last spring. The University of Missouri has granted Peterson Seed Company of Minnesota the exclusive marketing rights.

I first saw Dr. Beuselick's flower bed size plots of the Moroccian Trefoil about five years ago on a visit to the National Forage Research Center at Linneus, Missouri. "Steadfast" has been a long time coming - now looks as if most of us will be waiting at least one more year. It already has mixed reviews from forage experts.

*Thanks to Mike Estadt, OSU Extension, Pickaway County for providing update information.

CREATING GRAZING DAYS WHILE GROWING NITROGEN - Edward M. Vollborn, Leader, Grazing Program, OSU Extension, South District

Red Clover can yield two to three tons of dry matter and 70 to 150 pounds of N per acre according to information in the new "Managing Cover Crops Profitability" second edition published by the Sustainable Agriculture Network.

Traditionally, red clover is used in long rotation meadows and has been added to MIG pastures to add legume diversity. More recently, red clover is being rediscovered by row crop farmers who are looking for ways to add grazing time on their farm without major changes to the cropping program. Red clover can be 'frost seeded' into wheat during the spring freeze-thaw cycle. Red clover has the ability to germinate down to 41 degrees F. If soil conditions permit, light graze the dormant wheat just before growth begins. Hoof impact from grazing also helps ensure seed-to-soil contact. Use just enough N fertilizer to support proven wheat yields.

Intensive managers graze late summer and fall growth during year one, plus spring growth of year two before returning the field to row crop (usually corn). For peak N contribution, kill red clover at about mid-bloom in the spring of its second season. Red clover in a corn-soybean-wheat/red clover rotation in a reduced input system out performed continuous corn by $53 per acre in a four-year Wisconsin study. Studies have shown that fifty percent of the red clover cover crop N was released in the first month after incorporation, corresponding well with corn's fertility demand.

RESEARCH ON CLA FINDS HEALTHY PLUS FOR MILK FAT - Author: D. L. Palmquist, OSU, Department of Animal Sciences

Recent reports in scientific and popular literature have people asking "What is CLA and why all the fuss about it?" Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is the collective term for several isomers of the essential dietary unsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid. A recent conference at the University of Wisconsin brought together 100 research scientists to review current knowledge and discuss needed new research.

Many biological effects of CLA were reported, including anticarcinogenesis, antiatherogenesis, modification of body composition, stimulated immune function and enhanced bone formation. Although biological mechanisms for any of these effects remain unidentified, evidence for some effects is stronger than others.

Greatest attention has been focused on the anticarcinogenic effects. In model systems with rodents and cell culture, CLA has been shown to be the most powerful natural anticarcinogen in foods.

There have been reports that CLA influences immune function and also, in some studies increases bone mass. In these studies it was found that CLA changed the production of a class of body regulatory chemicals called cytokines, which are involved in both immune function and bone metabolism.

Though mechanisms by which CLA functions are unknown, and the human dietary requirement is unknown, extrapolation of effective dietary CLA levels in rodent models to humans suggests that human dietary intake may be less than optimal.

If the target intake were 0.5% CLA (by weight) in the diet, one would need to consume about two grams of CLA per day. The most important dietary source is milk fat, which contains on average 0.5% CLA in the fat. Thus, if milk fat were the only dietary source, one would need to consume 400 grams of milk fat daily (90 glasses of 2% fat milk or 26 pounds of cheddar cheese daily. Note that non-fat milk contains little CLA).

Although other foods from ruminant animals (beef, lamb) are good sources of CLA, the total daily intake is certainly less than one gram.

Obviously, this has created a market for the companies which produce food supplements, some of whom are recommending intakes of CLA as great as five grams per day with no research data to justify such intakes. Responsible nutritionists are not recom-mending at this time that CLA supplements be taken. However, there is active research to identify means to increase naturally the CLA content of meat and dairy products.

The microorganisms of the ruminant stomach naturally convert dietary linoleic acid to CLA. Research has shown that supplementing the animal's diet with unsaturated oils such as corn or soybean can increase the CLA content of milk fat from less than 0.5% to greater than 2%.

However, as usual, it is not so simple. Unsaturated oils in the diet of dairy cows can decrease ration fiber digestibility, decrease milk fat percentage and increase the potential for development of oxidized flavor in milk.. Further, to have the maximum activity of microorganisms to form CLA, a strong rumen function, such as promoted by high forage diets is most effective. Indeed, highest CLA content of milk fat (greater than 2% CLA in the milk fat) is consistently observed in cows grazing on pasture.

In today's feeding systems these types of diets are not the most efficient for production and economic return. Therefore, research continues to identify feeding systems to maximize naturally the content of CLA in foods.

In our laboratory we are studying whether a common trans-unsaturated fatty acid which occurs in milk fat in association with CLA but in greater abundance can be converted to CLA in the body by a common fat-metabolizing enzyme.

. . .Reprinted from the Ohio Farmer Magazine, January 1998

CLA . . . Conjugated linoleic acid was a topic of discussion by Allan Nation and others at the mid-February Great Lakes International Grazing Conference. Thanks to Dr. Palmquist, Dr. Zartman and "The Ohio Farmer" for use of the above article. The next issue of "Amazing Graze" will continue the "CLA" awareness.

***

All educational programs and activities conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to all potential clientele on a non- discriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.

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Updated onMarch 22, 1999 by Stan Smith