Your goal is to manage your land in such a way as to provide your livestock with ample dry matter and nutrition while minimizing any negative impact on the plants, soils, and surrounding environment. This requires continuous attention to the conditions of the pastures and hay fields as plant growth rates and maturity as well as soil moisture are in constant flux and will impact your grazing/harvest and other management decisions. If these factors are not taken into consideration and management adapted in response, damage to plants, soils, and surrounding resources may occur. Explore the resources below to learn more about how to manage pastures and hay fields for optimal productivity and quality.
Forage Productivity and Quality Management Resources
- Tips for Rotational Grazing (PDF)
- Principles of Good Grazing Management Factsheet (PDF)
- Dairy Pasture as a Valuable Resource
- A Farmer鈥檚 Guide to Grass-fed Dairy Production
- Effect of Residue Height & Timing of Grazing on Pasture Quality, Productivity, and Persistence
- Assessing Forage Quality for the Dairy (PDF)
- Forage Quality Laboratory and Analysis Listing (PDF)
Assessing Your Stored Feed Needs
When it comes to knowing what type of stored feed and how much of it you need there are a lot of things to consider. Firstly, not all feed is equal in quality. It is important to know what nutrition levels your animals require and your feed can provide so you can decide how much you will need to feed. The quality of the feed will also impact how much of it your animals will 鈥渨aste鈥 (i.e. not eat). All species and classes of livestock will also have diGerent eating behaviors, so what is considered high quality will vary based on the type of livestock. An excellent place to start when deciding what types and how much stored feed your animals will need is taking forage tests of the feeds available and discussing the results with your nutritionist and/or veterinarian. Below is a basic calculation for finding out how much hay/baleage you might need, as well as some resources with more information.
| Data | Operation |
|---|---|
| # of cows | 脳 |
| cow's weight | 脳 |
| dry matter (DM) intake per day % | 脳 |
| feeding period (# of days) | = |
| feed (dry matter in lbs) needed |
|
| Data | Operation |
|---|---|
| feed (dry matter in lbs) needed | 梅 |
| feed dry matter % | = |
| feed needed (as fed in lbs) |
|
| Data | Operation |
|---|---|
| feed needed (as fed in lbs) | 梅 |
| bale weight (lbs) | + |
| 20-50% | = |
| bales needed |
|
- How Maine Farmers Can Determine if They Have Enough Hay and Forage for the Winter
- VT State Farm Feed Finder Marketplace
- Bale Grazing Basics