 Photo: The native switchgrass and eastern gama grass in this Howell County pasture was still green and growing when this photograph was taken in early August. The pasture with non-native, cool-season grass in the background had suffered greatly from drought.
Photo by Brad McKee, Missouri Department of Conservation
MDC can help ranchers incorporate warm-season grasses in pasturage
Kansas City, Mo. –
This summer was difficult for Missouri cattle producers. Drought withered
pastures, prompting producers to sell cattle early or feed hay that would
normally be used in winter. Farmers with access to native grass pastures fared
better. With their deep root systems, native warm-season prairie grasses are
drought tolerant. They’re also nutritious and can boost profitable weight gains
in cattle during normal growing seasons, too.
The Missouri
Department of Conservation (MDC) can offer guidance to producers wishing to convert
some cool-season grass pasture acres to warm-season grasses. Native grass
productivity is especially obvious during a dry summer.
Low rainfall
coupled with higher than normal temperatures made this summer the worst
drought-stifled growing season for Missouri since 2012, confirmed Pat Guinan,
state climatologist based at the University of Missouri at Columbia. But some
pockets, especially in north Missouri, experienced drought worse than 2012.
By the end of July, the Missouri
Agricultural Statistics Service reported topsoil moisture in 75 percent of the
state in short to very short condition. Subsoil moisture was 78 percent short
to very short. Pasture conditions were reported at 69 percent poor to very poor
condition. Most hay and other roughages being grown for winter cattle feed were
short to very short. Stock water supplies were short in some areas. MDC offered
producers a chance to haul water from some lakes on conservation areas.
Problems started early in the growing
season. Prolonged cold and a dry transition from winter to spring was followed
by a quick warm-up to unseasonably warm temperatures in early May. Cool-season
pastures did not produce well as summer progressed. Many producers were feeding
their winter hay supply by late June.
However, cattle grazed by permittee farmers
on seven MDC areas in southwest Missouri gained an average of 1.7 pounds per
day feeding on green, healthy, native grasses, said Max Alleger, MDC grassland
coordinator. That weight gain also tops the one pound per day many producers
are satisfied with during summers with sufficient rainfall for cool-season
grasses. But this summer, cool-season grasses withered and many producers without
native forages were forced to buy hay at speculation prices.
Converting 25 to 33 percent of forage
pasturage to native warm-season grasses is ideal for a grazing rotation that
also includes cool-season grasses, said Brent Vandeloecht, MDC agriculture
liaison. But an alternative for producers is to convert a small pasture, 10 to
20 acres, to native prairie grasses and forbs. That provides additional forage
in summer without a major investment. New technology combined with annual crop
rotations enables producers to utilize annual plant forage the same season
native grasses are planted. Warm-season grasses can mature into a grazing-worthy
stand in two years.
Keeping a quarter to a third of pasture
acres in native warm-season forages is part of a good drought mitigation
strategy, Alleger said. But native forage is also a way to increase cattle
weight gains and profits regardless of weather. Plus, native grasses provide
good wildlife habitat.
Producers can contact their local MDC
private land conservationists to learn more about establishing native forages.
For more information, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zp3. For all MDC private land services,
visit https://mdc.mo.gov/property.
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