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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #160215
Title: OPPORTUNITIES TO EXTEND THE GRAZING SEASON IN NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

Author
item KARN, JAMES - RETIRED USDA-ARS
item Tanaka, Donald

Submitted to: Manitoba North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/20/2004
Publication Date: 2/10/2004
Citation: Karn, J.F., Tanaka, D.L. 2004. Opportunities to extend the grazing season in northern great plains. Manitoba North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association.Bismarck, ND. p. 21-26.

Interpretive Summary: Grazing methods that lengthen both the grazing season and the period of optimal forage quality availability are the most direct ways of reducing input costs and improving net profit in a beef cattle enterprise. There are numerous ways of extending the grazing season, but a longer grazing season alone is of limited value, if the forage does not meet the nutrient requirements of the class of cattle being grazed. During the late summer and fall, when perennial forage quality is poor, annual forages and annual-perennial crop rotations can be used to provide an extended period of high quality gazing. A key ingredient in forage production in the Northern Great Plains is efficient use of limited precipitation. Annual crops use less water to produce plant dry matter than perennial grasses, and using annual crops that are adapted to no-till seeding can enhance water-use-efficiency. Legumes can be incorporated in perennial rangelands and in annual crop rotations to enhance animal diet quality and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Dry gestating cows can be maintained on standing forage later in the season by providing them with appropriate supplemental protein. The grazing season or low-cost feeding period for dry gestating cows could most easily be lengthened by deferring the calving season from March until late May.

Technical Abstract: Beef cows in the Northern Plains are wintered on relatively expensive harvested feed at a time in their reproductive life cycle when nutrient requirements are the least. One way of reducing winter feed costs with out hurting animal performance is to extend the grazing season from the current 7 to 8 months to 10-12 months. To successfully extend the grazing season, there are potential opportunities and ways to enhance the grazing season for integrated crop/forage/livestock systems. Accomplishment of extended grazing season for beef cows requires: 1) use of forages that maintain their quality, are adapted to winter or swath grazing, and meet the nutrient requirements and production goals of specific animal groups; 2) taking advantage of annual and perennial legume crops to improve diet quality and fix atmospheric N; 3) annual crops that are water-use efficient, adapted to no-till seeding, and provide quantity and quality of forage/grain to meet animal needs; 4) sustainable multi-year annual/perennial forage/grain systems where the crops complement each other in terms of maturity to produce season-long high quality forage/grain production; and 5) calving and/or calf weaning dates adjusted to synchronize cow nutrient requirements with forage quality and availability.