Pasture Renovation
As late winter approaches, it is a good time to be thinking about getting pastures ready for Spring grazing. One of the more common pasture management practices followed here in Kentucky is to renovate fescue pastures by over-seeding them with clover. Broadcasting clover is a popular renovation method because it can be accomplished with a minimum of fieldwork and has been shown to produce good results under conditions common on Kentucky farms.
The economic benefits of clover establishment can be significant -- particularly if clover is incorporated into highly-endophyte infected fescue. Research at UK as well as other major universities has shown that cattle grazing on endophyte infected fescue typically have lower conception rates and wean lighter calves than cattle grazing mixed grass/legume pasture.
The question that a cattle producer must ask is "Will the gains that I get in terms of the productivity of my cow herd be enough to cover the costs of pasture renovation?" Of course, the answer to that question will depend upon a number of factors. For example, a producer with highly-endophyte infected fescue pasture whose herd calving rate is 70% is likely to get a lot more benefit from pasture renovation than a producer with less infected pasture whose herd calving rate is already 85%.
Costs for pasture renovation should be expected to run around $20 - $25/acre. Since a clover stand should only have to be re-seeded every other year, this amounts to about $10 - 12/acre on an annual basis. On ground that is harvested for hay, recovering this amount of investment is pretty easy. The increase in the quality of hay will just about cover the costs of clover establishment. On pastures, though, recovering the costs of clover establishment means realizing increased beef production from the same amount of land. With proper management, this can generally be achieved due to the impact of improved forage quality on reproductive efficiency and calf weaning weights. Research has shown that increases in weight gains alone can amount to up to 200 pounds of beef per acre. This type of productivity increase is obviously more than enough to pay for the costs of pasture renovation. Recognize, though, that taking full advantage of the increased productivity of renovated pasture may involve an increase in stocking rates. If the improved forage resource is not fully utilized, a producer will not be able to capture all of the potential benefits of pasture renovation.
For More Information
For additional information, please contact, Lee Meyer.