Course: SLF 155 Small Farm Maintenance and Operations

Reading & Audio Visual

What is Pasture Management?

Pasture management includes:

- Maintaining pasture soil quality
- Keeping pasture free of weeds and unwanted trees and shrubs
- Adopting a grazing plan
- Selecting the right forage species for your operation

Considerations
1. Overgrazing and under grazing: If a pasture is over grazed this can lead to problems such as poor forage growth rates, weak forage species and even increased run-off and poor soil due to an increased temperature. If a pasture is under grazed it can lead to the accumulation of unwanted plant species and in turn an unprofitable pasture.
2. Applying fertilizers: Your soil test results will help you know if you need to apply fertilizer and which fertilizers to apply for pasture maintenance.
3. When to use lime: Your soil test results will tell you if you need to apply lime to your pasture. Lime helps correct soil acidity.
4. Controlling weeds and shrubs: If you are having a problem with specific unwanted plants you can help correct the problem by changing your grazing plan and or using lime and fertilizers appropriately. Clipping and mowing are also options to control weeds and shrubs livestock will not eat.
5. Water: Water location and water quality are high priorities in pasture management. It is best practice to have your water supply within 600 feet of your livestock’s grazing area. This is because you don’t want your livestock to waste excessive time and energy traveling to water sources.
6. Selecting forage species: There are many factors when choosing appropriate forage species. We will be discussing these in the weeks to come. Traits of different forage species must be matched with intended livestock, soil, lime and fertilizer usage.
7. Encourage legumes: Legumes are plants that help introduce Nitrogen in the soil. They include plants such as alfalfa, clovers and beans. Legumes make wonderful additions or mixes with other forage grasses. Additionally, many farmers use them as a rotating crop to help improve soil quality. We will take a more in depth look at legumes in our next unit.

As you can see there are many factors involved with pasture management. In the weeks to come we will continue to discuss the importance of soil maintenance as well as all the other important aspects of pasture management.

By the end of the course you will have the tools you need to build your own pasture management plan!