Forage Management

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Forage Management

• Key issues for Horses

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Nutritional Requirements of Horses

• Pseudo-Ruminants
• ineffective ruminants high quality needed
• fiber required
• daily forage intake should gt1 bw
• Prefer 1/2 of daily intake to be forages
• Multiple Requirements
• Production Reproduction, Growth, Work
• Maintenance infrequently exercised, mature horse

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Forage Requirements of Horse Owners

• Nutrition
• High Quality needed
• Reduce feed costs
• Control of Toxic plants
• Exercise
• Daily requirements
• Soil compaction
• Aesthetics

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Forage Quality

• Digestibility is a function of maturity
• Crude protein is a function of maturity and soil
  nitrogen.

5
Nitrogen rate effect on digestibility and crude
protein
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Maturity effects on Digestibility and Crude
protein.
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Organic matter digestibility of bermudagrass
varieties over time
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Pasture Management

• Variety Selection
• Weed Control
• Fertilization
• Grazing Management

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Forage Selection

• Cool Season
• Annuals
• Ryegrass
• Small grains
• Clovers
• Perennials
• Tall Fescue toxin
• others

• Warm Season
• Annuals
• Crabgrass loams
• Millets Sand
• Perennials
• Bermudagrass hybrid nonhybrid
• Dallisgrass, others

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Warm Season Perennial Grasses adapted to Grayson
County

• Bermuda most popular
• Dallis wet clayey soils
• Johnsongrass toxic to horses
• Kleingrass toxic to horses
• Old World Bluestems other bunchgrasses Limited
  data

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Hybrid Bermudagrass Variety yield response at
Overton
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Bermudagrass Variety yield response at Overton
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Ryegrass Variety Trial at Overton
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Bermudagrass and Ryegrass Growth Curve
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Summary

• Review site, management style, etc., then pick a
  forage species and variety
• Know when you need forage
• Increased yield require increased inputs
• Comfort zone

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Weed Control

• Limited Herbicides
• Multiple options
• Integrated Management
• Multiple uses
• Multiple methods

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Why Control Weeds

• Economics forage quality and quantity
• Animal Health toxic
• Buttercup
• Tall fescue
• Spouse Nagging better listen

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Weed control and fertilizer effect on
Bermudagrass Yield (lbs./ac)
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Weed Control Methods

• Herbicides
• Defoliation
• Mowing
• Grazing
• Good Management
• Fertility
• Carbohydrate Management
• Shading

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Basic Principles of Chemical Weed Control

• Know your weeds
• Choose the right herbicide
• Calibrate your sprayer
• Spray at the proper time

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Know Your Weeds

• 300 different species in East Texas Pastures

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Only a Handful Economically Significant

• Woolly Croton Milkweed
• Pigweed Berryvine
• Ragweed Thistles
• Bitterweed Buttercup
• Horsenettle Grassburs
• Dogfennel Bahiagrass
• Dallisgrass Crabgrass

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Life Cycle

• Annual Seed germinates, plant grows, flowers and
  seeds out in one growing season (crabgrass)
• Biennial Seed germinates, plant grows, then
  reproduces in following year (onion)
• Perennial Seed germinates, and plant lives and
  reproduces for several years (bermudagrass)

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Basic Principle

• Starve the weed, feed the crop
• Spray annual weeds when they are young and
  actively growing
• Spray perennial weeds when they are at full leaf
  or fruit set

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Labeled Herbicides

• 2,4-D annual broadleaf
• Banvel Weedmaster
• Picloram Grazon PD
• Sulfanyl Urea Ally, Amber
• specific weed tolerance and susceptibility
• Roundup new uses
• Zorial only labeled pre-emerge
• Velparsmutgrass

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Chemical Desiccation of Dallisgrass Sod
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Summary

• Weed management
• Weed Identification
• Integrated management

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Liebergs Law of Limits
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Soil Fertility

• Chemical
• Soil pH
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Secondary
• Micronutrients

• Physical
• Texture
• Structure
• Infiltration rate
• Utility
• Aesthetics
• Crop selectivity

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Nutrient removed (lbs./ac) by grazing and hay
production.
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Fertility Management

• Nitrogen Bermudagrass
• Grazing180 units/year include recycled
• Hay most responsive with early harvests
• Hybrid Bermuda 100 units/cutting, split
• others 60 units/cutting
• Phosphorus
• 60 - 120 units per year
• pH dependent
• build up with manure

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Fertility Management

• Potassium Tricky
• Grazing limited
• Hay depletion
• First indication Winter kill
• Late application may be more important
• examine roots in late summer
• fertilize for Ryegrass Requirements

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Fertility Management

• Soil pH
• limits nutrient availability
• Cool season more intolerant
• Ryegrass/small grains pHgt5.8
• Clover
• pHlt7 crimson, arrowleaf, subterranean, lespedeza
• pHgt7alfalfa, berseem, sweetclover, vetch, medics
  (?)

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Fertility Management

• Secondary Ca, Mg, S.
• Ca, Mg adjust with lime
• Sulfur becoming more important
• Micronutrients Zn, Cu, others
• pH regulates
• pHlt5.5 Zn, Cu, others
• pHgt7.5 Fe, others
• manure build up of Cu

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Summary

• Maximum response
• Nitrogen
• Potassium
• Forage requirement
• Nutrient use
• Crop Compatibility
• Manage for cool season

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Intensive Grazing
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Rotational Stocking

• Advantages
• Flexibility
• clipping
• fertilizer
• overseeding
• Increased production (?)
• forages
• parasite

• Disadvantage
• Increased Fencing
• Increased Water
• Increased time (?)
• Possible compaction

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Animal gain, forage availability and stocking rate

• Forage availability decreases with increased
  stocking rate and/or forage growth.
• Increase animal production and forage
  availability by decreasing stocking rate
• Increased stocking rate increases soil compaction

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Summary

• Rotate to meet forage needs
• Reduce concentrates, increase grazing area with
  decreased forage growth rate
• Sell marketable animals before predicted forage
  production decreases, increase concentrates

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Quality Hay Characteristics

• High digestibility
• High nutrient content
• High palatability
• Easily consumed
• Free of toxic materials
• Easily handled

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Factors in Purchasing Hay

• Chemical Analysis
• Protein
• Digestibility
• other nutrients
• Physical Factors
• Anti-quality Factors
• toxins fescue, sorghum, kleingrass
• dust, etc.

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Physical Factors Affecting Quality Hay

• Stage of Maturity younger is better
• Foreign Material
• Dust, mold, etc.
• Metal, Toxic weeds
• Insects (blister beetles)
• Texture softer is better
• Leafiness more leaf, more digestible
• Color buyer factor