Starting Over: Pasture Establishment and Renovation

1
Starting OverPasture Establishment and
Renovation
Developed by Rhonda Miller, Utah State
University
USDA
USDA
USDA
2
What well be covering

• Introduction
• Forage establishment
• Factors to consider prior to renovation
• Plant characteristics
• Characteristics of individual grasses and legumes

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
www.freefoto.com
3
Does your pasture need help?

• Fertilization
• Weed control
• Proper management
• Renovation

USU, Logan, UT
4
Terms to know

• Establishment planting a pasture where there is
  no existing pasture
• Renovation a series of actions that lead to a
  long-term change in the plant composition of a
  pasture

USDA ARS
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Type of renovation

• Partial renovation
• Rejuvenation or enhancement of existing pasture
• Generally done when poor forage stands result
  from winter injury, drought, flooding, or other
  stresses
• Total renovation
• Destruction followed by reestablishment of either
  the same species or another species

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More terms

• Species - refers to the type of plant, such as
  alfalfa, sweet clover, smooth bromegrass, etc.
• Cultivar - refers to a specific variety within a
  specie. York, Saratoga, and Bravo are all
  improved cultivars of smooth bromegrass.

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Benefits of renovation

• Replaces old or diseased pasture species with
  healthy improved varieties
• Extends or increases productivity of pasture
• Improves quality of forage
• Increases animal productivity
• Reduces soil erosion
• Reduces pollution potential

www.farmphoto.com
www.farmphoto.com
8
When to renovate?

• Renovate when
• Pasture is in poor condition and even proper
  management techniques will not improve the
  pasture to the desired level
• You want to grow a different forage specie or
  variety

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
9
Forage establishment
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Factors involved in forage establishment

• Seedbed preparation
• Seeding methods
• Seeding guidelines
• Seeding rates
• Costs

USU, Logan, UT
11
Forage establishment

• Seedbed preparation
• Seed requirements
• Tillage
• Other forms of seedbed preparation
• Fertility and pH

USU, Logan, UT
12
Seedbed preparation

• Your goal
• To control weeds and provide a firm seedbed with
  just enough loose surface soil for shallow seed
  placement and good seed-to-soil contact

www.farmphoto.com
13
Seedbed preparation

• Seed requirements
• Minimum soil temperature
• Moisture
• Oxygen
• Seed-to-soil contact
• Accomplish by creating a firm, moist seedbed)

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A firm, moist seedbed isessential for

• Proper seed placement
• Good soil-seed contact
• Successful establishment

www.farmphoto.com
15
Seedbed preparation
Proper tillage creates a firm seedbed

• Deep tillage (plow)
• Disc
• Roller harrow or cultipacker

www.farmphoto.com
16
Seedbed preparation

• Purpose of tillage
• Eliminate existing vegetation
• Turn under surface weed seeds
• Loosen soil
• Incorporate fertilizer
• Provide firm seedbed for seeding

www.freefoto.com
17
Other forms of seedbed preparation

• Close clipping or grazing
• Burning
• Non-selective herbicides

USU, Logan, UT
18
Seedbed preparation fertility and pH

• Base on soil test results
• Add lime if pH is low
• Add sulfur if the pH is high
• Determine a reasonable yield
• Add appropriate macro-nutrients
• Phosphorus and potassium
• Nitrogen

www.efma.org
19
Forage establishment

• Seeding guidelines
• Planting dates
• Seeding depth
• Inoculation of legumes
• Why forage seedings fail

www.farmphoto.com
20
Seeding guidelines

• Planting dates
• Late winter to early spring
• Late summer to early fall

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Late-winter to early-spring seeding

• Late February to early May
• More common in northern U.S.
• Soil moisture usually good
• If planted too early, soil can be cold, resulting
  in fungal diseases
• If planted too late, soil can be dry and
  seedlings desiccate

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Late-summer to early-fall seeding

• August to mid-October
• Less competition from weeds
• Liming, fertilization, and are tillage done
  during drier weather, reducing compaction
• Fungal diseases are reduced
• Note Seedlings need to have at least six weeks
  of growth before the first killing frost occurs.

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Seeding guidelines

• Seeding depth
• Approximately ¼ inch
• Varies with
• Soil type
• Soil moisture
• Time of seeding
• Firmness of seedbed

clay.agr.okstate.edu
24
Seeding guidelines

• Inoculation of legumes
• All legumes should be inoculated with the proper
  strains of N-fixing bacteria prior to seeding
• This ensures proper bacteria will be present for
  nitrogen fixation

www.clay.agr.okstate.edu
25
Why forage seedings fail

• Germination through emergence
• Hard seed
• Cold temperatures
• Improper planting depth
• Seed dries out
• Crusted soil surface
• Toxicity - allelopathic effects, herbicide
  carryover

clay.agr.okstate.edu
26
Why forage seedings fail

• After emergence
• Inappropriate pH
• Low fertility
• Poor drainage
• Drought
• Inadequate legume inoculation
• Competition from weeds/companion crops
• Insects
• Diseases, winter kill

clay.agr.okstate.edu
27
Forage establishment

• Seeding methods
• Broadcast
• Cultipacker
• Drilled
• No-till
• Frost seeding
• Companion crop

USU
28
Broadcast seeding

• Cheapest and easiest method of seeding
• Typically drag or pack the soil after
  broadcasting the seed
• Tilled seedbed
• Seed placement not uniform

www.modernforage.com
29
Cultipacker seeding

• Consists of two sets of rollers with seed boxes
  between them
• Commonly used on tilled seedbeds
• Dont use on heavy soils

www.faivre.com
www.faivre.com
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Drill seeding

• Directly plants each seed into tilled soil at the
  proper depth
• Need to use a forage drill
• Grain drills will result in poor seed placement
  for small forage seeds

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
31
No-till seeding

• Plants seed directly into existing sod or
  vegetation
• Solid planting
• Band planting
• Requires a no-till planter
• Reduces erosion
• Conserves soil moisture
• Reduced fuel, labor, and time requirements

www.usda.gov
32
Frost seeding

• Seed is broadcast in late winter on soil surface
• Freezing thawing action plus rain will cover
  seed
• Works well with red clover

www.freefoto.com
UNCE
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Companion crop seeding

• Advantages
• Can be cut or grazed for feed
• Provides a quick ground cover
• Helps control soil erosion
• Reduces invasion of weeds
• Disadvantages
• Competes for nutrients, light and moisture
• Good management is essential

USDA
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Forage establishment

• Seeding rates
• Desired stand
• Percent pure live seed
• Other factors to consider

www.ca.wvu.edu
35
Seeding rates

• Desired stand varies
• based on
• Forage species planted
• Ability to fill in (rhizomes, etc.)
• Percent hard seed
• Mixture, pure-stand, companion crop
• Availability of water

clay.agr.okstate.edu
www.forages.orst.edu
NRCS
36
Seeding rates

• Percent pure live seed (PLS)
• PLS Purity x Germination
• Purity of seed that is the desired
  forage seed
• Germination of seed that germinates
  when planted

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Seeding rates

• Other factors to consider
• Seeding method used
• Uniformity of seed placement
• Condition of seedbed
• Allelopathic toxins

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Forage establishment

• Costs
• Tillage
• Seed
• Reduced yield in the first year

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Costs Tillage
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Costs Seed

• Grasses
• Legumes

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Costs

• Reduced yield in the first year
• Spring seeding
• Reduced number of cuttings first year
• Reduced yield per cutting
• Fall seeding
• No harvest of new crop during year of
• establishment
• Reduced yield of previous crop during year of
  establishment
• Ground preparation
• Time for establishment

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Factors to consider prior to establishment or
renovation
www.usda.gov
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Factors to consider

• Pasture inventory
• Land available
• Climate
• Soil characteristics
• Forage use
• Livestock
• Grazing vs. hay production
• Continuous grazing vs. rotational grazing

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Pasture inventory

• Land available
• Grazing land
• Water source(s)
• Sacrifice area
• Hay production

www.farmphoto.com
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Pasture inventory

• Climate
• Growing season
• Frost-free days
• Growing degree days (GDD)
• Temperature
• Precipitation

USDA
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Pasture inventory

• Soil characteristics
• Drainage
• Water holding capacity (droughtiness)

OSU Extension Service
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Forage use

• Livestock
• Different animals have different nutritional
  requirements and forage preferences
• Horses (timothy)
• Dairy cattle (perennial ryegrass)
• Beef cattle (tall fescue)

www.farmphoto.com
48
Forage use
www.farmphoto.com

• Grazing vs. hay production
• Which will be your primary use?
• Many forages that are good for hay production are
  not good for grazing, and vice-versa
• Upright growth habit - better for hay production
• Consider trampling effects

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Forage use

• Rotational grazing
• Requires more management and infrastructure
• Butyields are higher

• Continuous grazing
• Easy
• Butyields are reduced

USDA NRCS
USDA NRCS
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Plant characteristics
USDA NRCS
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Plant characteristics

• Grasses
• Legumes
• Seasonal growth patterns
• Disease resistance
• Forage quality
• Pure stands or mixtures

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Grasses

• Growth habit
• Bunch
• Sod-forming
• Stolon
• Rhizome
• Re-growth
• Jointing
• Non-jointing

USDA NRCS

• Grasses are more tolerant of poor soil conditions
• Butgrasses require nitrogen source

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Legumes

• Legumes fix nitrogen from the air
• Growth habit
• Upright (sainfoin)
• Prostrate (birdsfoot trefoil)
• New growth
• Axillary (sweetclover)
• Crown (red clover)
• Axillary crown (alfalfa)

clay.agr.okstate.edu
54
Seasonal growth distribution
ISU
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Insect and disease resistance and winter hardiness

• Genetically inherited traits
• Select disease-resistant
• varieties
• Select varieties with good winter hardiness if in
  cold climate
• Consider the intended years of use

clay.agr.okstate.edu
56
Forage quality

• Affects
• Palatability, and thus amounts consumed
• Nutritive value
• Digestibility
• Chemical composition

www.farmphoto.com
57
Should I plant a pure stand?

• Advantages
• Management is easier
• Weed control is easier
• Disadvantage
• Yield is lower

www.forages.css.orst.edu
58
Should I plant a mixture?

• Advantages
• Higher yields
• Reduced need for nitrogen fertilizer when legumes
  are included
• More tolerant of wider differences in soil
  conditions
• More competitive against weeds

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Should I plant a mixture?

• Disadvantages
• Grazing management more difficult, especially if
  growth habits not similar
• If not managed properly grasses will dominate
• Weeds more difficult to control

clay.agr.okstate.edu
60
Principles for composing mixtures

• Keep the mixture simple
• Similar maturity date
• Similar palatability
• Similar growth habit

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Characteristics of individual grasses legumes
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Cool-season grasses

• Most productive in the spring and fall
• Poor summer production
• Bunchgrasses versus sod-forming grasses

NRCS
63
Basin wildrye

• Advantages
• Good forage for wildlife
• Hardy, long-lived
• Tolerates salt and alkali areas
• Disadvantages
• Easily damaged by over-grazing

NRCS
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Crested wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Drought-tolerant
• Winter-hardy
• Vigorous seedlings
• Disadvantages
• Needs to be grazed throughout season to maintain
  palatability
• Goes dormant during hot summer

www.aginfonet.com
USDA ARS
65
Intermediate wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Long-lived
• Drought-tolerant
• Good forage for both livestock and wildlife
• Disadvantages
• Does not tolerate continuous, close grazing
• Slow regrowth

www.agric.gov.ab.ca
66
Meadow bromegrass

• Advantages
• Good yield potential
• Good regrowth
• Tolerant of close grazing
• Disadvantages
• Not tolerant of acidic and poorly-drained soils

www.agric.gov.ab.ca
67
Orchardgrass

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Good regrowth
• Shade-tolerant
• Disadvantages
• Suffers when grazed continually

NRCS
NRCS
USDA NRCS
68
Perennial ryegrass

• Advantages
• Very good quality
• Easy to establish
• Good tolerance to close grazing
• Disadvantages
• Poor drought and heat tolerance
• Poor winter hardiness
• Poor shade tolerance
• Likes well-drained soils

www.forages.css.orst.edu
stephenville.tamu.edu
69
Pubescent wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Long-lived
• Drought-tolerant
• Good forage for both livestock and wildlife
• Disadvantages
• Does not tolerate continuous, close grazing
• Slow regrowth

NRCS, Bozeman, Mont.
70
Russian wildrye

• Advantages
• Cold-hardy, drought-tolerant and long-lived
• Very tolerant of grazing and regrows quickly
• Disadvantages
• Difficult to establish
• Can be damaged by overgrazing, especially in the
  early spring.
• Recommended to be planted in pure stands and
  fenced off for better grazing management

prairiewild.com
71
Siberian wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Drought-tolerant
• Winter-hardy
• Vigorous seedlings
• Disadvantages
• Needs to be grazed throughout season to maintain
  palatability
• Goes dormant during hot summer

APMC, Idaho
72
Slender wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Somewhat tolerant of alkaline and saline
  conditions
• Good forage for both livestock and wildlife
• Disadvantages
• Short lived
• Moderately tolerant of grazing

USDA Plant Gallery
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Tall fescue

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Tillering stimulated through frequent grazing
• Very winter-hardy
• Active fall growth
• Disadvantages
• Must be endophyte free

OSU
stephenville.tamu.edu
USDA NRCS
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Tall wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Tolerant of saline and alkaline soils
• Good winter forage
• Disadvantages
• Does not tolerate continuous, close grazing
• Low forage value

stephenville.tamu.edu
75
Timothy

• Advantages
• High quality
• Easy to establish
• Winter-hardy
• Disadvantages
• Sensitive to frequent defoliation
• Poor regrowth
• Poor summer production
• Not suited to droughty soils

NRCS
USDA NRCS
76
Garrison creeping foxtail

• Advantages
• Likes wet soils
• Highly palatable
• High yield
• Disadvantages
• May invade canals, ditches, etc.

www.aginfonet.com
77
Kentucky bluegrass

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Withstands animal traffic
• Good tolerance to close grazing
• Disadvantages
• Low yield potential
• Poor drought and heat tolerance
• Likes well-drained soil

NRCS
78
Reed canarygrass
USDA NRCS

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Good regrowth
• Adapted to wide range of conditions, including
  wet soils

• Disadvantages
• Lack of palatability
• Produces best when intensely grazed
• Poor drought and heat tolerance
• Invasive

USDA NRCS
79
Smooth brome

• Advantages
• Usually grown with a legume
• Graze after stem elongation
• Provides good mid-summer grazing
• High quality
• Disadvantages
• Aggressive, can take over a pasture

NRCS
USDA NRCS
80
Western wheatgrass

• Advantages
• Tolerant of alkaline and saline conditions, poor
  drainage, and drought
• Good forage for both livestock and wildlife
• Disadvantages
• Moderately tolerant of grazing
• Grazing must be managed to maintain stand

Kansas Grasses
81
Warm-season grasses

• Productive during summer months
• Must be suitable for your area
• Bunchgrasses versus sod-forming grasses

USDA NRCS
82
Alkali sacaton

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Adapted to alkaline or saline soils
• Tolerates flooding and soil deposition
• Disadvantages
• May be difficult to establish
• Best if grazed only in spring and summer, during
  active growth

www.noble.org
83
Big bluestem

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Likes well-drained soils with low fertility
• Used by livestock and wildlife
• Disadvantages
• Not suited for cool climates
• May be difficult to establish

www.noble.org
84
Little bluestem

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Likes well-drained soils with low fertility
• Disadvantages
• Not suited for cool climates
• May be difficult to establish
• Becomes unpalatable in fall and winter

www.noble.org
85
Sideoats grama

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Adapted to a wide range of soil conditions
• Maintains feed value throughout year
• Disadvantages
• Not suited for cool climates
• May be difficult to establish

www.noble.org
86
Indiangrass

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Adapted to deep, well-drained soils
• Tolerates poorly-drained soils and a range of pH
  and soil textures
• Disadvantages
• May be difficult to establish
• Best if grazed only in spring and summer, during
  active growth
• Can be invasive

www.noble.org
87
Switchgrass

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Tolerates a wide range of soil conditions
• Excellent forage for livestock
• Excellent forage and cover for wildlife
• Disadvantages
• Not suited for cool climates
• May be difficult to establish

USDA ARS
USDA NRCS
88
Sudangrass and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids

• Advantages
• Productive during hot summer months
• Adapted to moderately well-drained soils
• Tolerates poorly drained soils and a range of pH
  and soil textures
• Disadvantages
• Requires warm (60 degree) temperatures to grow
• Winter kill at first hard frost
• Young plants and drought or frost stressed plants
  can be poisonous

www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages
National forage and grasslands curriculum
89
Legumes

• Fix nitrogen from atmosphere
• May cause bloat

clay.agr.state.edu
90
Alfalfa

• Advantages
• Excellent quality
• Drought-tolerant
• Disadvantages
• Causes bloat
• Potential for heaving

NRCS
clay.agr.okstate.edu
91
Alsike clover

• Advantages
• Excellent quality
• Grows in variety of soils and conditions
• Disadvantages
• Can graze frequently, but not closely
• Much lower yielding than alfalfa

www.agry.purdue.edu
92
Birdsfoot trefoil

• Advantages
• Excellent quality
• Grows in variety of soils and conditions
• Non-bloat legume
• Disadvantages
• Can graze frequently, but not closely
• Slow to establish

flicr.com
93
Cicer milkvetch

• Advantages
• Non-bloat legume
• Good forage quality
• Adapted to a wide range of soil conditions
• Disadvantages
• Slow to establish
• Slow regrowth

clay.agr.okstate.edu
94
Red clover

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Easy to establish
• Works well with frost seeding

• Disadvantages
• Generally does not persist after two growing
  seasons
• Can be invasive

USDA NRCS
95
Sainfoin

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Well adapted to soils of the Rocky Mountain
  Region
• Good drought tolerance
• Non-bloat legume
• Disadvantages
• Intolerant of frequent defoliation

clay.agr.okstate.edu
96
Strawberry clover

• Advantages
• Suited for grazing
• Tolerant of wet, saline and/or alkaline soils
• Disadvantages
• Not suited for hay production
• Not as productive as white clover
• Will cause bloat
• Slow to establish

97
Subterranean clover

• Advantages
• Excellent quality
• Good tolerance to close grazing
• Does not cause bloat or early lambing
• Tolerates a wide range of soil conditions
• Disadvantages
• Not cold-hardy
• Can be invasive

elib.cs.berkeley.edu
98
White Clover

• Advantages
• Excellent quality
• Good tolerance to close grazing
• Withstands continuous grazing
• Grows best during cool, moist seasons on
  well-drained soils
• Disadvantages
• Low yielding
• May cause bloat

USDA NRCS
99
Summary

• Renovation may be partial or total
• Partial renovation rejuvenates or enhances parts
  of an existing pasture
• Proper management can aide in partial renovation
• Total renovation destroys existing vegetation
  then re-establishes better vegetation

100
Homework

• Determine if your pasture requires improvement.
• Determine your goals for the improvement or
  renovation.
• Determine the best and most cost-effective method
  to achieve your goals.
• Determine the best plants to use for your area
  and for your goals.