Starting Over: Pasture Establishment and Renovation

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

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

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

• Fertilization
• Weed control
• Proper management
• Renovation

USU, Logan, UT
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Definitions

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

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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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Definitions

• 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 varieties 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
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When to renovate?

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

UNCE, Reno, NV
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Forage establishment
www.farmphoto.com
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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 pH

USU, Logan, UT
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Seedbed preparation

• Goal - 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
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Seedbed preparation

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

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Seedbed preparation

• Importance of a firm, moist seedbed
• Essential for
• Proper seed placement
• Good soil-seed contact
• Successful establishment

www.farmphoto.com
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Seedbed preparation
Creating a firm seedbed takes proper tillage

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

www.farmphoto.com
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Seedbed preparation

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

www.freefoto.com
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Seedbed preparation

• Other forms of seedbed preparation

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

USU, Logan, UT
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Seedbed preparation

• Fertility pH
• Base on soil test
• Add lime if pH is low
• Determine reasonable yield
• Add appropriate nutrients
• Phosphorus and potassium
• Nitrogen

www.efma.org
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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 - early spring
• Late summer - early fall

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Planting dates

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

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Planting dates

• Late summer - early fall seeding
• August to mid-October
• Less competition from weeds
• Liming, fertilization, and tillage done during
  drier weather thereby reducing compaction
• Fungal diseases reduced
• Note Seedlings need to have at least six weeks
  of growth before killing frost

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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
• Ensures that proper bacteria will be present for
  nitrogen fixation

www.clay.agr.okstate.edu
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Forage establishment

• Why forage seedings fail
• Germination through emergence
• After emergence

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Why forage seedings fail

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

clay.agr.okstate.edu
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Why forage seedings fail

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

clay.agr.okstate.edu
clay.agr.okstate.edu
28
Forage establishment

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

USU
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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
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Cultipacker seeding

• Consists of 2 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 have poor seed placement for
  small forage seeds

UNCE, Reno, NV
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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
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Frost seeding

• Seed broadcast in late winter on soil surface
• Freezing thawing action plus rain will cover
  seed

www.freefoto.com
www.freefoto.com

• Works well with Red Clover

UNCE
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Companion crop seeding

• A companion crop is a small grain crop (i.e.
  oats) planted with spring-seeded grasses and
  legumes.
• 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, moisture
• Good management essential

USDA
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Forage establishment

• Seeding rates
• Desired stand
• Pure live seed
• Other factors to consider

www.ca.wvu.edu
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Seeding rates

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

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

• Pure live seed percent (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
• Seeding rate affected by uniformity of seed
  placement
• Condition of seedbed
• Allelopathic toxins

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Forage establishment

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

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Costs

• Tillage
• Plowing
• Moldboard 10.00 to 15.00/acre
• Chisel 8.00 to 12.00/acre
• Disc/Harrow
• Tandem disc 6.00 to 10.00/acre
• Harrow/Cultipacker 4.50 to 6.00/acre
• Planting
• Conventional 7.00 to 10.00/acre
• No-till 10.00 to 16.00/acre

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Costs

• Seed Varies by species and variety
• Grasses
• Orchardgrass 1.40 - 1.60/lb. (15 lb/ac)
• Smooth Bromegrass 3.50/lb. (15 lb/ac)
• Timothy .95 - 1.45/lb. (12
  lb/ac)
• Tall Fescue 1.60 - 1.75/lb. (35
  lb/ac)
• Legumes
• White Clover 3.25 - 3.85/lb. (2-3 lb/ac)
• Birdsfoot Trefoil 4.30/lb. (8
  lb/ac)
• Alfalfa 3.25/lb
  (12-15 lb/ac)

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Costs

• Reduced yield in 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 wvailable
• Climate
• Soil fharacteristics
• Forage use
• Livestock
• Grazing vs. hay production
• Continuous grazing vs. rotational grazing

USDA
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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 grass)
• Dairy cattle (perennial ryegrass
• Beef cattle (tall fescue)

www.farmphoto.com
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Forage use

• Grazing vs. hay production
• Determine 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
• Trampling effects

www.farmphoto.com
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Forage use Continuous grazing vs. rotational
grazing

• Continuous grazing
• Easy
• Reduced yields

• Rotational grazing
• More management
• Higher yields
• More infrastructure required

UNCE, Reno, NV
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Plant characteristics
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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
• Bunchgrass
• Sod-forming grass
• Stolon
• Rhizome
• Re-growth
• Jointing
• Non-jointing

NRCS

• Grasses are more tolerant of poor soil conditions
• Require nitrogen fertilizer

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Legumes

• Legumes fix nitrogen from the air
• Growth habit
• Upright (Sainfoin)
• Prostrate (Birdsfoot Trefoil)
• New Growth
• Axillary (Sweet Clover)
• Crown (Red Clover)
• Axillary crown (Alfalfa)

clay.agr.okstate.edu
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Seasonal growth distribution

• Forages have different growth patterns
• Grasses
• Cool Season
• Warm Season
• Forages

ISU
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Insect disease resistance winter hardiness

• Disease resistance/
• winter hardiness
• Genetically inherited traits
• Select disease resistant
• varieties
• Select varieties with good winter hardiness if in
  cold climate
• Intended years of use

clay.agr.okstate.edu
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Forage quality

• Quality
• Forage intake
• Palatability
• Nutritive value
• Digestibility
• Chemical composition

www.farmphoto.com
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Plant characteristics

• Pure stands or mixtures
• Pure stands
• Mixtures
• Principles for composing mixtures

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Should I plant a pure stand?

• Advantages
• Management is easier
• Weed control easier
• Disadvantages
• Lower yield

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

• Advantages
• Higher yields
• Legumes fix nitrogen, reducing the need for
  nitrogen fertilizer in grasses
• Tolerate 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
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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 grass cultivars

• Most productive in the spring and fall
• Poor summer production

NRCS
NRCS
NRCS
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Kentucky Bluegrass

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

NRCS
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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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Garrison Creeping Foxtail

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

www.aginfonet.com
68
Meadow Bromegrass

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

www.agric.gov.ab.ca
69
Orchard Grass

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

NRCS
NRCS
NRCS
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Perennial Ryegrass

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

www.forages.css.orst.edu
71
Reed Canary Grass

• Advantages
• Good quality
• Good re-growth
• Adapted to wide range of conditions, including
  wet soils

NRCS

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

NRCS
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Smooth Brome

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

NRCS
NRCS
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Tall Fescue

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

NRCS
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Timothy

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

NRCS
NRCS
NRCS
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Crested Wheatgrass

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

www.aginfonet.com
76
Tall Wheatgrass

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

www.usask.ca
77
Warm season grasses

• Productive during summer months
• Must be suitable for your area

NRCS
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Switchgrass

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

NRCS
79
Legumes

• Fix nitrogen from atmosphere
• May cause bloat

clay.agr.state.edu
80
Alfalfa

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

NRCS
clay.agr.okstate.edu
81
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
82
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

NRCS
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Cicer Milkvetch

• Advantages
• Non-bloat legume
• Good forage quality
• Disadvantages
• Slow to establish
• Slow re-growth

clay.agr.okstate.edu
84
Red Clover

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

• Disadvantages
• Generally does not persist after two growing
  seasons

NRCS
85
Strawberry Clover

• Advantages
• Suited for grazing
• Suited for semi-wet and salty soils
• Disadvantages
• Not suited for hay production
• Not as productive as white clover

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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
87
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

NRCS
88
What to do next

• 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