There are four possible major categories that are inputs for grazing enterprises, which include fence, water, lime and fertilizer and seed. Each category is unique in its payback possibilities, and each category is unique to every farm and every grazier. All categories can provide payback; some are greater than others, some are faster than others.
Fence
If the pasture is average in forage composition, managing it with new, temporary, division fences can provide more forage production and better quality forage. Therefore, graziers receive increased utilization of the forage resource with minimal cash outlay.
Water
There are payback opportunities as pastures are divided into paddocks and each paddock receives a period of rest that ultimately yields more forage that is higher in quality because it is in the vegetative stage.
Also, more forage is harvested by the animals. As the fence system is planned, how water will be supplied for the livestock must be considered, too. Adequate amounts of water must be available, which has a direct impact on milk production or weight gain. Fence and water design go together.
Lime and fertilizer
Returns due to fertilizer application are good, but they can be quite variable. Nitrogen fertilizer that is applied in late May to primarily grass pastures can lengthen the spring production period. Nitrogen fertilizer that is applied to paddocks in August will likely increase production for later use in the fall and early winter. Returns to this investment are quite good.
Lime, phosphorus and potassium should be applied as soil tests indicate and financial resources allow, but returns to division fences and water investments are generally realized quicker. Adequate amounts of calcium, phosphorus and potassium are necessary for above-average forage yields.
Many permanent pastures need many pounds of one or two of these nutrients because of years of little or no application of lime or fertilizer. Lime is very often the best initial investment. Lime is essential to a successful soil fertility program; an adequate amount of lime allows other nutrients to be more available to the forage plants.
If lime is needed, it should be applied before money is spent on phosphorus and potassium. Returns from this investment are very possible if nutrient levels are low or very low, and soil pH is less than the desired value for the forages being grown.
Seed
Most pastures are grass-based, so the addition of a legume usually is a very good decision. Legumes improve forage quality, increase energy, supply magnesium and potassium for livestock, and extend forage production in the summer months.
Overseeding or frost seeding is a low-cost method of adding a legume to grass-dominated pastures.
Total pasture renovation can be expensive on a per-acre basis. Labor, machinery, seed and possibly herbicide expenses must be estimated. There is also a time delay in receiving payback from the investment; the new seeding takes time to establish and to be ready for grazing.
Simple changes in management such as creating paddocks, using rotational grazing and improving water delivery can provide improvement in pasture quality and quantity. The more the system matures and gets established, the more you will see the return of your investment. Your skills of realizing what is actually happening in the pasture will also improve with time.
Focusing on one or two fields or one or two paddocks at a time allows adequate resources to be devoted to that area instead of spreading the resources too thinly over a greater number of acres or paddocks. This definitely applies to renovation, fertilization and weed control.
Division fences plus water, lime, fertilizer and legume seeding can revive many slumbering pastures into vibrant, productive pastures. These combined costs for improving the pasture must be compared to the total pasture renovation costs of labor, machinery, herbicides, seed and lost grazing days. FG
