Cool
spring weather delays grass growth this year, forcing cow herd owners to feed
hay long past winter.
Rob
Kallenbach, University of Missouri forage specialist, hears two frequent
complaints: The grass is not growing. And there are more weeds than usual.
The
first is due to a cool spring. The second is due to a hot, dry summer last
year.
“For
grass to grow, we need warm sunshine,” Kallenbach says. “There is plenty of
moisture in the soil, in contrast to the drought last summer.”
Farmers
measuring grass growth in their grazing paddocks find one-third the growth of
just one year ago.
“Last
year in April, growth averaged 90 pounds of dry matter per day per acre. This
year, growth is less than 30 pounds per day,” Kallenbach says.
Pat
Guinan, MU Extension climatologist in Commercial Agriculture, says it’s the
coolest March and April in 17 years. Across northern Missouri temperatures
average as much as 6 degrees below normal.
“Air
masses from the north cross a very large snow pack in the northern Great
Plains,” Guinan says. “That snow cover extends to the Arctic.”
The
six-to-10-day forecast calls for temperatures to return to near normal.
“With
warm weather, pastures will jump,” Kallenbach says. “There is no shortage of
water over most of Missouri.”
Grass
recovery will be slow, however, on pastures grazed by cattle all spring. Cattle
nip off leaves that create energy for regrowth. Sugars from photosynthesis make
rapid growth.
Photosynthesis
creates leaf elongation and develops side tillers that create more leaves.
“If
there was ever a time for rotational grazing, this is it,” Kallenbach says.
“Graze the grass down to a 3-inch stubble, remove the herd, and let the grass
rest for 30 days.”
A
recipe for killing a pasture is to put it through a drought, then graze it hard
the next spring without time for recovery. Then, if it is hit with another dry
summer, just kiss it goodbye, the forage specialist says.
“The
aim is not just grazing in April, but also through June and again in the
autumn. Grass management is required for stands to fully recover,” Kallenbach
says.
Some
farmers have confined their cows to a smaller pasture for continued hay
feeding.
Farmers
without hay have been buying one or two bales at a time to feed their cows.
They keep thinking grass growth will start and they won’t have to buy hay
another day.
“Grass
grazed short will take longer to recover from bad management,” Kallenbach says.
“Cows not being fed hay are eating a lot of scenery, which is not very
nutritious.”
Weeds
in pasture are filling bare spots caused when grass died in the drought, he
adds.
Winter
annuals, such as henbit and chickweed, are nature’s way of filling a void. The
seed was already in the soil, waiting for a chance to grow.
Cows
will graze chickweed, which is nutritious. The only problem is that there is
not much growth there. Cattle avoid henbit.
The
concern is what will fill those bare spots after winter annuals are gone,
Kallenbach says. If crabgrass grows, that is good. If horse nettle grows,
that’s not good. Tall weeds shade grass and reduce growth.
Some
grasses, such as fescue, can be aggressive in reclaiming bare spots, given some
good grass-growing weather.
