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Sitting here at my new kitchen-countertop office location during the COVID-19 pandemic has given me an opportunity to reflect on our past research work and contemplate new directions to take based on what we have learned.
One challenge with establishing native grass forages, really, almost any perennial forage, is the lack of forage production during the establishment cycle. Unlike annuals, perennials, especially native warm-season perennials, are distance runners.
Throwing stock onto a pasture and hoping they are getting the correct nutrients is like a shot in the dark. Pasture maintenance and rehabilitation can be a daunting task; establishing a fertilization plan can help take the guesswork and burden out of the equation.
Legumes add quality to grass pastures as well as providing other benefits. These plants are most noted for their ability to take nitrogen from soil and convert it to ammonia through their symbiotic relationship with rhizobia nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
“We’re one family on one ranch, and that’s it.”
That statement is the bold proclamation on the Alderspring Ranch website, front and center with their family photo.
We all know how important leaves are to forage quality. Leaves contain the bulk of the energy and protein and are more digestible than stems. This is especially true for alfalfa.
Ranchers often use fire to help control or retard invasive species or brushy plants like juniper or cedar, create more forage for livestock or reduce fuel loads to help prevent catastrophic wildfires.
Not many years ago, there were only two people allowed to enter a newly planted Midwest cornfield: One was the person applying the side-dress nitrogen, and the other was the person applying the weed control.
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