By Dean Cortus, PAg, Range Management Extension Specialist, Humboldt
August 2024
As cattle are being removed from pastures this fall, it is a good time to evaluate the health and use of those pastures. Assessing pasture is a key component to managing pasture stands. These assessments will help in identifying management issues and problems that may have gone unnoticed.
Assess the overall ground cover of the pasture, as both live plants and litter contribute to ground cover. Litter is the dead plant material from previous years’ growth. Ground cover is beneficial as it increases infiltration, reduces evaporation through shading the soil in the summer and increases snow trapping potential which all lead in increasing soil moisture. It also reduces soil erosion, returns nutrients to the soil and increases soil organic matter. Having good ground cover is important to a healthy pasture.
Are there areas of your pasture that are underused? Cattle prefer to graze areas that are convenient, and these areas become overgrazed. Additional water development in lightly grazed areas can aid in cattle distribution. Salt and mineral can be placed away from water sources to move cattle to underused acres. These can be moved to a new area once the forage has been adequately grazed. Adding a cross fence in the pasture to force cattle into seldom used areas will improve cattle distribution and pasture use. Producers must ensure there is a water source available for the cattle in the cross-fenced area.
Did you notice any noxious or invasive weeds? Common burdock (Arctium minus), scentless chamomile (Matricarcia perforate), leafy spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias) and common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) are all examples of noxious weeds. Weeds in pasture stands are directly related to pasture health, cause the decline of available forage and reduces pasture carrying capacity. It is important to introduce control methods when the weed patch is small as the area becomes harder to control as the infestation grows. Options for control include mowing, biological controls and herbicides found in the 2024 Guide to Crop Protection.
Have you noticed the declining productivity of a tame pasture stand? Fall is a good time to take soil samples in tame pasture to identify any potential nutrient deficiencies. A fertility plan can be identified from the soil test analysis and customized to the forage stand needs. Fertilizer can be applied the following spring to improve tame pasture production. It is important to estimate the costs of the planned fertilizer application relative to the expected increase in forage yield and grazing days.
Fall pasture monitoring is time well spent. Preparations can be made to incorporate a management plan to better use of your pasture resource. For more information, reach out to your local range management extension specialist or call the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.