Forage Fax

Preparing for the Next Drought If your crystal ball is not working it is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to a potential drought because another drought will occur, the prediction is when. Some best management practices can prepare us for a potential drought: forage management, grazing management and utilization of warm-season annual forages. Forage management: It is always important, drought or not, to pay attention to plant nutrient requirements. Soil test, apply the needed fertilizer and hope for rain. Ensure soil pH is… Read More →

Dealing with Drought During a drought, little can be done to increase forage pasture growth. Proper management can minimize impacts of drought on your operation when it does, and it will, occur. Careful management early in a drought can minimize long term stand damage and help maintain forage yields when rains do come. If pastures are managed properly during times of low moisture, the effects of drought will be less severe and pastures will rebound faster when precipitation is sufficient. Remember, management practices that minimize damage to pastures… Read More →

Fertilizer is and has always been a significant production expense whether you are growing corn, cotton, or pasture forage. Fertilizer costs have increased tremendously over the last few decades. Commercial fertilizers are the most costly input in warm season grass forage production. Below are some important issues relative to fertilizer efficiency as well as alternatives for reducing fertilizer use and reducing production costs for forage production. Soil Test: Adequate soil fertility is one key to successful forage and livestock production in Texas. Soil testing is still the best… Read More →

Liquid Calcium:  A substitute for what? The transportation and application costs associated with limestone applications often exceeds the cost of the limestone by 10-30 times.  When soil test recommendations call for three, four or even five tons per acre, the end cost can sometimes exceed $300 per acre.  Increasingly producers are looking toward non-traditional approaches to battle low soil pH.  Over the past several years, online ad posting have stressed the liquid calcium formulation marketed by company X or Y is many times more available than the calcium… Read More →

Annual Ryegrass…a cool season annual forage often utilized by livestock producers for winter grazing. However, it’s often deemed an enemy of many a hay producer in East Texas. Volunteer annual ryegrass can be common in hay meadows. Winter rainfalls can promote seed germination and seeds can survive for multiple years in our soils. Later maturity of annual ryegrass can delay or prevent our warm season perennial forages (i.e. bermudagrass or bahiagrass) from breaking dormancy in April/May therefore delaying our initial hay cutting.   So how do we manage… Read More →

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Weed Science is launching a newsletter that’s segmented into row crop, turf, and forage. The February issue is below along with a signup link is below to the newsletter. Forages Extension Weed Newsletter Forages Extension Weed Science Newsletter Signup       Zachary Howard Extension Program Specialist II, Weed Science Texas A&M AgriLife College Station, Texas Cell: 979.320.9914 zachary.howard@ag.tamu.edu

Soil Test!  Soil Test!  Soil Test!  If you have not done so for this year, please consider obtaining a soil test now.  There is not much that can be done regarding the high cost of fertilizer, but there is much we can do regarding how efficiently we use fertilizer.  The soil test is the first step in efficient fertilizer use and improved forage production.  Samples should be collected annually for hay meadows and every 2 to 3 years for grazing pastures.  For soil forms and bags contact your… Read More →

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants combine solar energy, atmospheric CO2, and water, within green leaf tissue (chlorophyll) to produce carbohydrates. Plants use these carbohydrates as a source of energy to carry on basic metabolic processes. In short, while overly simplistic, plants can create their own food using the simple ingredients of sunlight, water, and CO2. Plants do require, however, adequate green leaf (photosynthetic tissue) in order to carry out photosynthesis. Without these four main ingredients plants cannot survive.  As managers there is not a lot we… Read More →

Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) is a perennial broadleaf plant that usually grows in wet areas and is frequently associated with standing water. Leaves are alternate to one another along the stem forming a rosette. The mature plant stands erect and grows 2 to 5 feet tall. Leaves are alternate to one another along the stem. The small greenish flowers are arranged in dense clusters on elongated stems. The fruiting stem dies back in mid to late summer, and the fruits and stems turn a distinctive rusty brown. New… Read More →

I would encourage horse owners and trainers to engage with their local County Extension Agents. Pasture management, it seems, has a different meaning for every horse owner/manager. First, a horse has a basic nutritional requirements that are determined by stage of growth, breed and work load. As a horse owner/manager you will have to decide whether you want to utilize pasture to help meet these nutritional requirements or whether you want better ground cover in your turnout/exercise areas and pastures. A rule of thumb is that a horse… Read More →