Pasture walk in Mio on June 22

Phil Durst<durstp@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - June 12, 2015

Pasture walks are a great way to learn and share knowledge. MSU Extension will host a pasture walk in Mio on June 22.

Michigan State University Extension invites all producers interested in grazing to a pasture walk on Monday evening, June 22 at the Edward Yoder farm, 362 W. Kittle Rd. Pasture walks are a great opportunity to talk about managing pasture for cattle and managing cattle on pasture. Yoder will share what he does to push quality and productivity of pasture to get more forage into his cows.

Yoder grazed young dairy heifers and began milking last November when those heifers calved. Now he grazes cattle as a major forage input for milk production. His practices include clipping pastures to encourage the desirable species to proliferate. We’ll talk about that practice and the potential it has for pasture productivity and quality.

Yoder also applied nitrogen on June 11 to part of a pasture in which we will walk. You will have the opportunity to see the difference between fertilized pasture and unfertilized pasture and we’ll talk about long-term MSU research on nitrogen fertilization of pasture.

Whether the goal of a producer is to sell feeder cattle, finish cattle or produce milk, pastures and diets need to be managed to achieve those goals. Typically, the end of June is the beginning of a decline in pasture productivity and quality that lasts through the summer. This is a good time to talk about how to manage the diets of cattle during this time so that they grow well or produce well.

Pastures walks are about seeing and hearing about someone else’s system and discussing the results of that. In addition, pasture walks are an opportunity to share experiences and questions with peers and MSU Extension educators.

The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a free dinner of hotdogs and hamburgers provided by the Yoder family. To help plan the amount of food, please contact me a MSU Extension educator, at durstp@msu.edu or 989-387-5346, to let him know if you plan to attend or if you have any questions.

The Yoder farm is located on Kittle Road, one-half mile west of M-33 on the north side of the road. Kittle Road is three miles north of Mio.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).