Pasture Health

You may have seen this On Pasture article before, but since this month we’re focusing on weeds, I thought you’d like to see it again. Enjoy! Can weeds tell you about soil health issues? Well, yes and no. I’ve got a lot of experience with weeds since I’ve spent the last 17 years teaching cattle, […]

In the last while I have attended a couple of field day, farm tour type of affairs. To my knowledge none of them were sponsored by any of the chemical companies directly, but listening to the folks putting on these things you could very easily believe were in the employ of these companies. At one […]

Contrary to what you’ve been told, leafy spurge does not cause harm to cattle, and with a little training, they can and will eat it. So why not turn that pest into forage? Here Kathy shares what she’s learned about getting cattle to eat leafy spurge over her decade of teaching cows to eat weeds.

The economic impacts of Medusahead rye can be extreme. Dense infestations can reduce rangeland livestock carrying capacity by 50-80%. The resulting impact on wildlife habitat, and the increase in wildfire frequency and severity causes additional losses to ranchers and rural communities. Meanwhile, it is so resilient, that controlling it with herbicides can cost as much […]

That’s pretty much what the research, and a decade of experience has shown me about using herbicides to control weeds. More about that, plus an alternative that actually works.

When I started teaching cows to eat weeds, I thought everyone would see what I saw: an economical alternative for weed management.  If cows or other livestock eat weeds, you don’t have to spend money on herbicide or buy fuel for spray rigs or mowers. You don’t have to rent goats (sorry goat producers).  And […]

When I was in Grapevine, Texas for a conference several years ago, lots of folks asked me if they could use my training technique to teach cows to eat Woolly Croton. Woolly Croton (Croton capitatus) is also known as goat weed or dove weed, because dove, quail and turkeys love the seeds it produces. That […]

Even if you don’t have the same kind of operation the Neuharth’s have, I think you’ll enjoy their story. Their farm is an example of understanding the five soil health principles and then implementing management practices to meet every principle. Best of all, they’re including the next generation in the process and young Johnathan can […]

Spraying herbicides wasn’t doing the job of reducing spotted knapweed and was just reducing legumes and other forbs in pasture. So Jim decided to work with his cattle to take care of the problem and create healthier pastures. The results were tremendous!

Drought and high hay prices have something in common: responding successfully means taking care of soil and forage health. Here I’ve collected tips and principles from ranchers and On Pasture authors to help you think through what you’re managing for and why. Of course a management plan will make all this more doable, so be […]

Focusing on to two basic concepts is the best way to become a successful grazier: Graze Period and Recovery Period. The Graze Period is the time animals are left in a paddock. The proper graze period ensures you get the most out of your forage without allowing your animals to re-graze new growth. The Recovery […]

  Have you ever stopped to think about what the dollar value of the nutrients in the hay are worth as fertilizer once they have been processed by the cow? Here’s some math to provide an answer: Mature cows at maintenance should excrete 100% of the nutrients they consume in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and […]

This month we’re focused on planning for the upcoming grazing season. Last week, we gave you free, downloadable grazing charts along with a list of questions you can ask yourself to get started adding information to the chart. This week, we’re giving you some more background to help you answer those questions. In this one […]

As a result of a changing climate, the past few decades have seen increased incidences of heat waves with record highs around the globe. In fact, July 2021 was the hottest month ever documented on the planet. In the U.S., the mean temperature was higher than the average for July by 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and […]

Soil compaction can be a big problem on any kind of farmland, whether it’s cropland or pasture. Soil compaction makes it harder for plant roots to penetrate the soil, reduces water infiltration and air exchange, limits the ability of plants to use some nutrients, and increases the chances of water erosion. Traffic of any kind, […]