Continuing drought in northwest Iowa is forcing producers to alter their grazing plans. Fortunately they have “detours," said Beth Doran, Iowa State University extension beef specialist in that area.
“Top of the list is reduce stocking rate,” she said. “Early weaning calves is a proven method to reduce the energy requirement of the cow by 25 to 30 percent and lighten the grazing pressure on the pasture. Early weaning is more effective than supplemental creep feeding when forage production is short.”
But this is only part of the equation. If pasture is very short, producers still may be forced to remove a portion of the cows from the pasture or provide supplemental feed such as green-chopped corn or distillers grains.
“Assuming drought continues, consider placing all of the cows in a ‘sacrifice’ pasture,” Doran said. “It’s cheaper to renovate one pasture next year than all of the pastures.”
Rotational grazing can help sustain pasture production, but increased recovery time between rotations is key during drought. This helps maintain the leaf which is the plant’s solar factory, and increases root development allowing for increased uptake of nutrients and moisture.