2009 Annual Report for FNE08-627
Production and nutrition of no-till drilling
Summary
2. The goal of this project is to provide quantitative information on the effectiveness of no-till renovation on pastures and hay fields. We will be using a pasture plate meter and forage analysis to quantitatively and qualitatively demonstrate the benefits of no-till pasture renovation. Through this project we will provide “on farm” results clarifying the quality change in pasture that may be realized from no-till renovation as well as examining any possible improved production that may be found. Tracking production will allow us to show if there is an improvement in total production and if it is possible to equalize the distribution of growth more evenly over a season. We will also be looking at the nutrient and production characteristics of different forage species no-tilled into existing sod stands. Additionally, we will work to create calibration equations for pasture plate meters that could be used in the future by other farmers. Overall this project will provide information that producers can use to make a more informed decision about whether or not this practice will fit their operation.
3. Cold Spring Ranch is our business name; it is operated by myself (Gabe Clark). Each year in the spring we bring in 50 to 75 weanling to yearling aged, Angus based all grass fed calves from local farms and finishes them entirely on grass. We then start processing in late summer and process weekly for 12 months; we are working towards providing fresh grass fed beef year round. We market all of our beef ourselves to several different types of buyers. We supply eight restaurants with fresh grass fed beef, a college purchases fresh ground beef from us weekly, we have a large natural food store and several smaller natural foods stores buying from us, and then about 40% of our beef we market direct to the public. We are currently processing 4 to 6 calves a month with a local butcher who is USDA inspected, organically certified, and who has been certified by numerous other third party audit programs. We have been operating Cold Spring Ranch for four years now, prior to that we were running cattle ranches in California for 5 years. Currently our farm provides me with part-time work, two of the farms that produce calves for us provide full-time work for the families that own them, and four of the farms supply part-time work for their owners. Our processor is in the next town over and that facility supplies full-time work for five employees plus three part-time or seasonal employees. Additionally, we have our hay custom harvested by a local custom hay producer which is full time work for the summer for the individual, plus part time work for two of his grandchildren. Another focus of our business is to provide a positive local economic impact; as we are able to improve our production we are able to invest increasingly more in our local economy. If we are able to quantify the improvements no-till pasture renovation can have on our fields and pastures, we may be able to improve the quantity and quality of cattle we produce. Additionally, we will further our understanding of the nutritional value we are offering our cattle and may learn where we are deficient in meeting their nutritional needs. The long-term goal would be to further refine our production methods to more precisely meet our cattle’s needs nutritionally; this will in turn improve the financial opportunities for our business and the sustainability of our impact on the local economy.
4. Gene Lawlor is the primary farmer cooperator on the project. He operates an approximately 400 acre farm in northern Maine and conducted similar measurements as were taken on Cold Spring Ranch over the summer of 2008.
5. Starting in the spring of 2008 on Cold Spring Ranch and replicated on the Lawlor Farm, we started the data collection portion of this project. On six fields on the Lawlor farm and five fields on Cold Spring Ranch, we improved or planned to improve with no-till seeding of grasses and/or legumes and took quality and quantity measurements.
In the spring of the year we began the quantitative measurement part of the project by calibrating raising pasture plates to the pastures/hayfields on our farms.
To evaluate quality improvements of the fields we collected forage samples at the same time we were collecting our quantity samples. These samples were randomly obtained from pastures before harvest (grazing) or from the hay or haylage post harvest and sent to Dairy One for forage analysis.
6. The results from the summer of 2008 are as follows:
The measuring (quantity) aspect of this project with the pasture plate meter proved ineffective in measuring pasture quantity, unless pasture height was kept under 12 to 16 inches, depending on grass and legume species present. The pasture plate meter frequently would be maxed out in height for many, if not all of the measurements in a given field. This led to unusable readings. Our management practices commonly result in pasture and hayfield heights of 14 plus inches at the time of harvest, which gives us a forage level above that which the meter could measure; for this reason we have no results related to pasture yield, although we do have hay field yields pre no-till drilling.
The quality aspect of the project yielded good results. Both Cold Spring Ranch and the Lawlor farm collected samples and had them analyzed for all the hay cuttings from the monitored fields. These results will be compared to the results found this coming season, now that the no-till drilling has been completed and side by side and year to year comparisons can be made.
No-till seeding was accomplished on the identified fields for the project, with species including tall fescue, perennial rye grass, timothy, orchard grass, festulolium, medium red clover, and alfalfa. These were seeded in mixtures and some alone into existing pastures and hayfields. In total approximately 25 acres on Cold Spring Ranch and 45 acres on the Lawlor farm were seeded and are being monitored.
7. For the 2008 growing season we had good soil quality on all sites with ph levels between 6.2 and 6.7 on the field in the project. Manure was added to some of the fields and fields were split for no-till seeding so comparisons could be made between year and within season between treated and untreated plots.
The growing season of 2008 started off dry early on, but had more than adequate moisture the rest of the year for both locations. Pasture growth on both operations was estimated to be above normal. Hay production was made more difficult, due to wet conditions. On Cold Spring Ranch all hay fields in the trial were cut at least two times and one three times. On the Lawlor farm two fields were cut once, then grazed due to moisture, and two fields were cut twice. The Lawlor Farm is has a shorter growing season because it is located in northern Maine, where three cuttings of hay is less common.
8. The changes in expense/income derived form the project were accidental. Both on Cold Spring Ranch and the Lawlor Farm adjustments in winter feeding strategies were made, due to an improved knowledge in forage quality of the hay and haylage produced from the growing season.
9. From this project both Gabe Clark and Gene Lawlor identified that there needs to be an efficient way to measure pasture volume that is quick and portable, short of cutting and drying so quantity improvements in pasture yield can be measured. Additionally both Gabe and Gene recognized and promoted the value of forage testing in improving economic returns from winter feeding programs.
They are also both looking forward to seeing the full results of the no-till seedings over an entire growing season and evaluating quality differences in the forages.
Lastly this second year we will be taking continued soil compaction measurements to see if there was any change.
Both Gabe and Gene are committed to improving their pastures and hayfields and believe refining the no-tilling seeding techniques and evaluating other low disturbance seeding techniques are critical for further improvements. They share a common curiosity in continuing their work in this area to continue to improve their beef production.