Project Overview
Information Products
Commodities
- Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), other
- Animals: bovine
Practices
- Animal Production: feed/forage, pasture renovation
- Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
Summary:
Irrigated systems in Lake County are used for grazing or hay production, as primary agricultural products of the county are beef cattle and hay (USDA Census of Agriculture, 2017). Irrigated systems provide regular water supply for growing livestock forages on the deeper soils in the county. Over time, soil nutrients have been depleted and perennial forage species have declined in quantity and quality. The common mode of operation is to till up the existing pasture and establish a new one. However, this is a cost expensive strategy with no realized profit until the second year.
Our project site is on old pasture system, dominated by Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa Pratensis) which has formed a thatch layer and has a physiological dormancy in mid summer; so, irrigation is ineffective at producing feed for half of the growing season. As irrigation cost is high, other strategies for increasing pasture productivity need to be employed.
We will divide the pasture blocks (replicates) and interseed improved pasture species (Treatment 1) or a mix of cover crops (Treatment 2) . One subplot will not be overdrilled as the control (Treatment 3). Prior to planting, the site will be grazed to provide light and effective irrigation for germinating seedlings. Following establishment of the overseeded plants, pasture will be grazed in late summer. We will collect data on seasonal pasture biomass yields, forage nutritional quality, grazing days, soil quality, and cost of production. We will share our trial results with farm field days, a peer reviewed fact sheet, and presentations with agricultural groups including youth.
Project objectives:
Our objectives are all attainable with our team approach, equipment on hand, and timeline we propose
| Objective | Measurement Method | Accountability | Time Line |
|
Extension of grazing days |
Cow numbers will be tracked using PastureMap software |
John will monitor cattle numbers |
May 2020 - September 2021 |
|
Increase soil health on pasture |
Soil quality tests pre grazing and planting (May 2020); soil quality tests post planting, and post grazing (September 2020); soil quality tests - May 2021 and May 2022 |
Fara and farm assistant will core soil samples |
May 2020 - September 2020 May 2021, may 2022. Project was modified with end date of 09/01/2021 due to the need for interseeding twice in 2020. This alteration to our original plan was beneficial for our results but required us to end the project earlier by a year. This modification was approved by western SARE |
|
Increase pasture biomass and productivity |
Exclosure cages per treatment area will be clipped during active growing periods and compared with control exclosure which will also be clipped |
Serkan will provide exclosure cages and John will place in field with farm assistant and Fara's guidance. Graduate student and Fara will clip caged areas. Serkan will process samples to determine DM production and nutritive value |
Starting from July 2020, during active growing seasons. |
|
Determine if no till interseeding in existing pasture is effective long term |
Interseeded areas will be marked with a GPS and revisited in May 2021 pre cattle entry to determine perennial plant viability as well as carryover from annual plant |
Fara will GPS the interseeded areas |
June 2020 and May 2021 |