Carolyn L Wong
State Grazing Land Management Specialist
NRCS Pacific Island Area
Raising goats since 2011
From Lahaina, Maui. UHHilo, masters in range science in Utah
Grass:- bunch or sod forming. – seeds of sprigs- cool or warm season- phases: seedling, vegetative, elongation, reproductive- made of tillers (branches), tillers have leaves and roots, tiller are reproductive or vegetative, tillers start from Need both for healthy field* vegetative tillers are more nutritious and less stemy
Need the whole plant to identify type of grass.
Mertistem: area where cell division and expansion originates. Keep this area as health and active as possible. – Apical (most important) makes leaf formation. Telescope like. The leaf factory- Intercalary is at the base of the leaf blade
Not all grasses are good for grazing (California grass). Can switch from CA to Hilo grass in a year with proper grazing. *Animals go for whatever is tastiest first so don’t leave them too long in one place so they don’t destroy the apical meristem.
Phases:- Vegetative: most digestive and nutritions, no sheath elongation, mostly leafy – Elongation and Transition: apical meristem changes from a vegetative to a floral bud. Elevates the apical meristem- reproductive: Just before it emerges it’s at the boot stage and after
Legumes are very digestible and high in protein. Nitrogen fixing with symbiotic N-fixing bacteria. Vetch, white clover, kaimi clover, Leucaena. Established by seed or sprig. Most N is in leaves and stems. Recycled via animal waste.- not all are good for livestock and can cause bloat or have toxins: creeping indigo, crotalaria, coffee senna
Animals: don’t try things they don’t know. Mothers teach but peers teach too. They go with what’s familiar and have post ingestive feedback to tell them if it is good for them. Watch your animals and pay attention, and decide how much risk you are willing to take.
Forage quality: Grass is not grass or all are not created equally- depends on the animal needs- what % water- digestibility: NDF and ADF- energy, proteins, secondary compounds
2.6% of their body weight a day in food
Take a cow from the dry to the wet, it takes a while because the rumen needs to expand. Ok to take it from the wet to the dry.
Forage quality:- average dry matter doubles from 4 weeks to 12 weeks- forage analysis gives neutral detergent fiber (everything including ADF) and Acid Detergent Fiber: lower is better because easier to digest. ex: signal grass is lower than star grass- analyze their poop: pumpkin pie poop is preferred – protein declines as plant ages- most protein comes from the ruminant microbes
Vigor:- right amount of moisture- soil composition and fertility- insect pressures: lead hoppea, aphids- grazing pressures: deer, goats, domestic- disease: rust, – root system, stored energy, leaves, stage of growth
Most of our grasses are perennials so no need to replant- seed: guinea, white clover, kaimi clover, leicaena, – vegatariceely:
Grazing requires sufficient residual is left to
Cows:- dry cow: no longer producing milk- dairy cows have the highest nutritional needs, especially right after the baby is born – Baby cows: start grazing after a couple months.
Animals have a preference for guinea grass
Guinea Grass: bunch grass with tillers out of the crown. Not easy to grade out because crown is so robust. More adapted to dry environment and deeper roots. Dig it out in the wet season. Consistent mowing or grazing it out (or mowing it constantly). Young grass desirable, but old not so much
Hilo Grass: happy where it’s wet but animals think it’s sour
Vervane:
California Grass: ok in wet climate
Signal Grass: animals like it
Custer’s curse: sucks don’t want it
Someone to come out and review things: NRCS waimea Jill 885-6602 x102
Livestock = risk. If they get out and people like to sue these days.
Grazing Animals101-600 pounds initially then 1000 -finish before 30 months of age: prime (best), choice, select – average daily gain of 2 pounds a day is good- keep for 20 months or more for marbling- more smaller animals are more profitable than fewer larger
Anatomy and physiology – Mono gastric (horse, donkey, humans, rats) or RuminantDigestion (cows, goats, sheep, deer) have 4 chambered stomachs- ruminant microorganisms give them the ability to break down the lignin. They add a protein source- stomach #1 is the rumen, pushes it to the reticulum (tripe) honeycomb, moves it to the omasum where liquids are removed, then the abomasum
Energy for foraging goes to- maintenance (basal metabolism)— respiration— blood flow— nervous system- production— protein (meat)— fiber (wool)— lactation (milk)
Energy needs- pregnancy (3rd trimester) and lactating (highest)- males- females- castrated males (lowest)
Thermoneutral zones help ensure they stay healthy- cattle:41-68degreesF- calves:50-68- sheep: 70-88- goats: 50-68
Body condition scores for cows (1-9) used for deciding on heath and breeding
Animal Unit- 1 AU: 1 mature cow (1000lb) + 1 calf. Or 5 sheep- 1 AUD: forage needed for 1 AU for 1 day- 1 AUN: forage needed for 1 AU for 1 month
Look at what forage can be produced and do the math on how many animals can be supported.
Holistic resource management by Savory
*Take 1/2 and leave 1/2 is the basic principal to maintain pastures.
Ideally, use a paddock in a week, 5 paddocks then move cattle, and 4 weeks of rest. This works for most of Hawaii* 1 acre in Honokaa can support about 1 cow. Probably not worth it for. 2-3 acres per horse. * Pigs: use Korean natural farming of a pen with deep base. Pig nose rings are better for pasture pigs – check YouTube!* mow if you have stuff you don’t want, give it a rest, and encourage the things you want to * if you have wordy stuff, use a chainsaw and remedy to kill it
Grazing Management 101- the manipulation of livestock grazing to accomplish he desired result. Controlling the grazing habits of animals on pasture
Consider
A. how many and what kind of animals, performance goals
B. Pasture composition, yield, quality, health
Factors- seasonal: – spacial: rainfall atlas online will tell you using rainfall stations in the area- physical: soils, typography, eroded areas, condition- forage growth: intensity, frequency & duration, timing. – roots: if you take off more than 50%, then roots stop growing and you lose some. – give Grass a couple (2-4)weeks to rest.
* get a grazing stick to determine height it has marks on it for when to move to another paddock.
Stocking- continuous set: year long same place- continuous variable: area set aside for special needs * set rotational: each area changed every week with 4 weeks to recover. Set areas- variable rotational:
Grazing:- first-lane: high need animals graze first – creep: offspring graze and fence lets them thru to the good stuff- strip: move fences on regular rotation. Labor intensive!- frontal: strip grazing with only front
Stocking Rate: unit of animal per unit area per season.
Stock density: units of animal per unit area per unit time.
Mob grazing: moving cows every 4 hours: high stock density. Stressful for land, and people but produces high regrowth and can rehabilitate trashes land
Carrying capacity: number of animals a pasture can handle without damaging the resource base. Determined over the long term
Forage animal balance: AU*intake rate*time=demandForage produced (lbs/acre)*grazable area*grazing efficiency=supply (lbs or AUD/AUM/AUY)
Fences: – Compression member – linger is better- Brace wire from base of the anchor post to the compression member high side- tension wire with stretcher and the come along after rolling it all the way out. – attach twists – over 20degree need a post and h braces- every 10 posts use a wooden post (rule if thumb) and make it more strong- anchor post tie off at the bottom. Brace post at the top pulling the stretcher from the compression post toward the anchor post- strand of barb wire at the bottom to keep pigs out- top wire for more strength. Barbed wire good but standard wire ok. – class 3 galvanized minimum (not 1 or 2)- should last 20 years- kiawe is king for – wire out in the side facing your animals- can go 14’ on t-posts. – animal health or Miranda’s for fencing supplies- trailer mat if trying to fence across a river/gulch- labor is at least as much as the parts- $2/foot parts- neighbors usually split the cost and if one wants a more expensive |
