Director column

IBC director's monthly column featured in Cattleman Magazine. Archives
Denise Schwab, interim IBC director	March 2025 For most Iowa cattlemen calving season is just around the corner and is consuming most of your planning time. But I’ll suggest this is also a good time to look at your forage plan. If you’ve attended a BQA training lately, you know we discuss pasture management as the major key to environmental stewardship, and that starts with proper stocking rates. First, start to think about total forage management, and not just the pasture. List all pasture and hay acres as well as any cover crops and crop residue, and identify the predominant forage species in each field or paddock. Cover crops will be the first to emerge in the spring and grow extremely fast so need to be grazed early and hard to maintain quality. Short cool-season grass (bluegrass) will be the next to break dormancy and begin spring growth. The recommendation is to start grazing at about 4” of growth and leave at least 2” of residue. Tall cool-season pastures should be allowed to grow to at least 6-8” before grazing so would be the next pastures to rotate into. These are also the paddocks to harvest for hay first, then rotate into the grazing system. Remember to feed a high magnesium mineral 2-3 weeks prior to first grass turnout and till grass growth slows to prevent grass tetany. Next consider all your hay acres as a part of the forage plan. New alfalfa fields should be only mechanically harvested, both to help the new seedlings get a better, deeper root system established, and because the alfalfa tends to emerge and grow faster in the first year than the grass component. Older stands of alfalfa-grass fields are good candidates for grazing in the heat of summer when grasses grow slower and need a longer rest period. Strip grazing fields reduces grazing impact on the forage stand while improving efficiency of forage utilization. Finally, bring in your dormant forage resources; corn stover and stockpiled grasses. For many cattlemen grazing in the winter is key to controlling feed costs and stretching stored feed resources. Corn stover quality decreases after 2-3 weeks of grazing as the dropped ears and husks are consumed, so focus on how to rotate to new corn fields every 3 weeks to stretch the quality as well as the quantity of stover available later into the winter? Stockpiling a paddock or two of pasture to graze in the winter is another way to stretch the feed supply and graze longer. Tall fescue is the grass of choice for winter stockpiling, and a paddock closer to a water source that will stay open in the winter is desirable. After examining all the forage resources available, focus on the cow herd. Unless cattlemen regularly weigh their cows, they tend to underestimate cow weights. A general thumb rule is that cows will eat 2.5% of their body weight in dry matter per day, so a 1400-pound cow will consume about 35 pounds of dry matter per day. Use this along with forage growth estimates, also in dry matter, and forage utilization estimates to determine appropriate stocking rates. A few resources to help in planning your forage management are Estimating Available Pasture Forage and the Iowa Pasture Management Guide. If you need help with some of these calculations, visit with your regional Extension beef specialist. If you aren’t already receiving Growing Beef, sign up at https://go.iastate.edu/UIQJTM or by clicking the QR code. The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

IBC director's monthly column featured in Cattleman Magazine. Archives

Denise Schwab, interim IBC director

March 2025

For most Iowa cattlemen calving season is just around the corner and is consuming most of your planning time. But I’ll suggest this is also a good time to look at your forage plan. If you’ve attended a BQA training lately, you know we discuss pasture management as the major key to environmental stewardship, and that starts with proper stocking rates.

First, start to think about total forage management, and not just the pasture. List all pasture and hay acres as well as any cover crops and crop residue, and identify the predominant forage species in each field or paddock.

Cover crops will be the first to emerge in the spring and grow extremely fast so need to be grazed early and hard to maintain quality. Short cool-season grass (bluegrass) will be the next to break dormancy and begin spring growth. The recommendation is to start grazing at about 4” of growth and leave at least 2” of residue. Tall cool-season pastures should be allowed to grow to at least 6-8” before grazing so would be the next pastures to rotate into. These are also the paddocks to harvest for hay first, then rotate into the grazing system. Remember to feed a high magnesium mineral 2-3 weeks prior to first grass turnout and till grass growth slows to prevent grass tetany.

Next consider all your hay acres as a part of the forage plan. New alfalfa fields should be only mechanically harvested, both to help the new seedlings get a better, deeper root system established, and because the alfalfa tends to emerge and grow faster in the first year than the grass component. Older stands of alfalfa-grass fields are good candidates for grazing in the heat of summer when grasses grow slower and need a longer rest period. Strip grazing fields reduces grazing impact on the forage stand while improving efficiency of forage utilization.

Finally, bring in your dormant forage resources; corn stover and stockpiled grasses. For many cattlemen grazing in the winter is key to controlling feed costs and stretching stored feed resources. Corn stover quality decreases after 2-3 weeks of grazing as the dropped ears and husks are consumed, so focus on how to rotate to new corn fields every 3 weeks to stretch the quality as well as the quantity of stover available later into the winter? Stockpiling a paddock or two of pasture to graze in the winter is another way to stretch the feed supply and graze longer. Tall fescue is the grass of choice for winter stockpiling, and a paddock closer to a water source that will stay open in the winter is desirable.

After examining all the forage resources available, focus on the cow herd. Unless cattlemen regularly weigh their cows, they tend to underestimate cow weights. A general thumb rule is that cows will eat 2.5% of their body weight in dry matter per day, so a 1400-pound cow will consume about 35 pounds of dry matter per day. Use this along with forage growth estimates, also in dry matter, and forage utilization estimates to determine appropriate stocking rates.

A few resources to help in planning your forage management are Estimating Available Pasture Forage and the Iowa Pasture Management Guide. If you need help with some of these calculations, visit with your regional Extension beef specialist.

Growing Beef newsletter sign up. If you aren’t already receiving Growing Beef, sign up at https://go.iastate.edu/UIQJTM or by clicking the QR code.

The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.