Last night I was reading this book, (OK, I'm a slow reader) and I was intrigued by a few things that were said. As I read it, I was thinking of how this applies to our small farm, which I will try to relay, after a bit of background.
Researchers have noticed that average daily gains are frequently lower with stocker cattle under MiG compared to continuous grazing.
"Huh! Managed grazing is supposed to be just as efficient as the feed lots." I thought to myself.
What is interesting is that this decrease in performance is due largely to a lack of understanding of how a cow thinks. Under continuous grazing when forage becomes short or scarce, cattle or sheep will increase the speed at which they bite off grass, take larger bites or graze longer. As a result, intake tends to remain constant.
On the other hand, under MiG programs, animals being shifted daily or more as part of their routine, this does not happen. The animal will not work harder for it's food, instead it will just anticipate the next move to the nice grass on the other side of the polywire.
Mr Nation explains that this is why the idea of pasture residual is so important. The greater the ungrazed portion of the sward, the greater the animals performance will be. It is suggested that paddock shifts be made on the same day at the same time of day.
The grazing time of cattle almost never exceeds more than 8 hours of a 24 hour day. The more grass a cow can take in each bite, the more milk she will produce or the more weight she will gain. On the other side, if the grass is too short or scarce, the cow will not graze longer to make up the difference.
Studies show that cows do around 60% of their grazing during the day and 40% at night. The morning periods tend to be more conducive to a dairy cow. (Mom always said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.) I need to be careful not to interrupt this grazing period with milking or other things. During hot weather, more grazing will be done at night. I can attest to this as I've watched ours "go to bed" night after night, only to see them out past dark grazing away on super hot summer days.
The same studies (done at the University of Vermont), found that cows like to fill their rumen in the morning then lay down and ruminate in the afternoon. Then, in the late afternoon, they will want to "top off" their rumen before night.
I've also read in various other places, that production in milk cows is stimulated by opening fresh paddocks in the morning or late afternoon. This tends to be when the grass is growing and there are lots of nutrients in the fresh growth. The brix will be higher during these periods also.
Now to the question of how this knowledge applies to our small farm. I think, even in small scale, the idea of knowing when the family milk cow likes to graze and what the best time of day is for that, then plans for paddock shifts can be made. I can already see ours lining up at the polywire at 3:30 pm for fresh grass. The key, according to this book ("Quality Pasture" by Alan Nation) is to keep the grass young and tender, yet not eaten down to nothing and sparse. If they can get a good mouthful at every bite, they'll have no reason to be waiting for the next shift. You don't want the grass to go to stem and seed either. This becomes unpalatable and will lose it's nutrients also. This is the "management" part of MiG.
I've got the plans for the paddock divisions and shifts, the grass seed for the cool season, the legumes for protein and N, and now I will be watching my cows a bit closer to see if I can figure out their routines and then make plans to accommodate that. (Lord willing.)
This is the biggest paradigm shift for many of us. The idea of stockpiling cool season grass and tightly rationing it out to minimize the cash out-puts in feed. This is the greatest potential for profit return, minimizing the money we spend on hay.
(If you would like to learn more on this subject please visit the Stockman Grassfarmer's website by clicking the link found to the left. There you can purchase Alan Nations book "Quality Pasture".)
Researchers have noticed that average daily gains are frequently lower with stocker cattle under MiG compared to continuous grazing.
"Huh! Managed grazing is supposed to be just as efficient as the feed lots." I thought to myself.
What is interesting is that this decrease in performance is due largely to a lack of understanding of how a cow thinks. Under continuous grazing when forage becomes short or scarce, cattle or sheep will increase the speed at which they bite off grass, take larger bites or graze longer. As a result, intake tends to remain constant.
On the other hand, under MiG programs, animals being shifted daily or more as part of their routine, this does not happen. The animal will not work harder for it's food, instead it will just anticipate the next move to the nice grass on the other side of the polywire.
Mr Nation explains that this is why the idea of pasture residual is so important. The greater the ungrazed portion of the sward, the greater the animals performance will be. It is suggested that paddock shifts be made on the same day at the same time of day.
The grazing time of cattle almost never exceeds more than 8 hours of a 24 hour day. The more grass a cow can take in each bite, the more milk she will produce or the more weight she will gain. On the other side, if the grass is too short or scarce, the cow will not graze longer to make up the difference.
Studies show that cows do around 60% of their grazing during the day and 40% at night. The morning periods tend to be more conducive to a dairy cow. (Mom always said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.) I need to be careful not to interrupt this grazing period with milking or other things. During hot weather, more grazing will be done at night. I can attest to this as I've watched ours "go to bed" night after night, only to see them out past dark grazing away on super hot summer days.
The same studies (done at the University of Vermont), found that cows like to fill their rumen in the morning then lay down and ruminate in the afternoon. Then, in the late afternoon, they will want to "top off" their rumen before night.
I've also read in various other places, that production in milk cows is stimulated by opening fresh paddocks in the morning or late afternoon. This tends to be when the grass is growing and there are lots of nutrients in the fresh growth. The brix will be higher during these periods also.
Now to the question of how this knowledge applies to our small farm. I think, even in small scale, the idea of knowing when the family milk cow likes to graze and what the best time of day is for that, then plans for paddock shifts can be made. I can already see ours lining up at the polywire at 3:30 pm for fresh grass. The key, according to this book ("Quality Pasture" by Alan Nation) is to keep the grass young and tender, yet not eaten down to nothing and sparse. If they can get a good mouthful at every bite, they'll have no reason to be waiting for the next shift. You don't want the grass to go to stem and seed either. This becomes unpalatable and will lose it's nutrients also. This is the "management" part of MiG.
I've got the plans for the paddock divisions and shifts, the grass seed for the cool season, the legumes for protein and N, and now I will be watching my cows a bit closer to see if I can figure out their routines and then make plans to accommodate that. (Lord willing.)
This is the biggest paradigm shift for many of us. The idea of stockpiling cool season grass and tightly rationing it out to minimize the cash out-puts in feed. This is the greatest potential for profit return, minimizing the money we spend on hay.
(If you would like to learn more on this subject please visit the Stockman Grassfarmer's website by clicking the link found to the left. There you can purchase Alan Nations book "Quality Pasture".)
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