The Summer Slump?

I think we may be in the summer slump. Although the rain has not stopped completely, the grass growth seems to have slowed down noticeably. The rain, for that matter, has slowed down as well, it seems that there are just a bunch of storms that come toward us and then either lose their punch or veer around us. This is not all bad, as these storms have not been pleasant. Quite nasty, in fact.

The thing is, though, that the grass has slowed down and, thus, needs a change in the program. This is the key folks, to management intensive grazing. You must always be paying attention and ready to make a change on the fly. There are numerous things that can cause you to re-think your rotation, you just need to recognize them and act.

What I have tried to do, is slow down the rotation by making the paddocks a bit bigger and leaving the cattle on them a bit longer, say, for two days-maybe three. What this is supposed to accomplish is letting the pasture have more time to grow, since the growth has slowed. This is where you need to be careful and not let the cattle graze the grass down to nothing. You will want the grass to have at least three inches to maximize the root depth as much as possible. This part I have failed at. Just the birth of a calf has thrown off my rotation because now I have to separate them all again.

I recall the advice of Alan Nation when he said that we should not be afraid to feed a little supplemental hay in the summer slump in order to extend the grass there is. The key here is that you don't want to just go full force on the hay, as if it were the depths of winter, rather, smaller chunks, just to get them a full tummy. They will get the rest in the pasture, the supplementation will help stretch that out. I haven't decided that I am there yet, so I haven't fed hay yet, but I am monitoring things very closely. That's my job, to think. The animals do all the work. I will keep you posted.


Speaking of calves, I know I promised pictures, but I haven't taken any yet. I will, then you can see how pretty she is. Keep checking.