pasture design… goals
DESCRIPTION
Pasture Design… goals. To develop the farm to take advantage of the principles of plant growth, animal behavior and all of the interactions that influence daily animal performance and acre production?. Pasture Design…. Why is it Beneficial to divide a farm. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
• To develop the farm to take advantage of the principles of plant growth, animal behavior and all of the interactions that influence daily animal performance and acre production?
Pasture Design… goals
• Improved utilization of forage that varies over the farm because of:
– soils and landscape
– stock camps, excreta distribution
– shade distribution
– drinking water locations
Pasture Design….Why is it Beneficial to divide a farm
• Reduced labor needed to manage animals
– health checks
– movements
– to match feed supply with requirements
Pasture Design…cont’
Why is it Beneficial to divide a farm
Controlling animal density and lengthof graze periodcontrols uniformityof forage use, level of use, quality of intake,traffic patterns and excreta distribution
12 3 4
56 7 8910
Having farm subdivided allows manager to better see how much growth is taking place in each pasture and which should be grazed next.
Pad grazed yesterday to desired height
Subdivision for control of feed use and manure distribution
Subdivision to precisely control the intake of forage.
Subdivision to ration daily needs.
Possible Response to Creep Grazing:
1. Supply is limited2. Quality is low3. Species differ
Subdivision to partition the feed supply and quality for specific needs.
Information needed to design farm layout for grazing.
• Farm maps (aerial, soils, topo)
• Plant species and the location
• Animal type, production cycles and seasonal feed requirements (groups)
• Drinking water source/locations
• Labor/equipment available
Design Considerations
• Animal behavior
– preferences for species/landscapes
– lounging habits
– grazing patterns
Design Considerations
• Plant growth responses (all paddocks should provide similar number of days grazing for specific herd)
– slope, soil type
– aspect or exposure
– tolerance to trampling/close graze
Design Considerations
• Drinking water– Central location…in each pad
• gravity vs pressure systems• delivery rate & tank size
– herd vs individual use of tanks… is strongly related to travel distance to water?
Design Considerations
• Stream protection– limiting lounging time
• limited access to stream
• limited stream area
– firm footing– vegetation management– endophyte effects
Design Considerations
• Paddock Arrangement– convenience for equipment/crop rotations– potential for further subdivision
• Paddock Shape– square ….less critical for short graze periods– 4:1 ratio – contour/landscape
Shape of Paddocks..10 acres of different shape
330 x 1320 = 3300’
660 x 660=2640’
220 x 1980 = 4400’
Design ConsiderationsBlock vs Pie shape
Barn
3126’ fence
Design ConsiderationsBlock vs Pie shape
Barn
Secondary method of division….. 3266’ of fence
Trailing, lounging, grazing patterns
1160’
1043’
1475’
10000’
12500’
19300’
8300’4200’
5900’
Block vs Pie Shape Design100 acres (8300’ perimeter)
Interior fence needed
Cross fenceneeded
Design Considerations• Paddock size
– depends on length of graze period, animal numbers and forage available in pad
– size not as important as productive capacity within and among paddocks
• Number of paddocks– based on landscape/specie distribution– subsequently based on use/quality/waste and manure
distribution– 6-9 minimum but more gives most control
Six permanent pads can be temporarily subdivided into 36 (or more) divisions.
4 cross fences provideaccess to 1/24 of farm
6 cross fences = 2.7% of farm3 cross fences provide
access to 18 paddocks
Six permanent subdivisionsprovide a 6 pad rotation
Polywire
Hi-tensile Steel Wire Single cross fence providesaccess to 12 paddocks
Design Considerations
• Lanes– stability– width
• Gates– corners toward working pens, water
• Shade– heat stress 85 F– night- day pads– consistency…none or all pads
Building Good Lanes1...necessary on dairy2.. Not so important on meat animal farms
Firm base, usually large gravelGeotextile cloth
Firm and smooth surface
Two days after rain, when cattle had to go to centralized water tank.
Topography/soil type influences the need
Position gates so the natural flow of animals move toward pens/barn or water source
LaneFrom pens/barn
To Pad
PostWire
Using Farm Maps, color code
• Map1 -- Soil types
• Map 2 -- Land & suitability classes
• Map 3 -- Fences
• Map 4 -- Water lines.
• Map 5 -- Soil Sampling for testing. Map 6 -- Use this map to indicate the yield potential for each field.
Using Farm Maps
Layout to use feed, redistribute nutrients, & minimize animal stress.
No subdivisionsAny Size Farm
Priority Subdivision
Based on landscape (slope & aspect)
Further Subdivision7 pastures
12 pastures
Water tanks
16 pastures
The following maps illustrate how a farm might be subdivided based primarily on landscape position.
Note how water/drainage-ways determine the first division.
Note how slopes are divided horizontally.
First___Second___Third___
First___Second____Third____
First____Second___
First____Second____Third____
Major decisions..drinking locations & ditch crossings