For individuals, there’s nothing just like the style of greens straight from the backyard. And within the case of beef cattle, they like to dine on sure grasses in a pasture, based on the specialists on the Kansas State College Beef Cattle Institute.
“Cattle are inclined to eat probably the most palatable elements of a pasture first, and so by limiting their grazing to a small space they may eat extra of the much less interesting forages obtainable to them,” mentioned veterinarian Bob Larson on a latest Cattle Chat podcast.
This method is sometimes called rotational grazing during which cattle are moved all through the grazing season, permitting the grass to relaxation when the animals aren’t actively grazing, based on beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster.
“The forage productiveness is just not going to be the identical throughout the entire ranch and so producers can use non permanent electrical fence to fluctuate the sizes of the pastures relying on the restoration time of the grasses,” Lancaster mentioned. “For instance, cool season grasses will want an extended relaxation interval within the hotter months of July and August.”
This follow permits for a greater utilization of the forage useful resource, based on the specialists.
“Administration intensive grazing is just not essentially about bettering particular person efficiency of an animal however as an alternative forces cattle to eat a better share of the forage produced,” Lancaster mentioned. “So my carrying capability goes up or my variety of hay feeding days goes down relying on how I handle the variety of animals out on the pasture.”
The downside to this method is that it’s going to require extra labor to place up the non permanent fence, transfer the cattle and modify the places of the mineral complement and water supply, mentioned the specialists.
As well as, non permanent electrical fences won’t all the time maintain the cattle in or different wildlife, akin to deer, out of the pasture as a result of wires can break simply.
“Electrical fences make sense for inside pasture fences, however the perimeter fence must be a stronger, everlasting fence in order that if the non permanent fence breaks the cattle aren’t off the property,” mentioned veterinarian Brad White.
