Pasture improvement through<BR>proper management: Extension workshops will provide answers

Posted 6/6/01

Pasture improvement through
proper management: Extension workshops will provide answers

Manage your pastures to be productive. Thatís a key to success with grazing animals, says Wright County educator Maribel Fernandez of the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
While you canít control such factors as temperature and rainfall, you can control soil fertility, weeds and grazing severity, says Fernandez. She recommends the following spring pasture management practices:
ñCollect a soil sample, have it analyzed and fertilize according
to results. Call your county Extension office to get a soil sampling kit and send the sample to the U of M Soil Testing Lab. You will get fertilizer recommendations along with the soil test results.
ñ Donít let your animals out on pasture until the forage averages at least five to six inches tall.
ñ Let the animals graze only until the forage is down to an average of three inches tall.
ñ Mow or spot-apply herbicide to control annual weeds at the flower bud stage in the spring. This will not kill perennials. Call your county Exten-sion office to get a list of approved herbicides to use on pastures.
The Extension publication ìCultural and Chemical Weed Control in Field Crops 2001î has this information in a section on grass pastures. The publication item number is BU-3157.
A grazing workshop in Cokato, Minn. at the Centennial Room will provide additional information. It will be June 19 and 26 from 6-8 p.m. each day.
The workshop will cover grazing management, grasses and legumes adapted to Minnesota, weed control and fencing.
There will also be a Horse Day program June 16 at Watertown in Carver County. The event will be in the Watertown City Hall, with doors opening at 9 a.m. and the program running from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The program will cover manure composting and horse nutrition, and will include two pasture visits to see grazing management results. A later Horse Day program will be Sept. 15 at Hanover in Wright County.
For more information on the grazing workshop or the Horse Days, call the Wright County office of the U of M Extension Service at (800) 362-3667 or (763) 682-7394. Information is also on the Internet at www.extension.umn.edu/county/wright.