The time for turn out to our primary summer pastures is coming soon. A couple of important questions are what date to turn out, and which pastures should be first?
The driving factors on the amount of grass growth at a specific date varies each year depending on spring temperatures and precipitation. This spring, March and April temperatures have been above normal and there are some areas in eastern Nebraska that have some level of drought. For areas that had drought last year, or are dry this year, delaying turn out, if possible, is recommended. This will allow the grass plants to maximize growth given the current soil moisture conditions, and result in greater season-long production.
For mixed cool- and warm-season native grass pastures, it is important to allow the cool-season grasses to reach at least a 3- to 4-leaf stage. Initial grass growth in the spring comes from energy reserves stored in the roots and crowns of the grass plant. Grazing too soon could cause a depletion of those reserves and reduce production because there was not enough leaf area present to adequately begin producing energy from photosynthesis.
When grazing multiple native grass pastures in a rotation, it is beneficial to change the sequence or order of grazing for the set of pastures. This change in the time of grazing each year benefits the overall health and vigor of the grasses. For producers that have both native range and introduced grass pasture such as smooth bromegrass or crested wheatgrass, grazing the introduced grass pastures first is a great approach to use that resource and allows for a later turn-out on the native pastures.
