During December you should be doing a forage inventory and balance to make sure you have enough pasture and hay on hand to make it through the winter. Predict how many grazing days you have ahead of you and then figure how many days you will have to feed hay. For planning purposes assume the average cow (1250 lbs) will need about 40 lbs of hay a day. If they are bigger than 1250 lbs they will eat more. Use 3% of their body weight as a planning number.
Your new plantings of Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue should be up and growing. If it was planted more than 45 days ago it should have reached the 4 leaf stage, so it could be sprayed for weeds if necessary. Many winter weeds will be killed by 2-4 D or a mix of 2-4 D and dicamba (Weedmaster), but other weeds might need something like Graze On Next. Make sure you identify the major species and be ready to spray during a warm spell in December or January. Control the weeds before they start to grow in spring and cause loss of stand in your fescue.
Make sure to use the winter season to get some education. There are many opportunities including AFGC, state cattlemen’s conferences, state Forage and Grassland Councils and other. Make sure you get to several of these programs so you can interact with other farmers and share your experience.
If you want to learn more about Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue then make sure you consider attending our workshops in Tennessee, Arkansas or West Virginia. Information about these events is on the website.
~ Matt Poore, NC State and the Alliance for Grassland Renewal
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal 