By Scout Nelson
Weather conditions continue to affect pasture growth and livestock production, making flexible management important throughout the grazing season. Livestock producers can improve pasture use, protect animal health, and reduce forage risks by adjusting grazing plans, controlling flies, and handling sorghum forage carefully.
Ben Beckman, Samantha Daniel, and Dr. Shelby Gruss shared recommendations that help producers respond to changing weather while maintaining productive grazing systems and healthy cattle.
Rainfall and temperature greatly influence pasture growth. During dry periods, forage production slows, so producers should focus on stretching available pasture. Temporary electric fencing can divide large pastures into smaller sections, helping livestock use forage more efficiently. When grasses become dormant because of heat or drought, they can tolerate heavier grazing without harming plant crowns.
In wetter years, pastures often grow faster than animals can graze them. Quick or flash grazing helps prevent grasses from becoming overly mature and losing feed quality. Producers can speed up grazing during rapid growth and slow rotations once growth decreases to balance pasture health with livestock needs.
Fly control also remains an important part of summer pasture management. Horn flies and face flies are the most common pests affecting cattle. Horn flies feed on blood and reduce weight gain and milk production when populations become high. Face flies spread pinkeye and irritate cattle by feeding around the eyes and muzzle. Producers can manage these pests using insecticide ear tags, pour-on products, sprays, dust bags, back rubbers, and fly traps based on their operation and seasonal conditions.
Sorghum, sorghum-sudangrass, and sudangrass provide valuable emergency forage during dry years but require careful management because they may contain prussic acid, also known as hydrogen cyanide. The greatest risk occurs in young plants, drought-stressed forage, regrowth, and frost-damaged crops. Livestock should not graze these crops until they reach at least 18 inches in height. After a frost, producers should wait seven days before grazing, and the waiting period begins again if another frost occurs.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-minchen-liang-eyeem
Categories: Nebraska, Crops, Sorghum, Hay & Forage, Livestock, Weather