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Top 10 Mistakes of New Graziers
by Paul Daigle
Over the last few years of developing grazing plans and seeing them implemented I have watched some farmers take off in grazing, without looking back, and be very successful, others never seem to get the hang of it. I have observed many reasons why some people fail to succeed in setting up and managing a grass based livestock enterprise, and have developed this list of top 10 mistakes in the hope that you can benefit from the mistakes made by someone else.
10. Did not remove all the old worn out fencing and replace it with new superior products. Many farmers struggle with old rusty worn-out fences. The worst is electrified barbed wire that causes more shorts and voltage drop problems than anything else. To properly manage your pastures old interior fences that are in the way must also be removed. I do encourage the use of any halfway decent established fences, especially perimeter fences. If the fence is not sturdy, take it down and replace it with quality high tensile fencing products that will last for decades. The name of the game is labor efficiency and flexibility. If your old system slows you down or does not work, replace it.
9. Buy inferior products that don’t last. In the effort to save a buck, many people buy poor quality fencing, watering products, or poor quality seed and seed mixes. Many of these products are either hard to work with or break down in a couple of years. Seek out the names of high quality grazing products from other graziers. You may spend a few more bucks initially, but it will save you time and money down the road. Remember you are setting this grazing system up to save time, as well as earn some additional money. In this case, it pays to spend a little more to make more in the long run-do it right the first time.
8. Failure to believe that good management will improve the quality and quantity of the pasture. Too many people are looking for a secret recipe, when it takes long-term commitment and management to create and maintain high quality pastures. High quality pastures don’t just happen. They are the result of years of excellent management, not weeks or months or some secret seed mix or some magic fertilizer.
7. Believe plowing will improve a pasture. Refer to number 8. In some cases frost seeding, interseeding or reseeding a pasture may help to improve the species of plants that are present in a paddock, but it is long-term management that will determine what a pasture will look like 5 or 10 years down the road.
6. Did not commit an adequate amount of the best land to grazing. Too many people decide to graze, but decide they are only going to try a few acres. Sorry folks, if you want to graze for ½ to 2/3 of the year you have to commit ½ to 2/3 of your acreage to pasture. In North Central Wisconsin it takes about an acre to raise 3 tons of high quality pasture, which is roughly the forage needed for a 1000# critter for 6 months of the year. If you start out with less acreage per animal, you will run out of grass. If you study the grass growth curves for the growing season you should realize grass does not grow at a constant rate throughout the grazing season. You may need only ½ acre per animal early in the year, but by the end of the grazing season need 1.5-2 acres per animal, when the grass growth slows. Flexibility is the key. Fence in the largest acreage that is feasible, mechanically harvest excess growth early in the year, and let the livestock graze more acres late in the grazing season, thereby extending your days on grass.
5. Spend lots of money on “Silver Bullet” grasses, legumes and products. No doubt about it, there are many better grass and legume varieties to choose from then there were 10 years ago. Too many people look for that perfect plant for the whole farm, and there are plenty of people willing to sell you that perfect seed (snake oil). In general, seed down new fields with late-maturing varieties of grasses and legumes that grow on your soils, in your climate. Again, consult other graziers. Don’t seed your farm down to all of one seed or seed mix. Good quality, late maturing seed is not cheap but if you are paying more than two or three dollars per pound you better have some mighty strong proof that the seed you are buying will do everything that is promised. The same goes for products. There are plenty of people willing to sell you the next best thing, when good management is what you need. Strive to achieve diversity amongst your pastures, but not too much within. Now refer back to #8.
4. Failure to properly manage the fertility of your pastures. Refer to #8 again. A good fertility management program is needed to grow high quality pastures and to even out the growth curve of pastures, especially when starting out grazing. Take advantage of all farm sources of fertility whenever possible. Manure is the cheapest source of fertilizer you have, so manage it properly. If you are buying feed, you are buying fertilizer for your farm. Whether you are getting your fertility from on-farm manure and/or compost sources, buying fertilizer, having legumes provide nitrogen or whatever strategy you depend on, be sure that fertility management is part of your management plan. Also be aware that small, frequent applications are more beneficial that large, single-season applications of fertilizer, especially nitrogen. One more thing to watch is excess nutrient buildup. By buying outside sources of fertilizer or feed you are bringing extra fertility on to your farm. Make sure that phosphorus and potassium do not build to excessive levels. Remember, with good grazing management, manure is being applied at a fairly even rate over your pastures. For the most part after 3-5 years the manure applied by the grazing livestock will meet the needs of the plants.
3. Failure to plan for a decent lane system on dairy farms. Ninety percent of the time you can get away with having poor quality lanes, but it is that ten percent of the time that is the killer. When your pasture management is dictated by the condition your lanes are in, you need to spend a few bucks on building some decent lanes for your animals. I see it happen in early spring and late fall and when we get a month where it doesn’t stop raining. Sooner or later, if you don’t have good lanes, your pasture management will suffer because you cannot get your animals out to the pasture that needs to be grazed. With good lanes, I have seen some graziers get nearly a month earlier start on the grazing season because they do not have to wait for the mud in their lanes to dry in the spring. The same goes at the other end of the calendar, when there are beautiful fields of grass ready, but the lanes are too muddy and the lanes do not dry off that late in the year. I have also seen cows not on pastures in the middle of the summer because we received 5-10 inches of rain in the last week and all the cows are belly deep in mud. One of the reasons people graze is that it is hard to put up high quality stored feeds. If your animals cannot get to high quality pasture, you are no better off then before you were grazing.
2. Failure to plan and implement a smooth and efficient transition to a grazing system. A new grazier must have a plan to succeed. This includes a grazing plan describing how the system, including lanes, water, and fencing, will be installed and how the pastures will be managed. Equally important is a business plan, which lays out a successful financial plan on how the business will be implemented and run. When these plans are developed and the skills to implement them acquired, the plans must be implemented in an efficient manner. If the transition to a grass based livestock system is drawn out, the efficiencies of the system are never realized and you may end up with more work. This is especially true if you are transitioning from an existing conventional setup. You may end up just adding another hour to your day if you fail to fully implement your plan and you get stuck between two systems, with all your old baggage. If you truly believe in the system and believe you have the skills to implement it DO IT NOW.
1. The number one mistake made by new and experienced graziers is the failure to continue to learn the system. It is critical to develop a grazing mindset. You must continue to question everything, continually improve on what you are doing so you can make the most cost-effective decisions possible. Many new graziers come to one or just a few pasture walks or meetings and think they know it all. This is probably the biggest mistake you can make. Good grazing is an art as well as a science and it takes many years to learn. Granted, some basic pasture walks become repetitious, but there are usually a few tips to pick up and the small discussions that take place among graziers at the walks always provide new ideas. Advanced grass series are sure to make you think, while conferences, books, magazines and the Internet are also great places to continue the learning process and bring you ideas from around Wisconsin, the U.S. and the world. At the end of your career, don’t end up with one year of experience thirty times, end up with a full thirty years of experience.
Paul Daigle is a Conservation Specialist for the Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning Department. Paul and Tom Cadwallader UW-Extension Agricultural Development Agent for Marathon and Lincoln Counties work with the Central Wisconsin River Graziers Network to educate, plan and promote managed grazing systems.
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