Where to go to find beef and grazing research.
Bethany Johnston, Livestock Extension Educator
Author
03/21/2025
Added
5
Plays
Description
Information about drought conditions and pastures
Searchable Transcript
Toggle between list and paragraph view.
- [00:00:00.000]Welcome to the Extension Minute, brought to you by
- [00:00:02.800]Bethany Johnston, livestock educator for Nebraska Extension,
- [00:00:07.692]where we bring university research directly to you, on your farm and ranch.
- [00:00:12.727]Where can you go to find beef and grazing research?
- [00:00:16.447]Visit the beef.unl.edu website.
- [00:00:20.780]While you are there, read through the BeefWatch articles -
- [00:00:24.000]these are timely articles that come out beginning of each month.
- [00:00:28.499]You can also tune into the Beef Podcasts, while you are there.
- [00:00:32.659]Let’s jump into the topic of drought.
- [00:00:34.999]With dry conditions in 2024 and drier conditions forecasted this year,
- [00:00:40.427]spring is a good time to evaluate your level of drought
- [00:00:44.072]and the impact it will have on your forage production.
- [00:00:47.379]Trigger dates are times when you can assess the precipitation you have
- [00:00:51.320]received (or not received) and make adjustments to your stocking rates.
- [00:00:56.700]Trigger dates happen about every month.
- [00:00:59.360]April 1, mid April, mid May, mid June, mid July, and
- [00:01:04.995]September 1 are some recommended trigger dates.
- [00:01:09.042]Just around the corner is the first trigger date of April 1st.
- [00:01:13.208]On April 1, look back at the previous growing season precipitation
- [00:01:18.208]and the dormant season precipitation starting back in October.
- [00:01:22.728]For many producers, last years growing season in 2024 was drier than normal,
- [00:01:29.128]and much of the state is behind on dormant season precipitation.
- [00:01:33.540]Cool-season grasses need early April moisture,
- [00:01:37.020]so if you have smooth brome grass dominated pastures,
- [00:01:40.800]you may need to reduce stocking rates by 10-20%
- [00:01:44.140]on these cool-season dominated rangelands.
- [00:01:47.880]Looking ahead to mid-April to mid-May.
- [00:01:51.880]By this time, the 30–45-day precipitation forecasts can be moderately reliable.
- [00:01:59.500]If forecasts predict above average temperatures
- [00:02:04.368]and average to below average precipitation,
- [00:02:07.231]additional reductions in stocking rates should be planned.
- [00:02:11.400]Again in cool season pastures with below average precipitation,
- [00:02:17.396]annual production may need to be reduced by an additional 25-50%.
- [00:02:23.880]Now, warm seasoned grasses trigger dates are later than cool season grasses.
- [00:02:29.020]Key trigger dates are in May, June, and July.
- [00:02:32.240]Precipitation during this time will impact the
- [00:02:35.354]production of these warm seasoned grasses.
- [00:02:38.719]Drought maps, precipitation and temperature outlooks
- [00:02:42.019]can be found at drought.unl.edu
- [00:02:46.859]or at the National Weather Service Climate Predication Center.
- [00:02:52.520]Thinking about planting annual forages this spring?
- [00:02:56.660]Start looking at your options and get your seed ordered.
- [00:03:00.180]Mid-March to May is the suggested
- [00:03:02.899]planting date for many spring annual forages
- [00:03:06.560]These spring forages can then be grazed, or hayed, through May and July.
- [00:03:11.620]Spring oats, spring triticale, and spring barley are common spring forages.
- [00:03:17.380]Annual ryegrass, spring field peas, rapeseed or canola,
- [00:03:21.940]hybrid grazing turnips, and common vetch are other possibilities.
- [00:03:26.140]Seeding rates, seeding depth, and when to plant can be found
- [00:03:30.905]on the beef.unl.edu website under “Planting Annual Forages.”
- [00:03:36.934]A recent BeefWatch article by Jerry Volesky,
- [00:03:39.807]Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist,
- [00:03:42.600]is called “Annual Forages - Plan Now in Case of Drought.”
- [00:03:47.240]Calving season is in full swing.
- [00:03:50.380]Don’t forget to adjust nutrition for these milking mothers -
- [00:03:54.100]30 days post calving plus producing milk
- [00:03:57.380]is one the biggest nutritional events for a cow.
- [00:04:01.560]There are many planned events coming up,
- [00:04:03.780]including webinar classes on Calculating Annual Cow Costs
- [00:04:07.824]and registration for the 2025 Nebraska Ranch Practicum has opened up.
- [00:04:13.584]More information about local events
- [00:04:15.638]can be found on our website at holt.unl.edu.
The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!
You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.
Log in to post comments
Embed
Copy the following code into your page
HTML
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%; overflow: hidden; position:relative; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1;">
<iframe
style="bottom: 0; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; border: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%;"
src="https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/24344?format=iframe&autoplay=0"
title="Video Player: Where to go to find beef and grazing research."
allowfullscreen
></iframe>
</div>
Comments
0 Comments