J.D. BAILEY
Banner-News
With the state’s summer days seemingly growing hotter and hotter, some farmers and land owners may find their pasturelands becoming less and less healthy and lush. To combat this, the University of Arkansas and its System Division of Agriculture this week issued a few small pointers for keeping the lands as fertile as possible in these sweltering, often triple-digit conditions.
“Although rain during spring was plentiful, soil profiles are getting dry,” said Dirk Phillip, associate professor of animal science and forage researcher at UA’s Division of Agriculture. “Pastures suffer when the weather turns hot and dry following a wet and cool spring that delays growth. Fescue ceases growth during hot conditions. During those times, Fescue should not be mowed or grazed to avoid damage to the sward.”
The ag expert also advised those cutting the Fescue breed for hay to make sure at least 4 inches of “leaf material” is present on the plants to ensure good regrowth. Phillip also cautioned housing cattle on “summer-dormant Fescue pastures” to avoid overgrazing, soil compaction and creating openings for weed encroachment, the UA report said.
“Have a plan in place to move animals somewhere else,” added Phillip, “preferably onto a warm season perennial pasture or pastures of summer annual forages.
One grass essentially to immune to the heat is Bermudagrass. The UA guide from Tuesday stated that the grass will keep growing, even with the hotter weather, but “the wet, cool spring this year resulted in little growth going into the hot summer months.” Conditions are now compounded an overabundance of incoming weeds, according to Phillip.
“When field size is manageable, Bushhog fields to cut down on weeds and fertilize the Bermudagrass with about 50 to 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre,” added Phillip. “Once rain resumes, Bermudagrass will begin growing again and we’ll have about three months of growing season left.If drought conditions persist, handle Bermudagrass with care.”
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More UA tips are as follows:
Avoid excessive vehicle or animal traffic on pastures; If hay is needed, find a sacrifice pasture for feeding it to cattle to minimize the spread of weed seeds from the hay; Watch out for weed growth later in the season and following years after a drought and tackle weed control proactively to avoid longterm weed encroachment.
“In the longterm, try to stay proactive by having options available,” Philipp said. “Such options can include fields planted in summer annual forages.”
Sorghum-sudangrass and pearl millet are also reported to be relatively drought resistant, according to the UA guide.
“Although they don’t generate their maximum yield of growth during dry conditions,” it stated. “The amount of plant material available may be enough to provide cattle with forage during droughts.