Variable weather can be major offender in pastures and hayfields, even before it turns severe. But the incidence of severe weather is on the up across the country, and managing for these events is necessary to maintain profitable forage systems.

In some areas, it’s not so much more rain as it is more extreme rainfall events, with intense precipitation falling at faster rates over short periods. When rain comes in this form, it can do more harm than good.

Warmer weather trends are impacting growing seasons as well. To overcome the negative effects these conditions can have on forage and livestock, Chris Teutsch with the University of Kentucky explained how farmers can adapt to the changing climate at the Grazing for Profit Conference held earlier this spring in Maryville, Tenn.

“Things are changing,” the extension forage specialist said. “We are seeing more severe weather events and more flood events. Thinking about how that impacts how we manage forages will be really important as we move ahead.”

Looking at a map of annual precipitation change, Teutsch pointed out that the humid eastern region of the U.S. has been receiving more rain than it did in the past. States and like Kentucky and Tennessee boast an additional 2 to 4 inches of annual precipitation over the long term.

“We’re getting more moisture than we’ve ever gotten before,” he said. But this moisture doesn’t always fall when growers need it too, and drought is still a recurring issue. Teutsch also pointed out that across the country, average minimum winter temperatures are rising, which is impacting the botanical composition of pastures.

These shifts in seasonal weather patterns in the Mid-South have made warm-season grasses more competitive in cool-season grass stands. Thus, farmers must shift their management in order to maintain — and even improve — their production systems. These shifts include strategies to overcome drought and reduce feed costs.

Overcome drought

“Drought rarely kills well-managed pastures,” Teutsch said. “If you’ve got a pasture that you’re doing everything right on, we can have a pretty moderate drought and that pasture is going to survive. Unfortunately, not all pastures are well managed, and those are the ones that are really susceptible to short-term drought stress.”

Teutsch said drought is often like the straw that breaks the camel’s back. If factors like stocking rate, soil fertility, and grazing rotations and already poorly managed, drought will essentially bring these issues to the forefront. In other words, an accumulation of stressors is what really damages pastures, and then dry weather brings that damage to a head. Drought itself is rarely the only problem.

With that said, Teutsch encouraged farmers to pivot their thinking from how to manage drought to how to prepare for it. Farmers can’t predict or prevent drought, but they can mitigate its impacts before it occurs and promote pasture recovery when rain returns. This includes setting a sustainable stocking rate; testing soil and adjusting fertility, focusing on optimum phosphorus, potassium, and pH; and rotationally grazing livestock. Interseeding legumes and grazing annual forages can also take some pressure off of drought-stricken stands.

Teutsch touted sericea lespedeza as a drought-tolerant, warm-season legume that can provide additional tonnage under dry conditions. Sericea lespedeza is also highly tolerant of low-fertility soils, although it can be relatively low palatability. Alfalfa is another pasture legume option; however, Teutsch quipped that the queen of forages can be more of a “pouty princess” in the marginal soils that perennial stands are often rooted in.

Sorghum-sudangrass, sudangrass, and pearl millet are good candidates for summer grazing. When suggesting other annuals, johnsongrass and crabgrass received some pushback from the audience since these species are sometimes considered weeds, but Teutsch contended they can be high-yielding and high-quality forages. Native warm-season grasses like switchgrass, indiangrass, and big and little bluestem can be effective options to fill grazing gaps during drought, too.

Buy bales . . .

Since feeding is likely a staple component of most livestock systems in the Mid-South, Teutsch prompted producers to prioritize feeding high-quality hay. Although this, in addition to reducing hay feeding days, can save serious money, feed costs can still comprise up to 50% of total farm expenses.

“Hay is a necessary evil in grazing systems in the humid eastern United States, so the question is, do we buy it or make it?” he posited. The decision will depend on the cost of production versus the cost of bales.

When farmers buy hay instead of making it, they import nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium into their pastures, along with other essential micronutrients. “When I bring that hay into my system, I’m getting the feed value out of that hay, and then I’m getting a coupon for the nutrients that I’m bringing into my system,” Teutsch said. “That coupon is worth $40 or $50 per ton, depending on fertilizer prices.”

Some key tactics for feeding hay on pasture include doing so before it rains to prevent pugging and compaction, doing so before cattle lose body condition, and delivering hay in weaker paddocks that are destined for renovation. One trade-off of bringing in outsourced hay is that it can pose the risk of weed spread.

. . . or make bales

Making hay, on the other hand, can be justified if the cost of production is less than average hay prices. However, this also depends on the length of the hay-feeding season and the quality of hay your animals need.

Since the 1980s, Teutsch shared that there has been a steady rise in the amount of hay production per beef cow-calf unit in Kentucky. The uptick can be attributed to bigger cows, an increase in hay waste, and a longer total hay-feeding period, which Teutsch said has extended by 30 to 40 days in some areas.

“That’s not good,” Teutsch said. “In most cases, hay is negatively correlated with profitability in cow-calf operations.”

He contended that the single most important factor of profitable on-farm hay production is harvesting forage on time. Capturing sufficient forage quality while optimizing plant yield will enhance average daily gains.

It’s easier said than done, though, Teutsch empathized. Many cow-calf producers have off-farm jobs, old or poorly maintained hay equipment, or their forage systems might just be their secondary enterprise. The weather can also be a major roadblock to making better bales, but it will always pay to aim for high-quality hay.

To see a recording of this presentation and others from the Grazing for Profit Conference, please visit the KYForages YouTube Channel.