Fall Forage Tour: Utilizing Cover Crops to Improve Soil Health and Increase Cow Carrying Capacity (Saturday, November 2nd)

Cattlemen and producers are invited to the Fall Forage Tour, Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, 2013. The tour will begin at 1:00 p.m. on both days at the Dale Strickler Farm, one mile south of Courtland on the west side of the highway. 

Two audiences will benefit from participation in the Fall Forage Tour–cattle producers and those interested in utilizing cover crops to improve soil health. The tour will focus on improving soil productivity through the use of cover crops, forages, and perennial grasses. 

According to Strickler, ranchers have two options to increase cattle carrying capacity. They can choose “Horizontal Expansion” by acquiring more land–and more debt–or they can improve existing pastures through “Vertical Expansion.” Vertical Expansion increases the cattle carrying capacity by both expanding the root zone and increasing plant bio mass. Strickler advocates expansion of the root zone through the use of selected cover crops and enhanced soil biology.

Soil and plant roots tell the story of how managed grazing, re-growth, and rest effect not only the top growth of grasses but also their roots. To illustrate this, Strickler will dig a soil pit at his farm’s Eastern Gamagrass site permitting attendees to walk down into it and closely examine the roots and the soil beneath the grass. Dale will explain what is happening at the site so that ranchers can see for themselves that increased root depth results in elevated organic matter levels and improved biological activity in the soil. Expanding the root zone by managing the grazing has the potential to increase the land’s carrying capacity.

At the cabin site, ranchers will have the opportunity to view 27 varieties of cool season cover crops. Most varieties are solo seeded to see the effects of soil tolerances. Five different soil types exist at this location: Calcareous, eroded, poorly-drained bottom ground, well-drained bottom ground and saline sodic. Participants will see Eastern Gamagrass, Grazing Alfalfa, Low Alkaloid Reed Canary Grass, Dale’s Cover Crop Test Plot, Brown Midrib Forage Sorghum Sudan, Tropic Sun Non-Toxic Sun Hemp, Bird’s Foot Trefoil, and frosted warms season  residue as well as many other legume, forage and grass varieties.

Dale Strickler, a former Agronomy Instructor at Concordia’s Cloud County Community College, is a Cover Crop and Forage Specialist for Star Seed and is passionate about soil health.

Dale grazes 1 cow/calf pair on 1.3 acres year round~with very little hay.  Join us to learn how he does it!

There is no registration fee, but RSVPs are requested.

Examples of key take-aways from the Fall Forage Tour include:

There are two methods to carry more cattle on your ranch...
Method 1: Buy a bigger ranch.
Method 2: Improve the productivity of your current ranch.
Note: We will NOT be discussing Method 1 at this event!

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What carrying capacity & weaning weights can be achieved with optimum management?

Is it possible to graze 12 months a year and eliminate feeding hay? 

Is it possible to have more production and profit from grazing crops with animals than harvesting the grain?

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Tour includes Dale’s Cow/Calf Operation and the following forages:

• Eastern Gamagrass
• Cover Crop Test Plot
• Grazing Alfalfa
• Bird’s Foot Trefoil
• Tropic Sun Non-Toxic Sun Hemp
• Low Alkaloid Reed Canary Grass
• Brown Midrib Forage Sorghum Sudan
• Many other forage & grass varieties