February 27, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Dan McCarty, WSU Extension \u2013 Clallam County Livestock Specialist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
dan.mccarty@wsu.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we anxiously wait for spring to arrive, let\u2019s talk about pasture management. Good quality pastures are key for cheap feed that help you prolong having to feed expensive hay early. Good quality pastures come from good healthy soils. Good soil health doesn\u2019t happen naturally and it takes time and sometimes money to repair, if it hasn\u2019t been properly managed in the past. This spring would be a great time to take soil samples on some of your key pastures and have them analyzed for nutrients. Your local Soil and Water Conservation District should be able to help you with this. Fertilizer and other soil amendments prices aren\u2019t cheap either but may be necessary to get your pasture nutrient balances where they can be most productive and allows your foliage to last beyond the regular growing season. Healthy soils also help your pasture grasses out-compete those pesky weeds, thus providing your cattle a better source of free feed, lasting longer in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pasture rotation is another key for helping your pastures grow longer. Yes, it takes time and money to do this properly, but again, it\u2019s free feed! Your local Conservation District should be able to help you find funding for cross fences or temporary fencing. A simple rule of thumb for when to pull your livestock out is \u201ctake have, leave half\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By building healthier soils, you are creating better pastures which provides you cheaper and higher quality foiage, you are able to produce a more profitable and higher quality food product for our ever-growing population. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the agriculture industry. May your pastures be greener and your cows be fatter than the neighbors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
February 27, 2023 By Dan McCarty, WSU Extension \u2013 Clallam County Livestock Specialist dan.mccarty@wsu.edu As we anxiously wait for spring to arrive, let\u2019s talk about pasture management. Good quality pastures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_external_link":"","_expiration_date":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2260"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2861,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260\/revisions\/2861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/regionalsmallfarms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}