Dryland agriculture

integrated Cover crop-livestock producers

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Michael Thompson - Almena, Kansas
Motivation: "I needed pasture recovery time, and there was good forage value. I also wanted to cycle nutrients faster in my no-till system"
Something that went well in 2016: "I have great residue"
Biggest challenge in 2016: "Very cool growing conditions early in the spring limited the amount of forage I grew, so I felt like I needed to postpone grazing. That made for poor gain in my animals. I knew going in that I would have to sacrifice gain if I was to get residue."

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Steve Tucker - Venango, Nebraska
​Motivation: "Roots are key to building soils, and plants are key to building organic matter to feed the biology in the soil"
Something that went well in 2016: "Our cover crops grew quite well."
Something I'll do differently next year: ​"Plant earlier, get grazing sooner, increase stocking rate, run through it faster. More like mob grazing."
Lessons learned? "I learned that some cover crop species are relentless and might be a burden in the future." 
Also, from the livestock helper: Go pick out the cattle yourself. Don't let the feedlot just send them to you. The ones I got were angry.

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Curt Sayles - Seibert, Colorado
Motivation: Wants to get rid of perennial weeds, stimulate nutrient cycling, and believes livestock closes the loop in the system.
Something that went well in 2016: "Our extended grazing made for great calving, cows responded well, and grass fed steer project showed great promise."
Challenges in 2016: "Keeping adequate water in front of our grazing herd was a challenge. Second, paddock grazing is labor intensive. We need to evaluate the economics. Also, the mix we used might not be the best for our environment"

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Mike Neff - Dresden, Kansas
Something that went well in 2016: "The infiltration rate just blew me away"
Biggest challenge in 2016: The forage mix started maturing, so he swathed it for feed. He tried to cut it high enough to get regrowth, but there wasn't good residue after swathing.


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 Larry and Doug Manhart - Grainfield, Kansas
 Motivation: ​Herbicide-resistant weeds and visible economic gains with cattle.
 Anything Unexpected? No yield drag in following crop since integrating forages and livestock into crop rotation in 2013.
 Challenges: Overgrazed some spots because cattle eat regrowth on their way to  water.

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Lance Feikert - Bucklin, Kansas
Next crop: ​Wheat came up well and looks good after the spring forage.
Lesson learned in 2016: "I would have put on 20 lb N and left more residue if I could have done it again. It would have been a foot - foot and a half taller if I'd fertilized."

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  • Home
  • Research
    • Cover Crop Grazing >
      • Spring Planted Cover Crop Grazing
      • Post-Wheat Cover Crop Grazing
      • Research Station Experiments
    • Cropping System Intensification
  • Collaborators
    • Research Team
    • Producers
  • Resources
  • Contact