Seasonal Pasture for Ewes in Northwestern Kansas (1977) Seasonal Pasture for Ewes in Northwestern Kansas (1977)

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Seasonal Pasture for Ewes in Northwestern Kansas 1 by Frank J. Schwulst and Evans E. Banbury•
The Colby Branch of the Kansas State University Agri· cultural Experi"ment Station has been investigating sea· sonal pastures for ewes several years, including cereal crops, legumes, annual grasses, and perennial grasses. All pastures studied were irrigated once or were under approximate fu ll irrigation.
Cereal crops studied include winte r wheat, winter and spring barley, rye, triticale, a nd millet. The legumes were alfalfa and sweetclover. Grasses studied included sudan, a w heat-wheatg rass hybrid, and peren nia l 'ryegrass.
This report summarizes results from that seasonal pas· ture research.
Pastures irrigated pre-planting received one application to bring the available ·soil moisture in the 5-foot profile to approximately ten inches; none after the crop was planted. Under that system, fal l-planted rye and w inter barley pastures p rovided 623(2) and 533( 1) ewe grazing days per acre, respectively, during the fall and w inter grazing season. Numbers in parentheses are how many years data were recorded. When ewe and lamb pairs grazed during fall and winter 458 (6)  Winter w heat p lanted and grazed in the spring yielded only 221(1) ewe grazing days. Grazing days obta ined from winter barley, 478(4), and spring barley, 477(5), both were planted and grazed in the spring. .
Pastures under ful l irrigat ion were irrigated prior to planting to have approximately ··ten inches of avai lablE~ soil moisture in the f irst five feet soi l depth· plus two o r three five-inch irrigations during the growing season. That more than d oubled ewe grazing days per acre for all fall-p lanted cerea ls compared with pre-plant irrigation only. The increase in grazing capacity probably resulte d f ro m · two main factors: increased g rowth and recovery rate of the crops; and extended grazing t ime. Fall-pl anted cereals fully irrigated were grazed from mid-September until early June, but cerea ls g razed unti l June were· never harve' sted for gra in.
( ) Numbers in parentheses = years of records.
Spring planted sudangrass produced 1 063(5) gr11fing days per acre under pre-irrigation only and 1441(4) graz. ing days under approximate full irrigation. All sudan g razing days have been from mid-summer to frost.
linn perennial ryegrass, a recent addition to our pasture research, has shown indication of being a prolific producer of grazing days under irrigation. During the summer of 1975 it produced 291 0(1) grazing days per acre. However, it suffered extensive d amage f rom win-This publication from Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service has been archived. Current information: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu.
ter-kill. So its ability to survive winters in ,porthwes tern Kansas may limit its usefulne ss the re.
Alfalfa unde r full irrigation produced 21 50(4) grazing days pe r acre. Alfalfa grazing days have been from mid-May to frost. The alfalfa has shown no winter-kil l.
We have had no ewes bloat on the cereal and grass pastures, and alfalfa pastures have produced very little bloat. In o ne study comparin g a b loat preventin g agent with no bloat preve ntative , the bloat preventat ive was discontinu ed since bloating was so rare among nontreated ewes. However, ewes grazing alfa lfa always were observed and managed ve ry carefully.
Planting rates of 90, 120, and 150 pounds of seed pe r acre were used to study the effects of planting rate on grazing days pe r acre provided by triticale, whe atwheatgras s, rye, and barley d uring the 1973-197 4 and J 974-J 975 grazing seaso ns. Barley replaced rye the second year. Ewe grazing days per acre increased as planting rate increased only fo r the wheat-wh eatgrass hybrid . No trend was appare nt in the o ther crops.
How much will g razing decrease the grain yield of w heat? Three yea rs' d ata indicate that the decrease varies greatly w ith length of grazing period and the stage of the whe al's developm ent when it is grazed. A plot of wheat not graze d produced 55.2 bushels of gra in per acre. A total of 609 grazing days per acre between ·october 20 and J anua ry 20 w as fo llowed by harvesting 52.0 bushels per acre. Grazing by lambs fro m January 20 to April 20 produce d 670 grazing d ays, but reduced grain yield to 22.7 bushe ls per acre. When wheat wa s grazed, as growth allowed , fro m October 2 0 through April 20 grain yields were reduced 20 to 25 bushe ls per acre compared with wheat not grazed. Graz ing days per ( acre provided during the lo nger grazing season did not differ greatl y fro m the number of days obtained during the shorte r grazing pe riods. During the 1975-197 6 grazing season e wes were pastured o n four wheat varieties under full irrigation. Ewe ;raz ing days produced were: Scout 66, 2828; Centurk, 2699; Eag le, 2471; a nd Buckskin, 2388. To tals were markedly mo re than fro m any previous grazing tests. This is due to limiting ewes in this test to no mo re than half-day grazing. They maintaine d weight wh ile limited to half-day g razing w ith no suppleme ntary grain or forage. 2150 (4)** • Irrigated prior to pl~nting to approxim ately ten inches ava ilable soil moisture in the first five feet soil depth plus 2 o r 3 five-Inch applicatio ns during growing season. • • Grazed from mid-May to frost.

( ) Numbers in parenthes es = years of records.
This publication from Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service has been archived. Current information: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu.  (1968)(1969)(1970) Cor.n sta lks, milo stover, and wheat stubble also offer sheep prod ucers a way to reduce ewe feed costs. The residues may be harvested or grazed. In J anua ry and February, 1976, a flock of ewes was divided in to two groups of 82 ewes each. One g roup grazed 7,1 12 acres of corn stal ks suppleme nted with o ne pound of alfa lfa hay per head da ily; the other was maintaine d in drylo t. Those in dry lot received s ix pounds of sorg hum silage and one pound of a lfa lfa hay pe r head daily. Initia l weights and average weights during the fi rs t 34 d ays on test were abo ut equal fo r the two g rou ps. However, after 34 days, ewes on the corn st alks did not maintain w eight. By that time ewes o n the corn stalks had cleaned up all the grain lost during harvesting and had consumed most of the husks and o the r leafy materi a l leaving only the less palata ble bare stalks.
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2M-2-77 I This publication from Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service has been archived. Current information: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu.