It’s no secret that the stockman spends more time and money getting ready to carry cattle and other livestock through the winter. Unlike the summer pastures that we expect to graze from April to at least October, winter is a time of dormancy for many forages.

In anticipation of winter, we “make hay while the sun shines.” Cattlemen are encouraged to have about 25 lbs of hay per day for every cow. If one expects to feed hay from December thru March, then you will need 3,000 lbs of hay or about 1.5 tons for each cow. Indeed, feeding cattle through the winter can be quite an annual expense.  

To lessen the burden of hay, many utilize a winter pasture. Our most common winter grazed forages can be from ryegrass, small grains (such as cereal rye, oats, wheat or others), and clovers. If planted correctly under good weather conditions, the economics certainly favor this winter grazing option.  

By far the most commonly planned and planted winter pasture is annual ryegrass. This grass is what commonly seen in abundance on roadsides and ditches.  It is easy to start from seed, needing minimum to no seedbed preparation. Planted in late September through October, it will be available to graze starting in February, under most growing conditions.  

If ryegrass has a downside, it is that it can delay the growth of summer pastures by smothering it out. Astute stockmen will make sure to either graze it short or bale the excess up in April when the summer pasture grasses (mostly Bahia in these parts) starts to break dormancy and grow.

For an earlier growing grass that doesn’t adversely affect summer pastures, consider the small grains such as cereal rye, wheat or oats. Regardless of which you choose, let’s be clear that we have no interest in the actual grains that it could produce. We are completely interested in the leafy, nutritious forage that livestock will graze.   

The biggest drawback of utilizing a grain, in my opinion, is that the seed must be planted about an inch deep. And for most every producer that doesn’t want to disk up their summer pasture, that means renting or buying a no-till grain drill to get the seed into the soil. Unlike ryegrass or clovers that can be broadcast on top of existing sod, grains must be planted.  

If you do decide to go with a grain, far and away the best for our area is Elbon rye. You can expect to graze it in December and continue until summer pastures break dormancy.

Our third most common option is clovers. Planting clover will not only provide forage during the winter month in addition to beautifying your pastures when they bloom, but they will build your soil!

As a legume, clovers can add nitrogen to your soil. A benefit that pays you even if you don’t fully utilize it by grazing.

Many have shied from clovers as they’ve heard it can cause bloat. But the fear of bloat costs more than bloat itself.

Legume bloat, which is associated with consumption of lush, high, quality forage of some legumes, can be a serious problem resulting in animal deaths. However, legumes can increase forage yield, improve forage quality, increase animal performance, lengthen the grazing season, and provide nitrogen to plants. Numerous factors can affect the likelihood of legume bloat, but practical management can usually prevent it. When proper management is exercised to minimize the bloat hazard, the economic advantages of legumes make their use well worth the effort.

If you want to save some money feeding livestock this winter, consider these winter forages. Our office has lots more information to share on this topic. We’ll start you off with a soil test and advance from there to fatter cattle while spending less money.