Cattle Grazing and Soil Management While it’s Still Pouring

The above-average winter rain and the forecast of it continuing in to spring across various parts of the southern grazing country has raised worry amongst cattle grazers. Putting the livestock on the sodden soil can pose health risks such as lameness, mastitis, magnesium deficiencies amongst other risks.

According to pasture experts, the soil becomes weaker as it gets wetter and it also damages the soil structure. When determining management strategies, reduced pasture yields and re-sowing are always considered, but other factors that need to be taken in to account are the below-ground costs of damaging soil plus the animal health issues.

According to agriculture officers, this year the low-lying areas with heavy clay soils have much higher subsoil moisture than it usually has. The compaction from grazing stock becomes a matter of concern as the wet soil becomes weaker and reaching upon its saturation point the soil becomes pugged. By the onset of spring, chances of reduce pasture utilization are increased by 30 to 40 percent and yields can decrease by up to a whopping 80 percent.

When livestock graze on waterlogged soil it results in pugging that reduces the size of pores that drain the soil. It further increases the chances of waterlogging quicker in the future and also the soil remains colder so it takes extra time to respond to spring conditions. This further leads to decline of favourable microbes that help in restoring the structure.

The solution to this dilemma lies in recognizing the waterlogged paddocks and let the livestock graze on it before such conditions arise. Areas where it is difficult to manage, producers can build pasture cover to mitigate the effect.

Off-grazing is another effective strategy during such rainy times and so is supplementing the feed. Grazing cows for two to four hours and then moving them to a standoff area as cows usually consume 70% of their pasture intake during the first two hours of grazing is another option. Well-fed cows would do less walking around the paddock and would save the soil as well as the livestock from the testing issues.

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