Spring in NE Texas seems to be too short. It starts later than you’d think and ends earlier. In terms of grazing, I typically see the grass really start to grow sometime in mid-March, but spring grazing patterns can’t start until mid-April, when the grass is tall enough to sustain the animals. The early growth is too rich in protein and if I let the grass grow a little it recovers more quickly.
The spring grazing pattern is large areas and quick moves. Just take the tips and move on. There’s no way the animals can eat all the spring grass, so just let the selectively graze the sweetest forage, hopefully keeping the ground clear for the summer grass to get a head start.
Once temperatures start rising, which happens in late May or early June, the summer grass will take off. Unlike the spring grasses which grow tall fast, the summer grasses like to lay low and spread out. That said, I’ve seen them try to compete with the spring grasses vertically, poking their tips out of the leftover forage.
You’ll know it’s summer time when all of the spring grasses have gone to seed and turned brown. The animals won’t touch it in that state. They’d prefer to munch on the new summer growth, but just like with the spring grass in its earliest growth stages, I’d prefer to give the summer grass some time to put on some bulk before turning the animals on to it.
The summer grazing pattern is tighter and slower. The summer grass recovers quickly but there is plenty of time. The biggest concerns during summer grazing is whether it will rain or not. A long period of no rain could mean the summer grass decides to go on vacation and stop growing. I’d like to persuade the grass not to do that, by keeping the ground protected from the sun.
Summer ends sometime in October or November. That’s a good 5 or 6 months of summer forage.
This year looks like it will be a good year. With good rainfall in winter and spring, we may have more forage than I’ll know what to do with.