Use sodseeding to help cow nutrition

Rick Hirsch
Rick Hirsch

By Rick Hirsch/County Extension Agent

Maintaining your cows on a proper plane of nutrition can be a chore – especially during dry times and facing the onset of winter. One possible alternative to increase the amount of forage available to cattle during this time of year is sodseeding. Sodseeding is the practice of planting unrelated plant species into an established perennial such as bermudagrass or bahiagrass. Small grains and ryegrass are the species most often sodseeded in East Texas. The competition between the two different plants is the main concern in establishing a sodseeded crop. In the case of warm season grasses and small grains and ryegrass, we have an advantage in that one is a warm season plant and the other is a cool season plant. This means that the only time you will be concerned with competition is in the early fall and spring. Small grains, clovers and ryegrass and combinations of all those are options for winter pastures. Small grains, clovers and ryegrass combinations of all these are options for winter pastures.

Small grains that may be used include rye, wheat, oats and triticale. Ryegrass and legumes may also be sodseeded if the seed is planted shallow. Good seed is essential for successful sodseeding. Rye will produce the most forage in cool weather followed by wheat and oats. The small grain needs to be planted at a rate of 80 – 100 lbs. seed per acre. A mixture of small grains can be used successfully as long as 100 lbs./acre is the seeding rate. Ryegrass should be planted at 20 lbs. per acre when planted with small grains and 40 – 50 lbs. when planted alone. Small grain seed should be planted 1 – 2 inches deep in the soil.

Nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied until after frost or when the small grains have produced growth above the warm season grasses. Nitrogen applied too early will stimulate bermudagrass growth and choke out small grain production. When fertilizer is applied, use a blended fertilizer. A soil test is the best way to determine the amount of fertilizer needed for desired production results. The soil test will also provide you the pH level. Should the soil test indicate a need for limestone – pH levels are traditionally low in our area – fine grind limestone will provide a very good response.

To assist beef producers with planning cool season forage programs the Henderson County Beef Cattle Committee is sponsoring a Winter Pasture Field Day & Forage Tour on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Pine Ridge Ranch located south of Athens. The cost of the program is $10 per person which includes dinner. Registration will begin at 5 p.m. Topics will include: Bahia Grass Control, Cool Season Varieties & Availability, Planting Methods, Forage Testing and Quality, Using Grains, Ryegrass & Legumes in a Grazing System – Costs and Considerations, Pesticide License Update and Ag & Timber Exemption Update. The speakers will include: Dr. Vanessa Corrhier-Olson, Associate Professor & Extension Forage Specialist; Andy Young, East Texas Seed Company; and Bart Warlick, Manager of Pine Ridge Ranch. 1.5 continuing education units will be provided towards the recertification of private, commercial and non-commercial applicators license.

Estimating how many acres of winter pastures to establish is dependent on class of animal and local climate. Generally, a good small grain pasture can be stocked with 600 pounds of body weight per acre (1.5 – 400 lb. calves/acre, 1 – 600 lb. calf/acre). With good moisture and proper fertilization, the stocking rate can be increased. A stocking rate of about 3 – 4 pair per acre should be used in estimating number of acres for limit grazing of beef cows. If grazing full time, about 1.5 acres is needed per cow. Here again, the actual stocking rate might be higher or lower depending on weather and management.

A pasture should be stocked properly in the fall so there will be a carry over of forage into the winter when forage production is limited by cold, short, cloudy days. Proper stocking for fall and winter will result in excess forage in the spring. A producer needs to use this extra forage wisely. Additional livestock can be added in the spring or the excess growth can be harvested for hay. In any case, excess spring growth on overseeded pastures should be utilized so the warm-season perennial grass is not crowded out.
Winter pasture can be planted from mid-September through October, assuming there is adequate soil moisture. Optimum planting dates will vary with location and type of winter pasture. Earlier plantings result in greater early forage production if moisture is available. However, the earlier the planting, the higher the risk that the stand could be lost to drought. September plantings should be in a prepared seed bed to reduce weed and grass competition and provide good placement of seed in the soil to improve seedling survival. Summer pastures should be overseeded in October and early November depending on location. The warm-season grass should be mowed or grazed short (2 – 3 inches) to reduce competition to the overseeded forages.

FALL COLOR

Color change in leaves of plants is an interesting and complex process. Deciduous

plants – those that lose their leaves annually in advance of winter – undergo physiological changes as the growing season wanes, transitioning from actively growing plants to sluggish, bare icons of winter. What drives the transition is advancing leaf age and stress, shorter day length, cooler night temperatures and increased presence of the plant hormone ABA (abscisic acid). ABA builds a corky layer of cells at the natural abscission point between leaf petiole and stem, eventually causing separation. Prior to separation though, 3 types of pigments in leaves alter their relative concentration in leaves: chlorophyll, responsible for green color, carotenoids, the yellow and orange hues and anthocyanins, which make us see red.

Weather factors and growing conditions play a significant role in fall transition and pigment expression. Good soil moisture reduces tree stress, slowing the influence of ABA, and thus leaves are retained longer into the fall transition. A longer transition means that the carotenoid group pigments will have more opportunity to be seen before frost. Cold temperatures with high sunlight intensify anthocyanin production in those plants that make them. Physical factors like rain and wind, that physically remove leaves, obviously shorten the period of visible fall color change and a killing frost will bring the transition to an end.

Rick Hirsch is the Henderson County Extension Agent – Agriculture for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Visit our web page at .