Summer is here. Timely rains along with the heat are keeping things growing rapidly and green. We were spared the flooding rains some in western Illinois suffered. Our pastures have bounced back quickly from early grazing, and we remain behind optimum forage harvest stages with our grazing. Both corn and beans look very good and are developing rapidly. Fence line brush, mainly bush honeysuckle, is also growing rapidly and requires cutting and spraying to keep it out of our electric fences.
One of the main points of emphasis Dr. Allen Williams always made when he was here during the Illinois Pasture Project was to put all the heifers in one group as often and as early as possible. The economy of labor is significant over two or more groups, and pasture management with greater numbers is improved, as well. With some temporary fencing, daily rotation can become routine and near perfect grazing harvest of any forage will be the result.
The effect on animal behavior is significant. They become better grazers and very attentive to the managers’ instructions, so much so that we have removed the lead cows from the group and have those six, their calves and a bull working the small paddocks near the headquarters. We are now in that mode, having combined heifers into one group of 140 with one cleanup bull. Ultrasound day is set for July 13, so it will be interesting to see the results of a combination of AI and natural.
We are leaving more trample in our mature grazed paddocks than ever before due to the early rapid growth. We know the long-term results will be good, but it is hard not to be anxious about where those paddocks will be in 40 to 50 days when we want to graze them again in the rotation. The reed canary grass handles that scenario very well, but not so much with the red clover and fescue. The new south 20 forage oats are now headed and developing rapidly and we are several days away in our rotation, so we may need to be flexible in what we do there.
If you haven’t noticed, there are several webinars available online for us through the Illinois Beef Association and National Cattlemen's Beef Association sites. They are free and are packed into tight time segments. We can never have too much knowledge in our business, so take advantage of these opportunities.
We live in the greatest country in the world. If you watch national network news, you may not agree with that statement. I no longer watch national network news because it reports mainly very negative and depressing stories. Our celebrations of independence may be marred by anti-government, anti-military and anti-police demonstrations; ugly bi-partisan politicking; and defamation and removal, or vandalism, of meaningful and historic memorials.
Add to that list the utter disregard some of our citizens have for guidelines to control COVID-19, the challenges that we all face in a tough economic climate and the difficulty of coping with life style changes, makes this July 4 pretty imposing. But we do live in the greatest country in the world, so Fourth of July celebrations should have been grand. Stay careful and cautious, stay safe and stay proud!
Macomb, Ill.