Whitfield County GA Young Farmers Assoc.

1. Whitfield CountyGA Young Farmers Assoc. Introduction to Strip Grazing By: Shane Conger

2. What is Strip Grazing? • Strip grazing is a grazing management system that involves giving the livestock a fresh allocation of pasture each day. • It is usually organized within a paddock grazing system and the animals are controlled by the use of a portable electric fence.

3. Advantages of Strip Grazing • More of the produced forage is used • Higher numbers of animals can be supported by the pasture • More meat or milk is produced per unit of land • The pasture recovers quickly after being grazed and remains productive for a longer period of time • Desirable legumes and grasses are able to persist from year to year

5. What do I need? • Energizer with 0.17 to 0.25 output joules • AN90GS Stafix Strip Grazing Energizer w/Stake - $125.00 • 4 D Batteries or 12V Battery The D cells will last about 30 to 45 days and the 12V will last about 3-4 months. • Jumper Leads $6.50 each Works good with reels • 3 Obrien Standard Reels $36 each

6. What do I need? contd. • Pigtail Posts (50 per box, $2.35 per post) • 1/8” Copper PolyBraid Cord 1320′ is $56 • Non-Conductive handles .99 each

7. Strip Grazing • In this system the animals are given just enough pasture to supply 1 day’s requirements • As a rule of thumb, use 3% of the cows’ body-weight to determine her daily needs. This may be too much for a fat dry cow, but may not be enough for a lactating calver.

8. 100 1,000 lb cows = 100,000 lbs 3% of 100,000 lbs   =    3,000 lbs   (forage needed) stockpile is estimated at 3000 lbs/ac  (three 1000# round bales) Therefore, we need 1 acre of grass to feed the cows for one day.1 acre = 44,000 sq ft  (rounded up) 44,000 divided by 880′  (width of field) = 50 ft.

9. Getting StartedRefer to handout

10. Handout

11. Notes • Portable water troughs can be used or a laneway can be created so cows will have access to water • Back fencing allows eaten, trodden on, urinated, defecated and possibly plugged pasture to freshen and grow. • The fence needs to be nose level • At first the cows will generally walk around strip picking the grass and walking around the boundary • When they get accustomed to strip grazing they will quit picking at the grass and eat more quickly

12. Notes • If the cows are leaving too much grass shorten the length of the paddock • Cows need to graze the grass down to 3” – 4” • Cows stay in the area for no longer than 24 hrs • Go ahead and do the next day’s set up so its easier to move the cows the following day

13. Nutrients • The manure will give you good idea of the nutrient level of your grass - If it’s the consistency of pancake batter or even looser, you know the nutrient level of your grass is fairly good. - If it starts stacking like mounds of Play-dough, you need to either allocate more grass or begin supplementing protein

14. References • http://www.ukagriculture.com/crops/grass_grazing_systems.cfm • http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub19/4grazman.htm#aocg • PowerFlex Fencing Office: 417-741-1230 http://www.powerflexfence.com