The original item was published from May 30, 2017 11:14 AM to May 30, 2017 11:14 AM

Donald Hunter checks out a bran new Red Limousin calf at his 120 acre farm in Eatonville.
By Steve Fransen, Forage Agronomist, WSU Cooperative Extension, Part 2 of a 4 Part Article
Summer stress is a time of slow summer
growth; grass roots are shedding and
are turning colors from white to gray,
to brown and black again. For the west
side, summer starts in mid to late June,
July and August, until the root regeneration
cycle starts again. The remaining
grass stubble in the summer is the main
pool of available sugars that jump starts
the September root regrowth process
so the more the stubble is damaged in
the summer, the longer it takes for root
regrowth the establish in the fall. I also
think there is less total fall root regeneration
from damaged summer plants.
Just about anything that damages the
stand or plants in the summer will
directly affect the initial forage cycle
in the fall.
Read the Rest of the Series Here: Spring, Fall (coming soon), Winter (coming soon)
Summer is the finish line in
the forage calendar. Your pasture will
make it to the finish line, but the question
is what shape will they be in when
they arrive? The stronger and fit an
athlete at the end of a race the faster
they recover. The same is true with our
perennial pastures. The final medicine
I have to offer, do not overgraze pastures
in the summer nor damage plants
since fall regrowth will be delayed and
forage yield will be reduced compared
to a well-managed pasture.
Many folks
have heard about stockpiling forage
for animal use in the fall and winter.
I’d suggest we think about preserving
grazeable forage as a source of sugars,
nitrogen, and sulfur that stimulates
above ground fall growth. This is also
a source of phosphorus that stimulates
below ground root growth when the
forage cycle begins. Summer is setting
up the fall recovery cycle that establishes
the rest of the pasture calendar
and the following year’s production.
Stay tuned for the third installment of
this article in the next edition of the
Tahoma View, as we learn about the
importance of maintaining a healthy
grass stand in the fall to ensure a
vigorous pasture the following spring.
Read the Rest of the Series Here: Summer, Fall (coming soon), Winter (coming soon)
Read the Rest of the Series Here: Summer, Fall (coming soon), Winter (coming soon)