Prescribed Grazing Hero   -  Lowell Clifford

Lowell Clifford owns a 375 acre beef cattle and hay farm in the community of Connersville in Harrison County Kentucky. He grows approximately 200 acres pasture, 125 acres hay/pasture (clover/grass), 50 acres alfalfa hay, 95 brood cows and 90 calves. Most of Lowell’s livestock are Angus crossbreeds.

His farm is made up of Eden, Cynthiana and Faywood soils. These soils are mostly shallow to moderately deep with isolated areas of deep soil inclusions. As Lowell stated, “The best use for this land is pasture grazing”. The soils are the most limiting factor for agriculture use. Lowell’s land had been cropped heavily in the past where crops could be grown. The remainder of the land is not suitable for crops due to soil depth and slope. Lowell no longer grows tobacco on his farm. He basically manages it as a beef cattle/hay farm. He likes to keep his soil covered with something growing on it at all times. This makes the farm more productive and protects the land from erosion.

Lowell attended a rotational grazing school where he learned the benefits of intensive grazing and how to implement rotational grazing practices on his farm. He has been rotational grazing for over 10 years now. Each year he tries to improve his farm’s ability to rotational graze. Over the past several years he has installed a large amount of infrastructure needed to implement rotational grazing. Lowell’s mission statement is: “To raise as many cattle as possible with the land he has within the limits of management, money and ability of the land”. He says he wants to “make his farm as cattle big as possible”. Basically he wants to improve the resource base, that being renovating/improving pasture plants (red/white clover), installing water tanks, break up larger pastures with fencing, rotational graze cattle according to plant height, animal needs, and proper lime and fertilizer management.

Lowell states, “Rotational grazing is not a free ride. It takes more time and you have to be more involved with the cattle on a day to day basis”. He says there are several important components of a rotational grazing system. One of those is to use electric fences for correct paddock size. A watering source for each paddock is another. You must also know how many cattle to run for the type of land you have. Lastly you need money and time. He says he has to manage his farm differently than the average bluegrass farm because of the types of soils he has. He says, “My soils aren’t deep like most bluegrass farms and therefore not as productive”. This means he has to pay particular attention to find the appropriate rotational grazing system for his land. Lowell says, “All this is extra work but it pays off”.

Lowell’s pasture does not grow evenly within the same field. This is due to soil variations within each field. Some areas of the field may be very shallow to rock and another area may be moderately deep or deep. This causes uneven plant growth throughout individual fields. When soils are shallow or moderately deep, uneven plant growth is more prevalent and noticeable. It is more difficult to determine stocking rates on farms with these types of soils. Lowell knows the number of cattle he has requires approximately 7.5 acres of pasture per day. He turns his cattle into a paddock and watches the cattle and the availability of pasture. He then rotates them to another paddock when they have grazed plant height down to approximately 4 inches. This insures there is enough leaf area left on plants to conduct photosynthesis for timely plant re-growth. If plants are grazed below this height it decreases their ability to conduct photosynthesis and their ability for re-growth. It also decreases organic matter in the soil from less roots and plant residues. The production and management of organic matter is the key to healthy soil. Lowell says, “Once cattle get used to rotational grazing they will tell you when its time to rotate”.

Lowell uses a pasture renovator to sow all hay and pasture seedings. He fertilizes hayland yearly and renovates it as needed with red/white clover. He carefully manages his alfalfa hay fields. He has his hay tested each year and has noticed a quality increase since he started adding legumes. He renovates one third of his pasture land yearly with red and/or white clover. Clover is very palatable to cattle and it is a nitrogen producer helping meet fertilizer needs of grasses in pasture. He takes soil tests in both hay and pasture fields each year and applies fertilizer accordingly. Hay fields are fertilized yearly while one third of equipment friendly pastures are fertilized every year. He also tries to lime some of his fields each year. His farm is a work in progress.

How does consistently implementing a prescribed grazing system affect soil quality on the land? Rotating cattle to other fields when pastures are 4 inches in height, renovating pastures with legumes, maintaining correct field lime and fertilizer according to soil tests, sizing paddocks so cattle are rotated preferably every three days or less, limiting cattle access to fields that are prone to compaction in times of moisture, establishing and maintaining good weed control all benefit soil quality. All these things together increase soil quality by allowing more root growth and more organic matter in and on the soil surface. Organic matter in turn produces mycorrhizal fungi and fungal hyphae which both increase soil aggregate size and strength. This means better soil structure and lower bulk density. As soil structure improves infiltration and permeability also improve. The organic matter on top and/or in the soil surface from residue and roots also increases water holding capacity of the soil. Organic matter can hold up to 90 percent of its weight as water. With more leaf blade area on surface of soil to intercept raindrops, more roots to hold soil in place, more infiltration and better permeability, there is less erosion and therefore better water quality.

Lowell does an excellent job of implementing a rotational grazing system. As I toured his farm I could see the effects of high quality management. His pasture fields and cattle were in excellent condition.

Lowell’s farm was used by the University of Kentucky as a site for their 2007 Rotational Grazing School.
 

Lowell Clifford – Harrison County

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