Pasture Walks and Grazing Information

	Northeast Grazing Guide
	Poisonous Plants by animal affected
	Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System

1999 Farm Tours in Piscataquis County :

      On July 30th the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Soil and Water Conservation District, Farm Service Agency and University of Maine Cooperative Extension sponsored a farm tour in Piscataquis County to three dairy farms.  First stop was Bob and Zac Dow's in Sebec.  They recently installed a watering system to help with their intensive grazing system for their herd of Jerseys.  Cal Walker, Extension Dairy Specialist lead a discussion on measuring the amount of forage available in the pasture.  Several measurement techniques were discussed.  Joe Cherneski brought a pasture probe that automatically measures the amount of forage available and gives the yield in pounds per acre.  Lisa Krill and Paul Huges with NRCS discussed the importance of soil health and showed folks how to measure some soil health characteristics.

    Next stop was Jim Rattigan's Farm in Dover-Foxcroft.  Jim uses several cost saving structures to house his Holstein calves and heifers.  We were very interested in the greenhouse structure that he uses with his calves during the winter.  The greenhouse is covered with a heavy opaque plastic and he uses an insulated box to protect his watering equipment.  Currently the calves are raised in group pens.  His heifers are raised in an adjacent  pasture where their shelter is provided with recycled gasoline storage tanks that have had the end and one side cut out of them.

    The last stop was at Bob Bridge's farm in Parkman.  A delicious lunch was put on by the Terri Libby, Kris Kulug, Bob and Joyce Bridge.  Bob and Rosalie Dow were honored as Farmer of the Year by SWCD Chair, Steve Hobart. Bob Bridge was surprised with a gift to recognize the many years of volunteer work that he has done for the SWCD including the many blue bird housed that he has built for the fund raising campaigns.  After lunch we toured Bob's barns including a relatively new heifer barn.  We viewed this pasture system for this Holstein cows where he has started to break up the large pastures into smaller paddocks to provide higher quality forage for his cows.

1998 Pasture Walk in Dover-Foxcroft :

Recently a group of  farmers, Natural Resources Conservation Service folks and Cooperative Extension folks participated in a pasture walk at a Dover-Foxcroft Farm.  The farm had participated in the NRCS Grazing Lands Protection Program and had implemented a variety of things to increase the grazing efficiency of dairy heifers and dry cows. 

Most notable was the ability to split  the pasture into nine paddocks from two pastures.  This was enabled by a new watering system that brought water to remote places in the pastures. 

Several methods were used to estimate the dry matter available in the regrowth of the different paddocks.

• Floating Plate
• Electronic Pasture Gauge
• Boot Height
• Visual Estimate

Past Issues of Grazing Newsletters

ADA statement:

If you are a person with a disability and will need any accommodations to participate in a UMCE program, please contact your county office to discuss your needs.

COUNTY OFFICES | PROGRAMS | RESOURCES | PUBLICATIONS | WHAT'S NEW | UMAINE EXTENSION HOME  | UMAINE

Putting Knowledge to Work with the People of Maine

In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and in pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability, or veterans' status in employment, education, and all other areas of the University. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.

Questions and complaints about discrimination in any area of the University should be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens, (207) 581-1226.