By Rayford Pullen 

With fall officially underway, our winter plans begin to occupy our minds, specifically as it pertains to hay needs and inventory, potential protein supplements and winter pastures.

In our neck of the woods, North Central Texas, grass growth usually ends when night time temperatures begin hitting the 45 degree mark, and if you have a vegetable garden, you’ll notice your summer- time vegetables take a dive about this same time.

While growth may cease, the quality of your forage is very good since forage quality is influenced negatively by high summer temperatures and as a result our cattle performance goes down but returns when our temperatures go down. Since the rains have come and the grass has grown, our pastures have made a really nice recovery after several years of drought.

Hay made in the fall should be a lot better than hay cut in the middle of summer when all things are considered. Fertilizer will add about three percent more protein to hay if it is cut after about a month of growth. The cooler temps this fall may offset this advantage in protein since most of us don’t do much fertilizing after June on our warm season pastures.

So, while quantity may be down, quality, including digestibility, should be up significantly. If hay stocks for your operation are still low, now would be a good time to bale with the only negative being the plants’ ability to translocate nutrients from the stems and leaves to the root system, which ensures better winter hardiness and a stronger start next spring.

In our area, winter pastures in plowed ground have been planted and those over seeded in warm season pastures are being planted now.

To read more pick up a copy of the October 2016 NTFR issue.