Georgia cattle farmers took a big hit during near-record low
cattle prices in 1996.
Those low prices had farmers looking for any way to stay in
business.

Finding ways to cut costs and increase profits isn’t easy. But
University of Georgia
researchers have found a way to increase returns without
spending more to do it.

“We’re raising about 20 percent more animals on the same amount
of land,” said Gary
Hill, an animal scientist with the UGA College of
Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.

In the summer, farmers move cattle onto grassland to graze. Many
plant Bahia grass,
which is well-suited to Southern summers. Tifton 9, a popular
new variety, is
well-known for its swift growth and good nutrition.

Hill’s research found that by rotating cattle onto and off small
paddocks within a Tifton
9 pasture, farmers can stretch the use of their land while
keeping cattle healthy and
well-fed.

He divided a 13-acre pasture into nine cells of 1.4 acres each.
Then, by moving the
cows and calves around the cells in a 2.5-day rotation, he found
that 20 percent more
animals could graze on the same amount of land.

The grass type is important, he said. Hill planted Tifton 9 on
his test plots. This type
produces about 50 percent more forage than Pensacola Bahia
grass. Shorter grazing
times allow Tifton 9 to recover quickly.

After the rotation is complete, the first section has regrown
and is ready for the cattle
to graze it down again.

As beef grows more popular, farmers must raise more cattle to
meet that demand. In
1996, the average American ate 64.3 pounds of beef, up from 61.6
pounds in 1993.

Georgia ranks 19th in the nation in the number of cattle farms,
with 29,000 scattered
throughout all 159 counties.

During the summer, most Georgia cattle are on grazing, said Ronnie Silcox, a CAES
extension animal scientist. “It’s just the way to do it in
Georgia in the summer,” he
said.

Farmers graze cattle, he said, for several reasons:

* Grass grows where most crops can’t or won’t.

* Cows are naturally designed to eat grass.

* It’s the most economical feed there is for the type of cattle
farms most common in
Georgia: keeping brood cows and raising calves.

Georgia farmers rely on their pastures, Silcox said. In fact,
many cows graze in
pastures nearly year-round. Most calves are on grass until they
grow to 600 to 700
pounds. Then farmers ship them to feedlots, where they’re fed
grain to hasten weight
gain before slaughter.

Hill said rotational grazing helps farmers realize about $75 per
acre more than
continuous grazing on the same land. As farmers can put more
cattle on the same
amount of land, they can sell more cattle each year.

This method takes a little more of the farmer’s time. But it
doesn’t take much more
money. “It does cost a little to set it up,” Hill said. “And
farmers have to make certain
the animals have a good water supply.”

Lightweight, electrified fencing keeps cattle where the farmer
wants them. When it’s
time to move them, Hill said, they go willingly. “They can see
the taller grass in the
next paddock, and they’re ready to move into it,” he said.