The Dakotan:
And now time for this week's edition of Ranching Issues. Here's Neil Roberts.
Neil Roberts:
Welcome to another edition of Ranching Issues. Our guest this week is Mountrail County Ag Agent Jim Hennessey. And Jim, today, let's talk winter grazing. What are some options for this winter grazing?
Jim Hennessey:
One of the options we've seen up till probably the end of the year, seeing a lot of guys pulled cows off aftermath and a lot of people graze cornstalks and sunflowers and a lot of regrowth. In small grains. Some of the other options are on open range stuff that's been arrested, which isn't real common this year. We see swath grazing cows will actually dig through snow to get a swath and they'll follow it all the way down the swath in mail, grazing and other ones setting out bales and then late summer covered crops grazing those. That's another option because most of those cover crops, you don't get a lot of snowfall in grizzlies late into the fall, too.
Neil Roberts:
All right. Good stuff, Jim. And hey, we'll have more on winter grazing when we come back.
The Dakotan:
You’re listening to ranching issues with Neil Roberts on the Dakotan Network.
Neil Roberts:
With Jim Hennessey today, talking winter grazing on Ranching Issues. And Jim this can really make a big difference on the ranchers bank account in the end, right?
Jim Hennessey:
Any time you can cut your input costs as far as what you're putting back into your livestock herd, it makes that much more profitable. Some of the things we try to do is we want to keep that ranch efficient. And some of the things we'll do is we'll cut those costs by, for example, going out and doing a swath graze.
Jim Hennessey:
We just cut it land in a swath, not baling up or haul it, let the cows go out and graze it. Another one is bail grazing set and bails out. After you've already gone, bailed it away in the winter, you're not certain a tractor if you're just glue an electric fence along the coast, go work that. The important thing is, is cut costs goes back into the profit.
Jim Hennessey:
We make that cow work for the producer in Alaska. You noticed making sure we got water when we do any of these things so that cows have good access.
Neil Roberts:
All right. Good stuff, Jim. And hey, that'll put a wrap on this one. Until next time. I'm Neil Roberts.
The Dakotan:
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