As we roll into July the summer heat is upon us and that means pastures will likely be taking it on the chin and unless we get some rain soon, we could be hurting in another month.

While proper grazing management really needs to occur year-round, there is still time to manage pastures for the summer heat.

The first step is to set up temporary fence to limit access to overgrazed areas. If your animals have been free grazing most of the year, there’s more than likely several areas that are overgrazed and several areas that are undergrazed.

Concentrating the animals in the undergrazed areas for a day or two, based on the amount of forage available, is a great way to stimulate new growth. Even if the areas are weedy, having those plants trampled will encourage new growth, plus add nutrients to the soil to improve pasture quality.

Giving pastures rest is the key to season-long forage and improved forage, at that. The longer we can rest a pasture, the more productive it becomes and the more resilient it becomes to environmental stress.

Once areas that were previously overgrazed begin to regrow, you’ll want to continue resting them so you’re getting at least four to five inches of grass height. This is a safe reserve level of grass that allows the plant to store carbohydrates and promotes quick regrowth.

Once the plant starts to grow over the five inch mark, it can be grazed however you’re looking to maintain that four to five inch reserve. Overgraze it and you’re back in the same boat.

Water and fence are also key to making this system work. Animals will respect temporary fence if they have adequate feed and water nearby and movable fence makes the system easy to manage.

Having water with the animals not only keeps them grazing for longer periods; they also graze more efficiently, and the water supply doesn’t need to be as large as it would be if they have to travel.

I’ve seen large herds — 80 to 100 cows — watered on 30 gallon tubs when the trough is located in the paddock.

If you’d like to learn more about rotational grazing or developing a site- specific system for your operation, feel free to contact our office to discuss it.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.