Transcript Precision Grazing Management - Oklahoma State University

Precision Equine
Grazing
Management
By:
Tamara Knaust
Goal
 Improve Forage Quality
 Decrease hay &
supplementation
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Weed Control
Irrigation
Management
Parasitic Pest Control
Forage Production
Base
Oklahoma Pastureland
 Oklahoma #7th in the Nation
 586 million acres in U.S.
 Approximately 28 million acres in OK
Forage Production
 Best prevention is a high quality forage
base
Disease & Weed Control
 GPS for disease prone areas and
treatments
 Weed control
 Certified Seed
Fertilization
 Bermuda grass
 Most common pasture grass
 Approximately 4 million acres
 Use of Nitrogen Rich Strips/Ramp
 Greenseeker
 Grid Soil
Sampling
 On the Go
Applicaton
Irrigation
 Variable Rate Irrigation
 Pasture Mapping
 Soil Maps
Management
 Overstocking
 Determine Stocking rate for quantity/quality of
forage available
 Use NDVI to determine areas producing
high/low quality forage
 Use of GPS to establish rotating pasture areas
to increase
 Reduce time on commonly grazed areas
 Increase time on poorly grazed areas
Parasite Control
 $178 million annually on parasite control
 Problems even with good programs
 Drug resistance
 Environmental Concerns
 Surface/ground water
 Prevent ingestion
Parasites
 Parasites congregate
in specific areas
 Low lying areas, and
areas most commonly
grazed
 Nutrients, Parasites
and Rainfall
Parasite Control
 Utilize GPS and GIS
to locate low and
over grazed areas
Parasite Treatment
 Apply pesticide and
herbicide treatments
only to high risk
areas
Results
 Better for Environment
 Reduce pesticide application into animals
 Reduced money spent on treating entire
field
 Increased Forage quantity/quality
References:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/geo_lan_acr_tot_pas_or_ran_lan-land-acreage-total-pasturerange
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/horsepastures/weed_control.htm
http://www.crssa.rutgers.edu/projects/gps/web_page/crap/crap.html
http://www.crssa.rutgers.edu/projects/gps/web_page/web_page.html
http://www.noble.org/Ag/Forage/HorseForage/index.html#Mystery
http://forage.okstate.edu/role-of-forages.htm
http://www.noble.org/Ag/Soils/N-RichStrips/PrintLayout_1_85485_85485.html
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/livestk/01627.html