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Access to pasture in practice
The ability of organic producers to offer pasture to ruminants obviously varies greatly depending on the local climate. In the humid East and grass-generous Midwest, pasture can be provided almost year-round, even in more northerly areas, where producers are getting more and more skilled at "stockpiling" grass for grazing after the growing season is over. (Weather protection mechanisms such as shelter belts allow cattle to be comfortable outdoors even in the winter.)
In the dry parts of the West, pasture is naturally limited by rainfall and irrigation. The "Regional Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Practice Standards for Prescribed Grazing” (Code 528)" can be used to help farmers and certifiers agree on appropriate pasture conditions for a given number of animals in a given area knowing that the current rule requires a minimum of 120 days of grazing for all areas. Contact your certifier for the latest protocols.
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Farmer-to-Farmer"None of our pastures are completely permanent. We keep a field in pasture for seven to 10 years before rotating into three years of row crops (corn/beans/corn). We currently have around 125 acres of pasture for our 90+ cow herd and we don't add any extra fertilizer to the fields. The pastures are planted to a mix of cool- season grasses and legumes, including endophyte-free fescue, rye grass, orchard grass, brome, timothy, bird's-foot trefoil and bloat-resistant grazing alfalfa."
~Ron Rosmann
Harlan, IA
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