April 2007 - Volume 68, Issue 4
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Queen of the Kingdom of Callaway continued...
Steve visited Clifford’s farm and suggested a planting mixture of big bluestem, Indiangrass, little bluestem, sideoats grama, Eastern gamagrass and Illinois bundle-flower on 87 acres of his 575-acre operation. The Borgelts also planted a 5-acre buffer next to the house to protect Mary Ann from corn herbicides.
In 1994, Steve scheduled a drill and operator to plant Clifford’s 92 acres. 1994 wasn’t as wet as 1993, the year of the Great Flood, but it still rained a lot and weeds were heavy. In spite of this, Clifford kept his paddocks clipped, which gave the grasses a chance to establish. Steve inspected the planting a couple of times the first and second summer, and Clifford began grazing it in 1997.
In the meantime, Clifford also attended a management-intensive grazing school presented by the Audrain County Extension and local United States Department of Agriculture service center staff. There he learned the basics of rotating tight groups of cattle quickly through small paddocks of mixed grasses and legumes.
He also sought help from his USDA service center in Fulton. Resource conservationist Cheryl Livengood helped Clifford complete his grazing system with costshare programs for water lines and tanks. She also wrote his burn plans. Like all native prairie grasses, Eastern gama benefits from periodic burning, so he added prescribed fire to his forage system management regime.
He said, She said
She wanted to make the farm natural; he wanted to make it pay. Switching from row crops to summer grazing granted both their wishes.
Like most of his neighbors, Clifford grew row crops such as corn, beans and wheat in the summer, and he fed light calves to 1,200-pound “fats” in the winter. His nearly 600 acres of flat, poorly draining, silt-loam Putnam clay did about as well as any similar farm in his neighborhood.
Since dropping crops and winter cattle feeding, however, his earnings per acre have increased. This is because his production expenses are low, his cattle are able to maintain a steady rate of gain during the summer, and cattle prices have been strong the last several years. He said that adding Eastern gamagrass with red clover to his grazing system helps make his farm more profitable.
“Native warm-season grasses are ready when European cool-season grasses like timothy and brome fade out,” Clifford said. “Even as dry as it was in 2005, my Eastern gamagrass stayed green.”
Although he appreciates other native warm-season grasses, he finds that only Eastern gamagrass will tolerate red clover. In fact, Eastern gamagrass performs best for both livestock and wildlife when it’s mixed with other grass and legume species.
About This Article
Author
BONNIE CHASTEEN wears many hats in the Department’s Outreach and Education Division. She coordinates communications for the Web site, writes for the Conservationist and edits print publications. When she’s not writing about conservation, she’s cooking, painting or traveling to visit family and friends.
Photographer
CLIFF WHITE is a life-long Missouri resident. After nearly 10 years as a staff photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation, Cliff recently took on management duties as Art Director. Now he supervises on an unruly gang of super-creative folks. In his spare time Cliff likes to play old-time folk and bluegrass music, float fish and chase the occasional turkey.
