May 11, 2007

Most pastures in eastern and central Nebraska have more soil moisture than they've had for a long time. Although it is common for graziers to fertilize all their cool-season pastures early, I often recommend only fertilizing some pastures early, waiting to fertilize the other pastures later if good moisture is available.

Usually, by fertilizing some early and some late, the later fertilized pastures will be stimulated to grow better into early summer when you might need more grass.

This season, for the first time in quite a while, it's time to take advantage of extra soil moisture. Fertilize cool-season pastures with 30-60 pounds of nitrogen per acre between now and the end of the month to gain extra summer forage.

To make May fertilizing work best, graze pastures moderately before adding nitrogen. This seems to encourage more thickening of the grass stand and slightly reduces the number of seed stalks produced. Don't graze too short, though, or plants will be stunned and regrow more slowly.

Would it be smart to fertilize again if you applied nitrogen earlier this spring? Normally I would say no, especially with nitrogen so expensive, but if you applied just a light amount earlier and already have grazed off most of the grass, a second application might be beneficial, similar to the multiple nitrogen applications used on irrigated pastures.

Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist