Maximizing Pasture Land Pivotal During Challenging Economic Times

Anytime commodity markets pull back, economists remind those in the cattle business about the importance of targeting resources where they generate the greatest return. Scott Flynn, Zonal Biology Leader with Corteva Agriscience, said current market challenges drive home the importance of maximizing pasture productivity during the 2020 grazing season. In a new resource, Disrupting Pasture Management: Adopting a Profit-per-Acre Mindset, Flynn shares how boosting forage production can provide critical cost-containment for cattle producers.

“When you start to break down the economics of cattle production on pasture, pasture is the cheapest source of energy that we have for cattle production. Most estimates that you see from universities will say that grazing an animal costs about forty-five cents per head per day and that pales in comparison to the cost of stored feed for supporting that animal. I always stress to cattle producers to view their operations much like the row-crop people do that it’s a production per acre, a profit-per-acre business, rather than the cost, or the price that they get for that animal.”

Flynn noted livestock producers and pasture managers can download the free resource on-line.

“So forages, they’re the base of our operation. They’re the key to our economic success. So any type of management that we implement that’s going to improve that production whether that’s weed control or fertility, it’s going to help us save money at the end of the season.”

Click Here for more from Corteva Agriscience.

If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekmedia.com