Based on the number of calls recently I have an idea for a new television network. It would feature shows such as, This Old Hayfield, Flip This Forage, What not to Graze and the Ultimate Pasture Makeover.

This summer was very rough on pastures in Central and Southern Illinois. Northern Illinois did not share its rainfall with the rest of the state, where hot and dry weather really took its toll. This has led many farmers to seriously evaluate their pastures.

First, farmers should evaluate whether or not this is just the normal summer slump. Most of our grass pastures are populated with cool season grasses such as orchardgrass, smooth bromegrass and Kentucky bluegrass. These grasses do very well in the spring and fall, but just like our Kentucky bluegrass lawns, they go virtually dormant during the hot and dry part of the summer.

For year round grazing we like to have a legume in the mix that helps keep production up through the summer. Another option is to have a separate summer pasture dedicated to warm-season grasses such as switchgrass, Indiangrass or the bluestems. These grasses have been designed by nature to perform well during prairie summers. Summer annuals such as sorghums and millets can also be used to supplement summer production.

Another consideration is a rotational grazing system that promotes more efficient use of existing forages, allows time for paddocks to recover between grazings and stockpiling of excess forage to get through lean times.

Examining pastures now may suggest needed modifications to your management strategy. Weedy areas may be an indication of overgrazing and that a reduction in stocking rates may be needed. Alternatively, added fertilization may stimulate enough added growth to support the desired stocking.

But if existing desired forage species are few and far between a complete renovation may be in order. The first step is to soil test. If there are any significant problems with lime, phosphate or potash, now is the time to correct them.

If there are no major fertility problems you might consider an interseeding approach. This works well for adding grasses or legumes to pure grass stands but does not work as well for adding alfalfa to existing grass/alfalfa systems.

A step by step guide to interseeding renovation is available in the Illinois Agronomy Handbook – Chapter 8 Hay and Pasture Management. The Agronomy Handbook can be obtained on-line at http://iah.aces.uiuc.edu.