Holmes County offers free fencing for farmers

It seems like every spring I am amazed at how quickly things turn green. I am sure a couple of 70-degree days a week or so ago had something to do with that.

Spring’s when things start moving again on the farm, and if you’ve got cover crops in the ground, you’ve got an opportunity sitting there that’s too good to waste. Grazing those covers with portable fencing can become one of the most practical tools in your system — not just for feeding cattle, but also for building soil health and saving money on feed.

Coming out of winter, those cover crops — whether it’s cereal rye, triticale, clover or a mix — are usually the first green feed available. They wake up fast, and if you time it right, you can turn cattle out earlier than you would on perennial pasture. That takes pressure off your hay supply and cuts feed costs at a time of year when every bale counts.

The key is management, and that’s where portable fencing earns its keep. Polywire and step-in posts can control exactly how much the herd gets each day. Instead of opening a whole field and letting them pick it over, set up paddocks to graze. Give them a fresh section daily or even twice a day, depending on growth. That keeps intake high and waste low. Cattle will trample some forage, sure, but that’s part of the plan — it feeds the soil.

Back fencing is just as important. Once they’ve grazed an area, you don’t want them going back over it and chewing regrowth down to nothing. A single wire behind them protects that recovery. In the spring, growth can be quick, but it’s also easy to set plants back if you’re not careful. Good fencing management keeps the rotation tight and the plants bouncing back.

Another thing to watch closely is timing. You don’t want to get on those fields too early when the ground’s still soft. Hoof traffic on wet soil can do more harm than good. If it’s tacky and you’re leaving ruts, it’s better to wait a few days. Once conditions are right, though, grazing actually helps stimulate tillering in grasses like rye and can thicken the stand.

From a livestock standpoint, spring cover crops are high-quality feed — sometimes too high. Protein levels can be up there, and moisture content is high, so I make sure cattle have access to dry hay and a good mineral. It balances the diet and keeps rumens working the way they should. Bloat can be a concern, especially with legumes in the mix, so I don’t turn hungry cattle straight onto lush growth.

The soil benefits are what really make this system pay over time. Every pass the cattle make adds manure and urine back to the field, cycling nutrients right where you need them. The trampling action pushes plant material down onto the soil surface, building organic matter and protecting against erosion. Other benefits include better water infiltration and more earthworm activity.

There’s also a flexibility factor. If spring planting gets delayed, those cover crops can keep growing and feeding cattle instead of just sitting there. Or if conditions line up, you can graze them off and still plant your cash crop on time. Portable fencing makes those decisions easier because you’re not locked into a set system — you can adjust on the fly.

At the end of the day, grazing cover crops in the spring with portable fencing is about making better use of what you’re already growing. It turns a soil-building practice into a feed source, spreads nutrients more evenly and gives you another lever to pull when the season throws you a curve. It does take attention and a bit of daily work moving fence, but the payoff in healthier cattle and better ground makes it well worth it.

If you would like to try grazing cover crops this spring but don’t have the portable fencing equipment, give Holmes SWCD a call. Last fall Holmes SWCD received a grant from Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to purchase a portable rotational fencing kit. The kit is available to farmers to try before you buy or if you just need more fence for a short period of time, like grazing cover crops this spring. The kit includes a solar energizer, two geared reels, two mini reels, more than 2,800 feet of poly wire and 70 ring-top step-in posts. It also includes a 100-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank and a Jobe Rojo float valve.

Rental is free to Holmes County farmers if they have or develop a grazing management plan. There is a $250 deposit at the time of pickup. It is 100% refundable on return. The kit may be rented for 30 days, longer if no one else wants it. A Holmes SWCD employee can assist with setup and guidelines for proper use.

Call Holmes SWCD at 330-674-2811 ext. 3 if you would like to use the portable fence kit this spring.

Joe Christner is a program assistant with Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District.