If you don’t know and I know there are still many that don’t, Grassland CRP is for pasture, hay land, most anything that is grass and isn’t eligible for crop land CRP. You graze it every year, you hay it every year, or leave it idle. We don’t need to get into how I feel about leaving it idle more than a year or two. Keep in mind that the rates for Grassland CRP are in line with what you would expect for pasture or hay land. This is a flat county rate which is different from cropland CRP that is based off your soils. Same 10 or 15-year contracts as crop land CRP.
The main purpose is to incentivize rotational grazing. Most people I talk to agree that rotational grazing would benefit their production, (in fact I don’t believe I have met someone who didn’t, but maybe I burned it out of my head), but many don’t feel they can take the steps towards implementing the practice. Time of moving, fencing, water are the barriers people put on themselves. Because every producer doesn’t have enough time in a day the perceived time commitment to moving herds, I think ends up being the biggest hurdle. We always fear change and can easily reason not to. I know you are busy with other things, haying being a large time consumer, but what if by rotational grazing you could actually cut back on haying?
What you might see as a disadvantage is the rest. You need to rest your pasture for half the growing season. Not all in one 45-day stretch but cumulative. You need to leave 4 inches of grass left out there. Also, you need to change your turnout date by two weeks forward or backward each year, but I think that is minor, the first two stipulations are the ones you will need to grapple with, but again if you are moving those cattle, it is not even a problem. Haying is not the main issue Grassland CRP is supposed to address but to be all inclusive it was added, they need something in return for the rental payment so you can’t hay until August 2nd to protect nesting season. If you have read enough of these columns, you know my feeling on what effect haying in August has on nesting habitat, but that is the program. You can leave it idle, or flipflop between all the options.
One of the biggest benefits of producers who have turned to rotational grazing is increased carrying capacity. Now you can view this as you can run more head, or you can graze longer (hence the less hay needed and less time haying). The other side is that it probably isn’t the time commitment you think it is. Just like the cows get trained to the feed wagon, they get trained to moving. You show up use your own specialized call (mine is Ca-boss, I have had people ask me if that is German or something before, I don’t know it’s what my dad said and I never asked him if it meant anything) or when they are trained good all you have to do is show up and they will move to you.
I would never suggest to anyone that you build permanent expensive 4 or 5 barb fences into perfect 40 acre or smaller paddocks. That is a waste of time and money. You don’t need them, if you want to do smaller paddocks within a pasture, 1 hot wire is enough. Nothing is hurt if someone gets out as long as the perimeter is good. Another aspect of improving rotational grazing for the native grass species is randomness. The grass will benefit if we get away from the same patterns we run year after year, changing up where we go and when is better for the grass. You could always just run herds together as an alternative to running any paddock fences. Instead of 40 pairs here and 40 there put them together and move the whole herd between pastures. It’s your preference whatever you do. Shoot combine both those methods would be great too.
Back to Grassland CRP. It is important that if you think it’s something you might be interested in, that you contact the office by August 8th (preferably before the last couple days). There is a specific signup period which is different from most of the cropland CRP we handle, so you have less than a month to even inquire about it until this time next year. Grassland CRP is also different in that there is a ranking process, it is not automatic. Your application will have areas you accumulate points and if your total points are above the threshold that the national office sets then you are accepted. Some of these points you can easily control, some are county specific, and you can’t. Ones you can control are a 15year contract vs a 10 is more points, taking a rate reduction of up to 15% (a $45/acre rate would become $38.25/ac) is more points, disadvantaged producers (beginning farmers, veterans, minorities, women) get more points, your plants can get you more points (native vs brome) but that is hard to control short term. Long term easy, intensive graze in May! We don’t know what the threshold will be set at, you may get in without maximizing your points we have no idea at the county level.
Potential contract holders can be landowners or tenants. Maybe this is a way you could decrease your rent or as a landowner leasing out your land a way you can receive more income but also decrease what you charge your tenant. Keep in mind this is something intended to incentivize someone into rotational grazing so if a tenant is doing the work they should probably be rewarded for it.
If this even sounds like something you could potentially be interested in, please contact the office soon as this is a very short window that will not be open again until next year!