Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Richard checks the hay in a windrow to see if the bottommost hay is dry enough for
baling or if it needs to be turned by raking.
To take the temperature inside a stack, push a pipe 2 feet down into the stack and then
drop a thermometer on a string into the pipe and let it hang there for about 10 minutes. This
allows the pipe and the air in it to attain the temperature of the stack. If the temperature
registers over 160°F, the hay should not be loaded in a barn and will likely no longer be
suitable for horse hay, as the heat makes undesirable changes in the carbohydrates in the
hay. The heated hay could be used for mulch or cattle hay.
Improving the Land
A good pasture manager respects, appreciates, and cares for the land. To apply John F.
Kennedy's stirring words to pasture management, “Ask not what your land can do for you;
ask what you can do for your land.” Do not eke out the last iota of nutrition that the land
can possibly offer. Leave enough reserve so the pasture can rejuvenate. Protect the land
from the damaging effect of overgrazing by horses.
DAMAGE BY HORSES
Horses are wasteful and gluttonous, and their hooves can be very damaging to the land. A
horse will eat, trample, or damage at least 1000 pounds of air-dry forage per month. What
does this mean in terms of carrying capacity? Two acres of productive irrigated pasture may
hold one horse per month during the growing season, while it might take 30 to 60 acres of
dry rangeland to support a single horse.
Horses go for the young plant growth and succulent roots, letting weeds go to seed and
mature plants go to waste. They defecate in certain areas and then will never consider eat-
ing the plants growing there unless forced to by starvation.
