Dealing with the midsummer "summer slump" of cool-season pastures has long been a recurring challenge for Roger Licking of LickingAg and a network of neighboring ranchers across Nebraska’s Arthur, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, and Brown counties.
Together, these cooperating producers manage roughly 22,500 acres of native rangeland alongside more than 2,200 acres of pivot-irrigated cropland and forage ground in the Sandhills. Their irrigated acres include a diverse mix of perennial grasslands, alfalfa, small grains (cereal rye and oats), millets, summer annuals, and even traditional row crops such as corn and soybeans. This intensive management supports a robust beef operation of about 1,550 cow-calf pairs and over 1,500 replacement heifers and yearlings annually.
To bridge the gap when traditional grasses decline in the July heat, the group sought reliable solutions to maintain herd performance. Backed by a $29,978 NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant, Licking partnered with fellow producers Kevin Anderson, Gary Helmer, Rich Russell, and Pat Schumacher to launch six on-farm trials. Their goal was to evaluate how various warm-season annuals and multi-species mixes could help stabilize summer forage supply, elevate feed quality, and protect the soils of the Sandhills.
The Project at a Glance
The team tested up to nine different forage varieties and mixes, including hybrid pearl millet, BMR sorghums, and forage corn, against the ranchers' standard practices. Using georeferenced plots over two years, the team was able to track not only biomass production and protein levels but also the "nutrient export" (what is removed from the soil when hay is harvested) and long-term soil health indicators like pH and microbial activity.
Key Findings
The trials gave the producers a chance to look at how different species handle the unique conditions of North-Central Nebraska:
- Potassium Deficiency: Soil tests revealed a surprising, widespread potassium (K) deficiency. While most local fertilizer programs focus heavily on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), the team discovered that haying had been removing nearly as much potassium as it does nitrogen. They think this deficiency likely contributed to the poor establishment of crops such as millet in certain fields.
- Millet vs. Sorghum: The team found that millet removed less nitrogen than sorghum but was a heavy consumer of potassium. This distinction could be useful for ranchers when planning their nutrient budgets based on the specific crop they intend to harvest.
- Nutrient Credits: They found that testing irrigation water for nutrients enabled them to leverage existing minerals, reducing the amount of purchased fertilizer needed and saving on operational costs.
- Weed Walks: By walking the plots, they were able to see firsthand which species out-competed weeds. For instance, fast-growing mixes reduced the need for herbicide applications, whereas millet required more intensive weed management to thrive.
Recommendations for Farmers
Based on two years of data and peer-to-peer discussion, the project team suggests the following strategies for producers looking to integrate summer forages:
- Balance Your "Nutrient Bank": Don't just fertilize for nitrogen. Sample your soil specifically for potassium and micronutrients like zinc and manganese. If you are harvesting hay, you must replace the potassium being exported to maintain soil productivity.
- Match Species to Soil pH: Many Sandhills soils are becoming acidic. While liming is a long-term solution, it is expensive. In the short term, it could be helpful to select forage varieties that are more tolerant of low-pH environments and to consider precision phosphorus placement to help young plants establish.
- Prioritize Weed Management: Weeds can quickly overtake summer annuals. The team said that scouting and, if necessary, early intervention were helpful. One project team member saved his forage yield simply by choosing to spray after a group observation during a plot tour revealed faster-than-expected weed growth.
- Join or Form a Peer Group: The formation of the North Central Nebraska Forage Production Group was a highlight of the project. Sharing data on which mixes worked (and which didn't) reduced the individual risk for all participating ranchers.
"Ranchers in North-Central Nebraska face limited options for summer forage. Cool-season pastures decline in yield and quality during mid-summer, resulting in reduced forage availability,” said Licking. "This project addressed this challenge by evaluating warm-season forage species and multi-species mixes to improve summer forage production, quality, and soil health while providing producers with practical, locally relevant guidance."
View Related SARE Grant:
- Summer forage crop options for North-Central Nebraska counties to improve production, forage quality, and soil health (FNC24-1425)