Although the outlook for the cattle industry remains strong, several factors continue to weigh on herd rebuilding and expansion. Chief among them is the ongoing and spreading drought, along with the impending La Nina winter that likely will push those dry conditions into new areas.
Despite those challenges, Sam Ingram, Ph.D., Range & Pasture field scientist with Corteva Agriscience, says it’s important cattle producers maintain focus on preserving and strengthening their grazing acres.
“No matter the market conditions, it always makes sound economic sense to prioritize grazed forages,” Ingram says. “After all, grazing is the lowest-cost way to maintain a cow herd.”
Whether due to too little or too much moisture, Ingram says, our grazing lands will benefit long term from intensified management.
Improve what you have
Each operation is unique with individual goals and objectives. Staying nimble can help producers capitalize on opportunities when they decide the time is right for their business.
“Improving grazing acres during 2025 will help ensure they are at peak production and ready to support additional hooves on the ground, whether that means retaining extra heifers this fall or buying breeding stock next spring or whenever the cattle cycle shifts.”
Regardless, Ingram says, producers can enhance profit potential by improving the pasture acres they already have before looking to rent or buy more grazing space. One way to increase pasture productivity, improve forage quality and market more pounds of beef is to increase plant diversity — a practice that now is significantly simplified, thanks to the introduction of NovaGraz™ herbicide.
NovaGraz™ is the first product to offer broad-spectrum weed control while preserving white clover and annual lespedeza in pastures. This advancement in pasture weed control lets producers have clean pastures and retain the benefits of white clover and annual lespedeza. The nitrogen fixing capability of legumes, including clover and annual lespedeza, enhances forage quality for better animal performance and improved soil fertility.
“Until now, pasture herbicides couldn’t take out broadleaf weeds without also removing white clover,” Ingram explains. NovaGraz™ changes that, meeting a long-standing need among cattle producers.
“Without effective broadleaf weed control, the harm weeds cause to forage production and quality can outweigh the benefits these legumes provide,” Ingram says.
More Forage, Higher Quality
Eliminating weedy competition in cool-season grass/white clover pastures increases the amount of forage produced and improves utilization. In research trials where NovaGraz controlled broadleaf weeds and preserved white clover, pastures produced 21% more total forage compared with untreated sites. 1 (See table.)
Increasing forage quality by adding clovers in grass pastures also can help improve animal performance. In a Georgia trial, a significant population of white clover in toxic, endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue pastures improved stocker gain per acre by 58% compared with grazing only E+ fescue. Stockers’ average daily gain (ADG) nearly tripled. In an Alabama trial, white clover in an E+ fescue pasture increased stocker gain per acre by 55% compared with E+ fescue alone. ADGs increased 44%. Improved forage quality also boosts cow-calf enterprises by delivering a higher plane of nutrition to benefit body condition, reproduction, milking and weaning weight.
“Anytime those gains come from grazed forages, it benefits the livestock producer’s bottom line,” Ingram says.
Multiple years of testing show NovaGraz™ provides broad-spectrum control of important broadleaf species, including ironweed, cocklebur, wild carrot, buttercup, biennial thistles, ragweed, plantain, woolly croton, poison hemlock and many others. In addition, NovaGraz™ herbicide:
• Controls a broad spectrum of weeds in pastures, rangeland, hayfields and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres.
• Carries no grazing restrictions for beef cattle and only minimal haying and manure restrictions after application.
• Provides effective, broad-spectrum weed control where a non-residual option is desired for maximum flexibility in hay marketing and crop rotation.
• Provides high-quality, diverse grazing, which can increase per-acre beef production.
Time = Opportunity
Delayed herd expansion gives producers access to a rare commodity — time. “The smallest cowherd in decades means less grazing pressure on most pastures,” Ingram says. “Adding a cross fence or two can allow for more-intense grazing management that can include longer rest periods while still improving forage utilization.”
Ingram offers several other steps to consider during the 2025 grazing season that can help restore forage production and prepare for the profitable opportunities ahead:
• Get your boots dirty. Scout pastures early and often but do it well. To truly understand what’s happening on your grazing lands, it’s important to get out of the saddle or from behind the steering wheel. Effective pasture evaluations result from boots — or, better yet, knees — on the ground to get a good look at what’s happening at soil level.
• Manage moisture for maximum benefit. To help speed recovery, control low-value, undesirable plants. In rain-saturated areas, weeds will aggressively outcompete forage grasses. Where herbicides are needed to help reset the pasture, consider a residual herbicide, which will help control biennial thistles and other weeds early, along with later- emerging species, like ragweed.
• Add flexibility in grazing management. Cross fencing provides flexibility. Move cattle between paddocks based on the level of production and the amount of rest needed for the previously grazed pasture to recover. This can help improve forage utilization and allow for greater rest-recovery periods.
• Consider cultural practices to boost productivity. Incorporating weed and brush control, fertilizing according to soil test or overseeding where needed all can help restore productivity.
Weathering La Nina
Many of the steps outlined above hold true for areas dealing with this winter’s La Nina event — especially in Southern regions where moisture deficiencies already had degraded pasture conditions, leading into last fall’s critical fall recovery window.
Drought expanded and intensified into early fall in many areas south of the predicted La Nina line, Ingram says, and he recommends special considerations for cattle ranchers to manage through these weather challenges.
Ingram recommends special considerations for cattle ranchers to manage through upcoming weather challenges.
“For those with equal or above-equal chances of rainfall, capitalize on that moisture this winter so we have grass going into spring,” he says. “On the southern side of the line with limited moisture chances, make plans to conserve forages and possibly look into adding stored forages to carry through the winter.”
Manage for the Long Term
As pastures emerge this spring, Ingram recommends producers in areas already dealing with drought implement a three-prong approach:
1. Be proactive. Feeding hay is expensive but pales in comparison with the long-term harm overgrazing drought-stressed pastures can cause. Difficult decisions today will pay off down the road.
2. Be patient. Come spring, resist the temptation to turn cattle out too soon. Cool-season grasses green up quickly. Grazing too early will inhibit roots from reestablishing ultimately leading to weaker, thinner plant stands. Give grasses as much time as possible to rebuild root structure and help speed recovery, even if that means extending hay-feeding season.
3. Be observant. When moisture returns, low-value weeds will be among the first plants to emerge. Scout pastures early and eliminate opportunistic weeds before they outcompete recovering grasses. It’s important to feed those grasses too. Consider pulling a soil test and fertilize accordingly when moisture returns.
“Ask yourself, ‘Do I want to grow grass or do I want to grow weeds?’” Ingram says. For broadleaf weed control where preserving white clover isn’t a goal, he recommends a residual product, such as DuraCor ® herbicide, to keep weeds out of the way and ensure all available moisture goes to growing grass. UltiGraz ℠ Pasture Weed & Feed is a good option to efficiently and cost-effectively combine weed control and fertility in a single pass.
Most important, Ingram says, think long term and protect root reserves at all costs.
“Drought forces many extremely difficult decisions, but we must have grass to have a sustainable beef operation,” he says. “Difficult decisions today will pay off as La Nina conditions fade and moisture returns.”
Bring your rangeland and pasture management questions to Booth #3142 during CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, Feb. 4 to 6. Back on the ranch, work with your trusted advisers, such as your local Extension agent, consultants or your Corteva Range & Pasture Specialist, and visit RangeAndPasture.com/NCBA
White clover by the numbers
The introduction of NovaGraz™ herbicide ends the white clover conundrum. Cattle producers no longer need to sacrifice white clover to control broadleaf weeds in their pastures. As the only product on the market that controls a broad spectrum of weeds and preserves white clover and annual lespedeza, NovaGraz™ can help:
• Improve conception rates by up to 25% with white clover in cool-season grass pastures.
• Increase stocker average gain by up to 50% with the inclusion of white clover in pastures.
• Raise soil nitrogen by up to 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre with white clover. Although the numbers speak for themselves, an interactive guide from Corteva Agriscience provides a deeper dive in to the data. The tool is available at RangeAndPasture.com/ByTheNumbersNCBA and provides videos, application tips, technical information and more.
1 Sleugh, B., Corteva, et al. Can I Keep My Clover? Rinskor Active: A New Herbicide Enabling Selective Broadleaf Weed Control in White Clover-Grass Pastures. Weed Science Society of America-Western Society of Weed Science Joint Meeting, March 2-4, 2020, Maui, HI.
Legals:
™ Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Under normal field conditions, DuraCor ® is nonvolatile.
DuraCor has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. Consult the label before purchase or use for full details. White clover and annual lespedeza exhibit some initial injury (such as lodging and loss of vigor) with NovaGraz application but recover. DuraCor and NovaGraz are not registered for sale or use in all states. UltiGraz℠ with fertilizer is available for use with specific herbicides in the states of AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NV, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV and WY. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your area. Rinskor ® is a registered active ingredient. Consult the label before purchase or use for full details. Always read and follow label directions.