Spring grazing: Timing and strategy for healthy pastures

Is your pasture really ready for the herd? Spring grazing may seem as simple as "green means go," but it’s far more nuanced than that. 

Kara Mastel welcomes David MacTaggart, Senior Agriculture Advisor with Strathcona County, to unpack the critical considerations for turning cattle out in spring. 

From the risks of early grazing and nitrate concerns to rotational grazing strategies and environmental stewardship, David shares practical, science-backed insights for producers. 

They also discuss how to tailor grazing plans to weather extremes like drought, assess forage nutritional quality, and balance herd health with land resilience. 

This episode equips producers—new and seasoned alike—with the knowledge to make smart, sustainable spring grazing decisions.

Listen For:

03:24 — Why spring grazing matters

09:59 — Spring frost and nitrate concerns

14:06 — Why rotational grazing is especially important in spring

21:25 — Is bloat a worry with green pastures?

GUEST: David MacTaggart, Agriculture Initiatives Specialist

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Chapters

• 3:24 Why spring grazing matters
• 9:59 Spring frost and nitrate concerns
• 14:06 Why rotational grazing is especially important in spring
• 21:25 Is bloat a worry with green pastures?

Transcript

Kara Mastel (00:10):

Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Bovine, brought to you by Alberta Beef Producers. I'm your host, Kara Mastel, as the calendar has very quickly flipped to May. I don't know how that happened, but alas, here we are. We're talking about spring grazing on the bovine. To help me dive into the topic, I'm joined today by David MacTaggart, who is an agriculture initiative specialist with the Strathcona County in Sherwood Park, Alberta. By cooperating with stakeholders in primary food production, government and private industry, David works to transfer agricultural technology in ways that are engaging to different learning styles. Now David, I know you have a diverse background here, so I'm going to let you dive into it. David, thanks so much for joining me on the show today. How's it going?

David MacTaggart (01:02):

Oh, it's going well here, Kara, I'm talking to you today here in Sherwood Park, and it's a nice sunny day here so far. Got a little bit of moisture in the last couple of days, so that's nice to help to move things along there for spring, but definitely could use some more rain in the next little while with that, that's for sure.

Kara Mastel (01:22):

Absolutely. Yeah, I think we can all use a little bit of rain. Talk about your position. What are you doing at the Stratcon County?

David MacTaggart (01:30):

Yeah, for sure. So right now my position, I'm the senior agriculture advisor here with that, and so what that means is that I work to help develop our ag extension programming here at the county, and so that ranges anywhere from our agriculture newsletter, putting that together to organizing events and workshops, publishing articles in the local paper, and we touch on everything all the way from crop disease management to pasture management all the way down to gardening. So it's really quite a range there. So I've definitely been learning lots in this job here. My background with that there is in pasture management there. I did my master's back at the U of S in Saskatoon and in stockpile grazing and that. So it's definitely gotten to branch out a lot in this job. It's really been good that way.

Kara Mastel (02:32):

Yeah, it's always great if you can learn, I mean, as much as you want to bring all your skills to a new position, it's cool when you can feel like you're learning in a position as well.

David MacTaggart (02:41):

Oh, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. No, it's been a good, so I see my role kind of being able to connect people's interests or questions with being able to connect them with that. They're definitely when I'm not the expert sometimes, so it makes a big difference.

Kara Mastel (02:58):

Okay, so we here today to talk spring grazing. I mean many are looking outside their windows or wherever they are and things are starting to green up a little bit and we're starting to wonder, okay, can these cattle go out to pasture yet? But of course we have to back it up a bit and we have to understand spring grazing. So do you want to explain the importance of spring grazing for cattle?

David MacTaggart (03:24):

Yeah, for sure. No, I think definitely when we look at grazing throughout the whole year, spring plays a big role in a lot of ways with that. We have a lot of producers who have either some calves that might be a couple months old by now or that write down to brand new calves and being able to space those animals out, get them on fresh ground can be a good part in disease management, keeping your animals and your calves healthy, but also it can be a way to reduce costs. We know that winter feeding is by far the biggest cost when it comes to raising cattle and especially for cow calf operations here in western Canada. And so when we can find ways to get those cattle into feeding situations that are lower costs, that really does help to improve that bottom line there for livestock producers. So I'd say that really is the big part of it. And then lastly there can having animals on the landscape that way can, if managed properly, really have those benefits for the environment there too by getting nutrients out on the environment as well, providing diverse habitat and things like that. So really I think there's some really good economics arguments to be made for it. And then also keeping your herd healthy and then again, just those environmental benefits that I think we're really getting better at talking about in the beef industry. That's for sure.

Kara Mastel (05:04):

So what are some of the key factors to consider before you're actually saying, okay, yes, head on out to pasture?

David MacTaggart (05:11):

Yeah, for sure. No, and I think some of those biggest things honestly is if you're going to be spring grazing, it's that aspect of planning ahead. Definitely. It's not something that you just see green grass and it's like, okay, it's time to turn those cows out. I think a first part when you're planning ahead there is to think about, okay, when do I want to be turning those cattle out there? Because spring grazing can mean a lot of different things because we go from a period of dormancy into the slow gradual growth in greenup into then that really high growth once we get into the latter part of May and beginning of June. So where you're hitting in that time really plays into the planning ahead. So let's say if you're thinking of grazing earlier on with that, for you folks down south in southern Alberta, that might be in the earlier April there, but the snows melted, the grass is dormant there.

(06:12):

So if you're going to be grazing in this time, planning ahead means having that stockpiled forage available with that there, that forage is weathered over the winter. You'll likely be wanting to see of like, okay, if I'm putting cows that have just grazed on this, is that the nutritional supply that I'm looking for when you're looking at feed testing, this supplement might be needed there. Then we get into that area where growth is starting in our new forage for that year, but it's not at the growth stage yet that we would really recommend for that being your only source of forage with that. So if you're in that kind in-between phase growth is started, that's a pretty sensitive part stage for putting your cattle out on that pasture to be able to set your pasture back. So how you could set yourself up for success in that time, there is either, it's a bit of both of okay, you have the stockpiled forage there to offset that lower amount of new growth and that provides that biomass that your cattle are needing to satisfy their diets on a daily basis.

(07:30):

And then also too, making sure after you're done grazing on that paddock there of that you're giving it a really good long rest because you've hit that grass in that sensitive period with that that you're now letting it recover for a longer period of time. And then afterwards we get into that later part of May, beginning of June growth really starting to kick off. I think there's that good guideline out there of when your grass hits that three to four leaf stage, that's kind of that time where you want to be turning out because if we think of when grass starts growing in the springtime, it's using those root reserves so that it's stored up from the previous year. And if we were to graze it too early with that, then it pushes out another batch to root reserves and it's stressing that plant out more.

(08:23):

But as we allow it to mature a little more, then that is the time, then it's got enough leaves above ground that it's producing enough energy through photosynthesis that it is actually putting some reserves back into the roots so it doesn't stress it out quite as much when you graze it. So that's a very long-winded answer, but just of some of the things that yeah, you want to consider with that when you're starting out and grazing timing's really important. One guideline I heard once, I think it was from Bart Larner in one of animal science classes is there at the University of Saskatchewan, and he talked about, now this is for people up in the aspen parkland there when he would see that the fluff come out on the poplar trees, that was like growth was starting to begin

(09:10):

And you should let off there. And that being, if you don't have the ability to really rest that pasture afterwards with that, now I think now when we're looking at it in general there probably of I would say of once you're seeing that frost come out of the ground, those days are warming up with your highs kind of above say six to eight degrees, those plants will be starting to wake up at that time and that's really when you don't want to be stressing them out too much if you don't have the residual forage there to take some of the brunt and also the ability to rest it afterwards.

Kara Mastel (09:59):

And now I know many areas like they can experience the green grass early, however it still can be freezing overnight. Is there a concern here for nitrates or anything like that?

David MacTaggart (10:11):

Yeah, that's a good question. And I'd say it depends on your management situation with that there. If you've come in with some of our tame pastures on with some nitrogen fertilizer or something like that as kind of a pasture rejuvenation strategy with that either in the early spring or in the fall, that would be something to watch out for there on that front. Now, as far as when it comes to just your perennial forage as in general, it's not typically as much of a concern, not as much of a nitrogen rich environment like with your annuals, but I would say if you have just lots of really green lush growth there and you have that higher soil nitrogen levels there and not some older forage from last year to offset that, it might be something to talk to your veterinarian about or something like that, just to be careful.

Kara Mastel (11:15):

Yeah, absolutely. Okay. I know we're kind of jumping here, there and everywhere, but going back to you talked about some of the environmental benefits of spring grazing. Do you want to talk about them, soil health, that sort of thing?

David MacTaggart (11:28):

Yeah, for sure. I think a lot of these, whether it be for spring grazing, it's similar to what we see across grazing throughout most times of the year there of it's that benefit of egging in that nutrient cycling across the whole landscape with that there from your manure, your urine that your cattle putting out there every day. Those would be a good part with that there and helping that, like you're talking about from a soil health perspective there. And then another part as well of it can be especially in the springtime there we have birds coming in, those types of things as well of in well-managed grazing, helping to have diverse areas of some taller grass that you're leaving behind maybe where you've grazed lighter around a riparian area or something like that. And then some shorter grass areas too for being able for other animals to come get insects behind the cattle after they've come through.

(12:36):

So those are some of the environmental benefits behind it. I think something that's worth paying attention to is really minding your low spots in your riparian areas in the springtime because these are the times of the year where hopefully you've had some spring runoff and there's some more water gathering in those areas, and so they're going to be softer, more sensitive with there as well. So I think if you can exclude your cattle out of riparian areas and that being that kind of green strip around your wetlands in lower spots next to a creek or something like that, exclude them with fencing or if you are in a more nobbing cattle type of environment, you've got lots of low spots there. That's not feasible to fence all of those, but trying to prevent your cattle from congregating around those spots, so providing them a different source of water if possible. And then also of spreading out maybe if you are supplementing where your supplement's at or where your mineral or your salt's at too, that can be a way to draw those animals away from those low spots to reduce that pressure on them.

Kara Mastel (13:53):

Now of course, rotational grazing is huge all year long. That is a very important part of grazing. But would you say spring grazing, it's even more important to pay attention to that rotational grazing?

David MacTaggart (14:06):

I think tying it back into what we were talking about with reducing pressure on that young forage that's starting to grow, I think it does definitely have that benefit with when you are rotating because it's reducing how many times an animal's coming back to graze that similar plant to stress it out and reduce its energy reserves and allowing it that critical rest period there. So that would be one factor. And then what we were talking about as well with pressure on maybe some of your more sensitive areas in your pastures that moving the cattle off sooner can really help in that situation to cut down on the pressure you're putting on your riparian areas too. So definitely if it is something that you are set up for on your farmer ranch, it can show those real benefits at this time in the grazing in the spring too.

Kara Mastel (15:02):

And now I know of course we can't predict the future. We have no idea what mother nature is going to bring or not, but if you are in an area that has had traditionally drought in the past couple of years and you're maybe worried that we're setting up for that again, anything, how should spring grazing be managed with that in mind as well? Keeping that pasture all year or else?

David MacTaggart (15:24):

Yeah, no, and this is, I think, I swear I have a lot of empathy for people who are dealing with these conditions in some spots for multiple, multiple years with that. And so it can put you in a tough spot. And it's cold comfort for me to say of that by if you haven't planned for it with your pasture management or your range management plans that you're likely better off to keep feeding rather than turning them out on a pasture you haven't necessarily rested for long enough during the growing season because it's kind of back to that old adage that a day that you leave your cows off a pasture in the springtime, you get two days of grazing in the fall with that there. And so what that kind of meaning there is is allowing your plants to start growing, start reboosting, their energy reserves there in their roots.

(16:29):

And so I would really caution people in that of if you're dealing with pastures that have been stressed out by prolonged periods of drought, if you did, if they've been rested for maybe a year or maybe in some of the really dry parts of our province two years potentially, that could be something where they could be used as a spring grazing resource there. But just really caution that it shoots you in the foot in the long term there. And I think we learned some good lessons. I remember reading an article about this coming, I wasn't working obviously then I was a kid, but in the drought in the early two thousands there of how the range ologists and the ranchers in southern Alberta had changed their approaches when it came to those drought years of destocking sooner and lowering their stocking rates there. And that really helped once the rains did come back in the years after, their pastures did bounce back much better than they had seen in the past. So it doesn't give you much comfort in the moment if you're short on feed and feed's expensive to bring in. But I think for the longevity of your farmer ranch, patience really, and planning ahead really makes a difference.

Kara Mastel (17:50):

Yeah, it's definitely hard for some people to be able to play that long-term game, but if you can, it pays off

David MacTaggart (17:58):

For sure. Yeah, no, and I imagine you folks down in the southeast part of the province that know that for sure.

Kara Mastel (18:03):

Yeah, absolutely. Nutritional quality. How does that change throughout the season? How do you know what your nutritional value is at the beginning of the season?

David MacTaggart (18:11):

Yeah, for sure. No, and I think I'd circle back to what we were talking about earlier when it comes to considering, okay, we talk spring grazing, what does spring grazing mean to you by timing? So if we're going out there and we're grazing primarily residual forage from the year before, I'd say it's definitely worth the feed test in those types of situations because that forage has sat out all winter, it's weathered, probably those plants have weathered their grasses or legumes, they've lost some leaves where some of that protein and easily digestible nutrients are at. And quite often again, we're dealing with cattle with high nutritional needs with that spring just after calving. That is a time with that when definitely for our cows that their nutritional needs are highest and somewhere around that 11% crude protein and 65% TDN. And that's not always something that stockpile forage can provide just because it has weathered more by that point.

(19:20):

And similar can be said for replacement heifers there on that front as well, that with those higher nutritional needs there while they're growing and so that's when it doesn't hurt to feed test in those instances for both your macronutrients and your micronutrients too. Because leading up to breeding, it's really important that your animals aren't micronutrient deficient. Say for things like copper for example. It's important for that reproductive success of your herd there. And so in those types of instances, making sure that your nutritional programs just on pat, that'll help your cows rebreed sooner. Keep them within your program that you're wanting to have on your farm and ranch. And it'll also help them keep that body condition as well to be able to help that calf that they're nursing to grow there and to contribute to your bottom line later now. So that's shifting from that early type of spring grazing where it's mostly on residual forage. Then if you're coming in later where the primary source of forage is new growth, then generally supplementing isn't a concern. It never hurts to feed test in those scenarios, especially in droughty conditions as well, that can lead to certain deficiencies or excess in micronutrients as well, and that can help prevent issues later on. But as far as protein and energy, once that new growth is online in the spring, that's when energy is highest, protein is highest, fiber is lowest. And so typically from a energy and protein perspective, a supplement isn't needed by that point.

Kara Mastel (21:11):

And now what about pockets of the province that have experienced good moisture? There are some, it's not a bad news across the province. Do you worry about bloat when you're going out on really green grass?

David MacTaggart (21:25):

From a grass perspective with that, if you're dealing with a pasture that's mainly grasses, it's not typically a concern. You probably will see your cows really loosen up there. It can be with some of our larger breeds, say things like our lec, aals, those types of things, charlas that were historically maybe a dual purpose animal. You want to pay attention a little bit to the potential of milk fever at that time just because that really fresh green grass has as the balances of the nutrients in there can be a little off. But it's more so when we shift, if you're in a legume heavy pasture with clovers or alfalfa, you might want to pay attention to that at that time for sure. If's a higher legume content, but from grasses it's not typically a concern. No.

Kara Mastel (22:22):

Do you want to briefly talk more about how producers can really come up with a spring grazing plan for themselves? Maybe they're new to the industry or new to the idea of spring grazing?

David MacTaggart (22:33):

Yeah, for sure. No, I think if I got the chance to talk to a new cattle producer and they were interested in spring grazing I think, and we had the benefit of foresight there of to see of okay with the number of cattle that I have and also the land base that I have, okay, now when are, how much grazing can I supply off of the grass that I can produce with that there? And it's best when you're doing that grazing planning, it's okay to be a little pessimistic on what you might be able to produce there on that front because then that gives you the chance to have potential bonus pasture there. And that's either things that maybe you can graze longer into the fall or also you can have that chance to graze in the spring. And so I would consider that part there first to try and match that and then also just spend some time penciling out with where feed prices are at in that year.

(23:43):

Is it actually best to graze longer into the fall or start earlier in the spring with that there? Because if you're working on your stockpile forage on either of those times there's kind of some comparison or do you do one or the other? And there can be make the argument there of if you're grazing on stockpiled forage, your cows in the fall have a lower nutritional requirement because you've likely weaned your calves by that point. They're drying up, they're kind of early mid gestation their, and so that's when stockpiled forage is really well suited to that stage of cattle there and can be quite economical if your weather's good and things like that. And maybe that's a scenario that actually is better for your bottom line than grazing in the spring when depending on the timing, depending on what's in your forage stands too. If you're grazing stockpile forages with a higher legume content that generally boosts that nutritional quality that can meet your cows where they're at and maybe you won't need to supplement as much. So kind of to boil it down, I would say in planning ahead there, trying to understand that of what's your forage production capacity that you have relative to the size of your herd. And then also being okay with depending where your feed prices are at for this year of maybe pulling your cows when you have some residual forage left to plan for next year with that there, if that makes sense for your operation.

Kara Mastel (25:27):

And now obviously it's going to be like you said, very year to year, what's your economic health as well? Is there any data or analytics or historical analytics that producers could look at for their area that may help when it comes to growth or not so much?

David MacTaggart (25:45):

That's a good question there. I think it never hurts to reach out to, whether that be through the Beef Cattle Research Council there on that front and some of their folks there can connect to with research that has been done in the past, your applied research associations, depending on what part of the province that you're in. And that would be things like peace country beef there up in Fairview Lake Cland Agriculture Research organization in that Bonneville Cold Lake. Even spots like farming smarter down in Lethbridge, while they deal mostly with crops, they likely could have someone who could be able to connect you with those resources there or your local county as well. And to try and find that past research that's been done there on understanding nutritional quality and those types of things to help boil down of K. I know I have say for example native rangeland that is my main pastor and forage resource with that, what does that look like in the spring as far as quality and also of how I need to care steward for that. That's one thing there. And then also two of say if you're on more tame pastures, what's that quality look like there as well? So really encourage people to access those local resources they might have.

Kara Mastel (27:16):

Absolutely. Okay. Any other messages you would like to send to producers before we wrap up? Maybe even just considerations as we head into the spring season.

David MacTaggart (27:26):

Yeah, for sure. No, I think in that aspect there of thinking, I'll touch first on a little bit of technology side of things as well. First of really it's very helpful to keep records on when you were on different pastures as well for grazing times. And that can be a strategy that you can use over the years of maybe your, to try and lengthen out that rest period before spring grazing for example. It can be a gradual thing over time and good record keeping can make a big difference there on that front. And then a last one too. I don't have a lot of expertise when it comes to native rangeland, but just wanted to touch on that a little bit there of that's particularly sensitive when it comes to that springtime thereof. So if a person is considering using native range for spring grazing there on that front, it can be a great resource when it comes to it.

(28:30):

Our native grassland plants, they do a really good job of maintaining their quality through that wintertime, make some great stockpiling plants there, but be more kind to them. Maybe if you're going to spring graze them, spring graze one in every four or five years or something like that there as well. So you're letting those plants complete their life cycle in other years, drop some seed regrow their root reserves, those types of things there. So just a word of caution there. I would say when it comes to managing our tame forages versus our native forages a little differently, if you're working on lease land, probably really important to consult with your rangeland ologist in that area as well to see what's possible, what they recommend. Again, it's for our lease holders in the province, that's another great resource that you have at your disposal too.

Kara Mastel (29:29):

Okay, awesome. Alright, well thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it. And as someone who is involved in extension yourself, how can producers get ahold of you if they're looking for more information?

David MacTaggart (29:42):

Yeah, for sure. So a way you can get ahold of me there is by email there or phone in Strathcona County. It's a little, little bit different. I work within the planning and Development services department, but you can also track, so you can track me down through there, but also through social media. David MacTaggart, I'm on X and on Instagram too, and I'd be happy to chat with people more and yeah, arrange a chance to talk on the phone or something like that as well.

Kara Mastel (30:28):

Okay. There are so many things to unpack in this episode. I think one of the bigger things I took away from that conversation was if you don't have a grazing plan, it's time you start developing one as it's only going to help the future of your operation and the future health of your grass. If you have any questions or feedback, don't hesitate to reach out. Karam@albertabeef.org as well. It's a huge help to us if you give us a rating on Spotify, apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. That way we can continue to bring you content that helps you and your operation. So thanks in advance for doing that. Till next time, stay safe and don't forget to drink your water. Bye for now.