Beef producers are always looking for ways to cut costs and make more profit.

One of the best ways to do that, according to Mark Kennedy, Natural Resourc-es Conservation Service grazing specialist, is to feed hay as few days as possible.

“Is it possible to graze 365 days?” Kennedy asked. “In some cases it is but not every farm is the same.”

The happy medium, according to him, is to do a combination of things to reduce hay feeding and increase daily grazing.

Kennedy offered 10 tips for being able to graze 365 days at the recent Spring Forage Conference in Springfield, Mo.

1. Proper stocking rate

“You have to start at square one.” Kennedy said. “If we are overstocking pastures already it isn’t going to work.”

According to him, producers need to look at the carrying capacity, or how much forage your pasture can produce in a year.

“In addition to how much forage is grown, producers need to utilize that efficiently,” he explained.

The formula for carrying capacity is—total annual forage production, multiplied by the seasonal utilization rate, divided by livestock daily intake needs multiplied by grazing season length.

2. Grazing management

“We need to efficiently utilize the forage base,” he said. “Poor grazing management means wasted forage.”

According to him, with continuous grazing, harvesting efficiency is somewhere between 25-35 percent.

“This means that 65-75 percent of our production is lost or wasted,” Kennedy explained.

The way to overcome this loss is to look at a management intensive grazing system, according to Kennedy.