There are strategies to forage profits, says Auburn University Professor Emeritus Don Ball.

At the 2016 Kansas Forage and Grassland Council's winter meeting, he shared 10 of them with farmers and ranchers, and offered some quotes worth remembering about the strategies.

1. Know your options and your needs. "You need to evaluate what will grow best and where it will be planted," he said. "Keep in mind the nutritional needs of the animals that will be grazing, and be sure that the crop you are planting will meet those needs."

The quote worth remembering is from Alexander Graham Bell: "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."

2. Stand establishment is critical. The planting date, the seeding depth, seeding rate and method of seeding are all critical to good stand establishment, but nothing is more important than buying good seed, Ball advised. "A good variety of seed won't guarantee success, but a bad choice will guarantee failure," he said.

The quote worth remembering is his: "Cheap seed is rarely a bargain."

3. Soil fertility and nutrient considerations matter to the bottom line. Soil fertility affects forage stands, forage yield and forage quality as well as enabling forage crops to compete better against weeds. "Fertilizer is often a good idea," he said. "Fertilizer is often more than half the cost of pasture grass production. Soil testing is the best way to determine how much fertilizer is needed." How forage is harvested also affects how much fertilizer is needed, Ball said. If you take forage off as hay or silage, you are removing nutrients. If you graze the field, however, the nutrients the animals consume will be returned to the soil in the form of manure. In fact, he said, one cow can recycle more than $200 a year in nutrients.

The quote worth remembering: "Where animals go, nutrients flow."

4. Use legumes whenever feasible. A comparison of 37 pasture systems, with 15 of them using legumes, found that the seven lowest pasture costs per pound of gain, and eight of the 10 lowest, all involved legumes. Ball said mixes containing legumes have higher forage yield, better forage quality, higher animal gains, increased conception rates and reduced potential for toxicity, provide a longer grazing season and reduce fertilizer costs.

"All that adds up to greater profit potential," Ball said.

5. Paying attention to forage quality helps profits. Forage quality tends to be reduced when the plant loses leaves as it reaches full maturity after bloom, he said, because the leaves are more digestible. As the crop matures, the yields of hay go up, but the quality goes down, he said.

The quote worth remembering: "Poor hay quality brings double woe; intake declines because digestion is slow."

6. Preventing or minimizing pests and forage-related animal disorders pays off. Fescue endophyte toxins can have big costs. Toxicity can result in weaning weights 50 pounds lower than in endophyte-free pastures. Stocker weight gains are lower when toxins are present, and cows are less likely to conceive.

The quote worth remembering: "Opportunity costs count."

7. Exercising good grazing management makes money. Pastures are solar collectors, Ball said. When managed well, there is greater forage utilization and more forage production. Grazing management also distributes recycled nutrients more evenly, results in less spot overgrazing and helps eliminate weeds. Intensive management also favors legume performance and results in plants with a stronger root system and more resistance to stress. Overstocking or overgrazing may not be immediately apparent, and the poor pasture conditions that result are often blamed on the weather.

The quote worth remembering: "Grazing management lessens weather impacts.”

8. Minimize stored feed requirements to maximize profits. You save the expense of swathing and baling, and you don't need storage facilities if you simply plant good forage crops and let the cattle do the work, Ball said.

The quote worth remembering: "It costs less when the livestock harvest the forage."

9. Minimizing feeding and storage losses pays. Hay that goes to waste in the field is lost profit, Ball said. Whether from bales that cattle can't access or quality lost to the elements, the forage that never makes it into the animal it was meant to feed is a drain on profits. If you must store hay, a shelter can be the difference between a profit and a loss.

The quote worth remembering: "Some folks pay for a hay barn they never build."

10. Good forage production requires investment. You make more money when you spend the money to make sure you take care of pastures, intensively manage grazing and invest in the infrastructure necessary to protect hay and silage, Ball said.

The quote worth remembering: "There ain't no free lunch."