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Managing Pasture and Hay for Wildlife

Iowa's pasture and hay ground, when managed appropriately, provides ideal habitat to mimic the historical expanses of grasslands that once covered the state. Wildlife species have different needs when it comes to grasslands, but generally they all benefit from diverse stands of native prairie vegetation that are not disturbed during their primary nesting season from May to early July.

Here's a few pointers and resources on ways to promote quality wildlife habitat in your pasture or hay ground.

bird on fence Delay mowing to July 15^th wherever possible, and ideally until August 1^st. This allows sufficient time for birds to hatch their nests and for other young critters, like deer fawns, to be mobile enough to escape equipment in the fields.

When mowing earlier in the year consider these recommendations:

Mow slowly and look ahead for wildlife that are slow to get away.
Avoid mowing in the dark when birds are most likely to be on the nest and least likely to flush.
Use a flushing bar (a bar in front of the mower, as wide as the deck, with dangling chains to encourage things to flush).
Start cuttings from the middle of the field out, leaving some cover for wildlife along the field margins near woodlots, fence rows, or other natural areas.

Promote diversity in grazed systems

An ideal grazed system for wildlife is rich in plant species diversity as well as diversity of management treatments, like grazing, haying, and prescribed fire. Native warm season grasses like big bluestem, switchgrass and Indiangrass are generally more favorable for wildlife in grazed systems and can provide a strong forage base. The article Warm Season Grasses for Hay and Pasture describes common warm season grasses used for hay and pasture. The University of Wisconsin has a nice article about creating bird habitat in rotational grazing systems. Learn more about the multiple benefits of prairies on farms in the article titled Incoporating Prairies in Multifunctional Landscapes. The Pasture Management Guide for Livestock Producers booklet published by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach details additional approaches to create wildlife habitat in pasture systems, as well as resources for protecting and enhancing water quality in a production system.

Employ prescribed fire to promote diversity and forage quality

Using prescribed fire in concert with grazing can also be a highly effective means of increasing the quality of pasture for wildlife. Fire in Grazing Management: Patch-Burn Grazing is a detailed article that provides a summary of the patch-burn grazing method and results of research from southern Iowa. If you are interested in using prescribed fire on your property, use the 5-part series on planning and implementing prescribed fire listed on this page or visit the UKNOW YouTube Channel for a series of videos on how to safely conduct prescribed fire in Iowa.

How Iowa’s cows (and their healthy pastures) help Iowa’s birds

Over 80% of Iowa’s landscape was once tallgrass prairie – an ecosystem comprising over 300 species of flowering plants maintained through regular fires and grazing by herds of elk and bison. This plant diversity resulted in an equally impressive assemblage of specially adapted birds that used the grasslands for raising their young each spring and summer. Today, many of these birds are still found in Iowa’s countryside but in reduced abundance because only about 11% of Iowa’s land is grasslands and these grasslands are quite different from the tallgrass prairie once found here.

Wildlife biologists and others concerned with the steady rate of decline among grassland breeding birds in Iowa and across the country are looking for ways to create more grasslands and to increase the diversity of existing grasslands to meet the habitat needs of more bird species. In their search for a way to regain some of the diversity that once defined Iowa’s landscape, bird lovers and biologists have found an unlikely ally; the cow.

Cows, through their variable preferences for forage plants and their tendency to trample plants they graze create diversity where they feed. This is especially true within the first few days of being introduced into a paddock. That is why research in Iowa and neighboring states has found that rotational grazing, where cows are moved among patches of forage many times a month, can host higher densities and more species of breeding birds than conventional, continuously grazed pasture.

Cattle in a rotationally grazed pasture. — Rotational grazing creates variable vegetation structure, which attracts a diversity of birds.

Research on cows and forage in rotational systems also shows that the farmer and cows win with rotational grazing. This is because the rotating periods of grazing and rest afforded the plants in the pasture allow them to recover from grazing and invest more energy in new growth and roots – a win-win for cows, birds, and the farm.

Another promising development in the emerging practice of growing birds and cows on the same acres is the recently authorized use of grazing in the management of fields enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CRP acres are critically important for many of Iowa’s breeding birds, but many fields become so dense and low in plant diversity that they lose value to birds through time. Introducing grazing into these fields can help reinvigorate the grassland and create conditions for birds while also providing cattlemen access to important forage during the early spring or late summer. To learn more about new rules for grazing CRP acres, visit your local NRCS office.

Cattlemen and bird enthusiasts share a lot in common in their concern for the health and well-being of Iowa’s grasslands. There, through careful management of plant growth, diversity, and structure, we’re learning we can grow cattle and birds together on the same land that once grew birds and bison. This evolving recognition of how Iowa’s cows (and their pastures) can save Iowa’s birds is one sure to have lasting impacts on land, people, and local economies.

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