Options for Clearing Land: Pasture Establishment for …

Establishing a productive pasture requires more than just putting down seed and straw. Soil tests will help determine the proper amount of lime and fertilizer. These amendments, along with proper seeding rates, should be applied at the right time of year, usually spring or fall, for optimal growth. It can take a year or more to establish a pasture. Pasture management after establishment is also important, and includes mowing, dragging, and maintaining proper stocking rates. In general, in order to maintain a healthy sod and good groundcover you should have a minimum of two acres of pasture for each horse. Keeping more horses on less pasture requires an increased level of management of both horses and grounds in order to maintain the health of both.

More information on establishing and renovating pastures for horses, forage selection, and grazing management can be found in the Virginias Horse Pastures series, Virginia Cooperative Extension publications 418-101, 418-102, 418-103, and 418-104.

Trees in pastures are beneficial for a variety of reasons. They provide protection from sun, wind, and rain, and are a beautiful scenic addition. Orienting a row of trees from east to west will result in appropriate turf light and encourage pasture forage. However, horses and trees are not always a good mix. Turning out too many horses on small acreage results in denuded pastures or debarked trees, which is neither attractive nor environmentally friendly. Also, the presence of a large number of livestock can result in soil compaction around trees, which reduces the oxygen available to tree roots and negatively impacts tree growth. Nevertheless, some tree species deal with soil compaction better than others. The compaction tolerant tree list includes many native trees such as sycamore, red maple, hackberry, eastern red cedar, sweetgum, black gum, loblolly pine, oak, black locust, willow, bald cypress and slippery elm (Coder, 2000).

Regardless of the trees you choose for your pasture, it is best to fence around them to protect the roots and bark while allowing horses to benefit from their shelter. At a minimum, the trunk should be secured with fencing 2 to 4 feet away. Better protection requires a fence 10 to 20 feet away from the trunk, or ideally out to the drip line (picture the tree top as an umbrella, the edge of the umbrella is the drip line) of a mature tree. However, this may decrease the horses use of the tree as shelter. The Virginia Urban Street Tree Selector at http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/treeselector/ provides a tool to determine mature crown width on certain species.

Finally, some species should be avoided in horse pastures.

For help in identifying trees, bring samples to your local extension office or try your hand at identifying the species with the help of an online tree identification tool at http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/idit.htm.

If your objectives involve land clearing, it is important to familiarize yourself with the pros and cons. Planning and attention to detail during the land-clearing process will help protect water and soil resources while keeping costs to a minimum. This publication provides some practical considerations of costs, regulatory issues, biological and environmental factors, and covers effective methods and easily avoided pitfalls.

For more assistance and information, contact the following public agencies:

Virginia Cooperative Extension Additional printed educational resources and free subject matter newsletters, soil test kits and interpretation, forage management education, pesticide safety and education, and more at http://www.ext.vt.edu.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts Technical assistance, information, and education on the conservation of natural resources, soil, water, and related resources, http://www.vaswcd.org/.

Natural Resources Conservation Services Federal agency providing both technical and financial assistance related to conserving key natural resources such as soil, water and wildlife, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.

Virginia Department of Forestry Offering Consulting Foresters list, timber buyers list, timber selling advice, and forest management planning, http://www.dof.virginia.gov.

Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center http://www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/southern-piedmont/.

Coder, Kim. 2000. Compaction Tolerant Trees. University of Georgia.

Downing, Adam, Corey Childs, and C.A. Shea Porr. 2008. To Clear or Not To Clear That Is the Question, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 465-340, http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/465-340/

Johnson, James E. 1997. Firewood for Home Heating, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 420-003.

Magadlela, A.M., M.E. Dabaan, W.B. Bryan, E.C. Prigge, J.D. Skousen, G.E. DSouza, B.L. Arbogast, G. Flores. 1995. Brush clearing on hill land pasture with sheep and goats. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 174:1-8.

McNabb, K. 1997. Environmental Safety of Forestry Herbicides. Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Publication number ANR-846. http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0846/, accessed March 6, 2008.

Teutsch, C.D., and R.M. Hoffman. 2005. Virginias Horse Pastures: Grazing Management, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 418-101, http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/418-101/

Teutsch, C.D., and R.M. Hoffman. 2005.Virginias Horse Pastures: Forage Species for Horse Pastures, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 418-102, http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/418-102/

Teutsch, C.D., and J.H. Fike. 2005. Virginias Horse Pastures: Forage Establishment, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 418-103, http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/418-103/

Teutsch, C.D., J.H. Fike. 2005. Virginias Horse Pastures: Renovating Old Pastures, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 418-104, http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/418-104/

The authors wish to thank the following individuals for their contributions in review of this document:

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Options for Clearing Land: Pasture Establishment for ...