Forage Chains Connect the Dots for Profit By Dan Glenn

In this episode of Regenerative Wisdom, we travel to Fitzgerald, Georgia, where cattle breeder and soil cowboy Dan Glenn shares how matching forage resources with the nutritional needs of cattle can create a more profitable and efficient grazing system. Dan explains why understanding your operation's forage resources throughout the year is essential for making decisions about when to calve, when to wean, and when to market cattle. Rather than forcing the cattle program to fit a calendar, he builds his grazing system around the forage resources his farm can produce. His experience with earlier weaning provides a practical example. By moving calves off their dams at seven to eight months and onto stockpiled summer annuals, Dan was able to improve calf performance, increase cow condition, delay hay feeding, and get winter annuals established on time. The result was a forage chain that kept cattle growing through periods that had previously been challenging. 🔑 Key Points Covered Why successful grazing operations should rely on the cow to harvest her own high-quality forage. How understanding yearly forage surpluses and deficits can guide profitable management decisions. Matching the calving season to the period of highest forage quality. Why Dan calves in February and March in South Georgia. The challenges of managing cattle alongside a row-crop operation during peanut harvest. Why Dan moved from late weaning to weaning calves at seven to eight months. Using stockpiled sorghum-Sudan, sunn hemp, cowpea, pearl millet, and crabgrass for post-weaning nutrition. How early weaning improved both calf performance and cow body condition. Using dry cows to take advantage of stockpiled Bermudagrass. Delaying hay feeding by making better use of stockpiled forage. Transitioning calves from summer annuals into winter annuals. The role of spring oats, hybrid turnip, cereal rye, spring pea, crimson clover, hairy vetch, ryegrass, oats, and triticale in Dan's forage chain. Matching cattle genetics to the challenging South Georgia climate. The advantages of heat-adapted composites such as Senepol × Angus and Beefmaster × Angus. How changing the calving season helped Dan reduce losses from black vulture predation. How earlier pregnancy checking and culling fit into the overall system. The economic value of adding an estimated 30–60 pounds of weaning weight through better forage utilization. Why every grazing operation needs to identify its own weak links and build a forage program around its unique resources. 🌱 The Forage Chain Dan's system demonstrates an important grazing principle: the goal isn't simply to grow more forage, but to connect the forage you grow with the nutritional needs of your livestock at the right time. On his South Georgia operation, winter annuals provide a major portion of the grazing program from January through May. As forage quality declines later in the year, Dan uses stockpiled summer annuals to keep calves gaining while allowing dry cows to utilize lower-quality stockpiled Bermudagrass. That timing allows the farm to make better use of its resources while reducing reliance on purchased feed and hay. 📈 Turning Forage Into Profit Dan estimates that using stockpiled summer annuals and transitioning calves sooner to winter annuals likely added 30–60 pounds of weaning weight. While producing stockpiled annuals comes with an expense, the additional forage keeps calves growing during one of the year's poorest grazing periods and fits with Dan's value-added grass-fed beef program. The larger lesson is that profitability comes from understanding where the weak links are in your forage chain and finding ways to keep both cows and calves grazing and growing. 👨‍🌾 About Dan Glenn Dan Glenn is a cattle breeder and soil cowboy from southern Georgia. He raises environmentally adapted cattle in a low-input system. Learn more about Dan and his farm at deepgrassgraziers.com. 🎧 Listen, Learn & Subscribe If you enjoyed this episode of Regenerative Wisdom, subscribe so you don't miss future conversations and timeless lessons from the farmers, ranchers, and grazing experts featured by Stockman Grass Farmer. 📌 For more insights and resources, be sure to check out our monthly magazine, books, live events, and online courses here: www.stockmangrassfarmer.com