Farm & Ranch
What Is Killing Your Pasture?
By NTFR Staff
A brown patch in a pasture may look simple from the pickup. The grass is dry, the cattle have grazed it too closely or it needs a good rain. Sometimes one of those explanations is correct. Other times, the damaged area may be the first visible sign of insects, disease, poor soil fertility, compaction or a grazing problem that has been developing for years.
Many pasture problems look alike from a distance. Drought-stressed grass can turn yellow or brown, but so can grass damaged by armyworms. A nutrient deficiency may cause weak, pale growth that resembles disease. Overgrazing can thin the stand and let weeds move in, while compacted soil can keep rainfall from reaching plant roots.
Treating the wrong problem wastes money and lets the real cause get worse. Fertilizer will not stop an insect infestation, and insecticide will not correct a soil deficiency. Before applying anything, slow down, walk the pasture and figure out what the grass is telling you.
Start With the Pattern
The shape and location of the damage provide the first clues. A problem that appears evenly across the entire pasture may point toward drought, poor fertility or a widespread management issue. Damage that begins in patches, follows a fence line or moves across a field may point more toward insects, disease, drainage problems or soil differences.
Begin by comparing the affected area with healthy grass nearby. Look at the color, height and density of the forage. Check whether the damage is limited to one forage species or affects nearly every plant in the area. Notice whether weeds stay green while the desired grass struggles.
Drought stress commonly shows up first on shallow soils, exposed slopes and other places that hold less moisture. Grass may fold or roll its leaves to conserve water before it turns gray-green, yellow or brown. In severe conditions, the plant may stop growing above ground and live on stored energy.
A pasture does not always recover as fast as it greens up. Rain may bring new leaves, but plants weakened by prolonged drought still need time to rebuild their root systems and energy reserves. Turning livestock onto new growth too soon can strip away the leaf area the plants need to recover.
Overgrazing can produce similar symptoms, especially when livestock keep returning to their preferred plants. Overgrazing has more to do with timing than with how short the grass gets. It occurs when livestock graze a plant again before it has recovered from the previous grazing.
When leaves are removed, the plant uses stored carbohydrates to begin regrowth. If livestock eat that new growth almost immediately, the plant must draw from its reserves again. Repeated grazing without recovery eventually weakens the roots, reduces forage production and may kill desirable plants.
Signs include closely cropped grass, bare soil, increasing weed pressure and an uneven pasture where livestock graze some plants repeatedly while less desirable species stay tall. Areas around water, shade, mineral feeders and gates often get especially heavy use, and soil in those spots may also become compacted.
Compaction reduces the pore space that lets air and water move through the soil. Rainfall may run off instead of soaking in, and plant roots may stay shallow or struggle to penetrate the soil. You can compare suspected areas by pushing a soil probe or sturdy rod into the ground when soil moisture is similar. A shovel can also reveal shallow roots, dense soil layers or standing water below the surface.
Poor fertility is another common cause of weak or discolored grass, but plant color alone can’t diagnose a nutrient deficiency. Nitrogen deficiency often produces pale green or yellow growth and reduced production. Other nutrient problems may affect older or younger leaves differently, depending on how the nutrient moves within the plant.
Soil testing is the only dependable way to find out what the soil needs. A representative sample should combine soil collected from several locations with similar soil type, management and production history. Sample unusual areas, such as feeding sites, wet spots or visibly damaged patches, separately instead of mixing them with the rest of the pasture.
Soil pH deserves particular attention because it affects nutrient availability and plant growth. Fertilizer applied without correcting an unsuitable pH may produce disappointing results. At the same time, adding lime or nutrients the soil doesn’t need raises costs and may create new problems.
Look More Closely
When damage seems to appear overnight, put insects high on the list of suspects. Fall armyworms can remove large amounts of forage in a short time, particularly when producers discover them late in their development.
Young fall armyworm larvae scrape the green tissue from grass blades, leaving a thin, pale membrane sometimes described as a windowpane. Larger larvae chew through the leaves and can leave a pasture looking frosted or burned. Birds feeding heavily in one part of a field can also be a clue that caterpillars are present.
Scouting works best early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when larvae are more active. A sweep net can collect small caterpillars that are hard to see. You can also bend a wire coat hanger into a hoop, place it on the ground and carefully count the larvae inside it. Check several locations, including field margins and the interior of the pasture.
Base treatment decisions on the number and size of the larvae, the amount and value of forage at risk and the cost of control. As a general guideline, Extension specialists often recommend considering treatment when about three to four larvae per square foot are present. Small larvae are easier to control than large ones, so early detection matters.
Any pesticide used on pasture must be labeled for that site and pest. The label also lists grazing, haying and harvest restrictions that can differ among products. Grass disappearing is not reason enough to spray an insecticide. The caterpillars must still be present and actively feeding for treatment to accomplish anything.
Plant diseases are less common than drought, fertility and grazing problems in many pastures, but don’t dismiss them. Several fungal diseases can affect bermudagrass, including some that damage roots or produce irregular patches of dead grass. Disease may become more noticeable when plants are already stressed by heat, drought, poor drainage, improper fertility or other unfavorable conditions.
Pull several plants from the edge of a damaged patch instead of from the completely dead center. Examine the roots, crowns, stems and leaves. Healthy roots are generally firm and well developed. Dark, shortened or rotting roots may indicate disease or prolonged soil saturation. Leaf spots, lesions and discolored stems can provide additional evidence.
Because pasture diseases can closely resemble other problems, applying a fungicide without a diagnosis is seldom a good first step. You may need to submit samples to a plant diagnostic laboratory. The best samples usually include plants showing a range of symptoms, along with healthy plants for comparison. Photographs of the entire affected area can help diagnosticians understand the pattern in the field.
Weeds may be part of the cause, the result of the problem or both. As desirable forage thins, sunlight reaches the soil surface and gives weed seeds a chance to germinate. Weeds then compete with the remaining forage for water, nutrients and space.
Spraying the weeds may improve the look of the field, but it will not necessarily fix the condition that let them move in. Unless grazing pressure, fertility, soil condition or forage density improves, another weed may take their place.
Consider simpler possibilities, too. Herbicide drift can produce distorted, twisted or discolored growth. Fertilizer or chemical application errors may leave straight lines, overlaps or skipped strips. Standing water can kill plants in low areas, while damaged water lines may create isolated wet spots. Salt, manure and concentrated livestock traffic can also affect grass near feeders, troughs and corrals.
Good records make these problems easier to solve. Rainfall, fertilizer applications, grazing dates, stocking rates, herbicide use and previous insect outbreaks can help explain what is happening. Photographs taken from the same locations throughout the year may reveal gradual changes that are hard to recognize during daily ranch work.
Most pasture failures build as several smaller problems overlap. Dry weather weakens the grass, and livestock keep grazing the remaining plants. Bare ground expands, weeds appear and runoff increases. Then an insect outbreak or another dry spell pushes the pasture past the point where it can recover quickly.
When you spot the first brown patch, inspect it closely before you buy fertilizer or chemicals. Walk past the edge of the damage, look at the whole plant and consider what has happened in that pasture over the previous weeks and months. Identifying the cause before choosing a treatment is usually the least expensive place to start.
By NTFR Staff
Farm country has never been short on rules that begin with “My granddad always said.” Some grew out of years of careful observation. Others survived because they were memorable, even if they were never accurate. Fall is a good time to sort a few of them out.
Take the old advice to feed livestock before bad weather. It makes real sense, especially when cold, wind and moisture raise an animal’s energy needs. For cattle and horses, good-quality forage also creates heat through digestion. The useful part of the saying is that animals heading into cold stress need water, forage, shelter and enough energy available before conditions get bad. A full belly won’t protect them from a storm by itself.
Then there is the belief that animals can predict the weather. Cattle lying down don’t reliably forecast rain. Horses running the pasture aren’t a dependable sign that a front is coming. Animals do respond to changes in temperature, wind, insects and barometric pressure, and experienced stockmen often notice behavior before they notice the weather. That still falls short of a proven forecast.
Persimmon seeds are another favorite. Split the seed and, according to folklore, a spoon-shaped kernel means heavy snow, a knife means cutting cold and a fork predicts a mild winter. It’s a fun tradition, but the shape inside a persimmon seed is the developing plant embryo. It can’t model a season’s weather.
The same goes for woolly worms. People have long used the width of the brown band on woolly bear caterpillars to predict how hard the winter will be. Entomologists haven’t found evidence that the color pattern can forecast months of weather. The band can vary with the insect’s age, species and growing conditions.
Some sayings are based on real natural signals but are too broad to use literally. “When the leaves turn early, winter will be hard” confuses plant stress with forecasting. Early color can come from drought, disease, heat or local conditions. Likewise, unusually thick coats on horses or cattle may reflect genetics, day length, age and health rather than an animal preparing for a particular winter.
Bird and insect behavior inspires plenty of predictions, too. Large flocks, low-flying birds or busy squirrels may coincide with changing weather because animals respond to current conditions. That doesn’t mean wildlife can predict a whole winter months ahead. Pay attention to what animals are doing now, but don’t build a seasonal forecast from it.
The same caution applies to other signs. A red sunrise may point to moisture under some conditions, but it isn’t a guarantee. A big acorn crop doesn’t prove a hard winter is coming. Livestock lying down doesn’t mean rain is on the way. Trouble starts when observation turns into certainty.
The sayings that hold up
Other old advice has held up much better. “Don’t turn hungry cattle onto lush pasture” is still sound management. Hungry animals eat fast and are more likely to overeat unfamiliar or risky forage. Gradual transitions are still recommended when cattle move to high-quality forage, grain or pastures where bloat or plant toxicity is a concern.
“Make hay while the sun shines” also deserves its reputation. Hay quality depends heavily on curing conditions. Rain after cutting can leach nutrients, shatter leaves and raise the chance of mold when hay is baled too wet. Modern equipment makes hay faster, but you still need a good weather window.
One of the most useful pieces of old farm wisdom is simply to watch what is normal. A cow that hangs back, a horse that leaves feed, a water trough that empties faster than usual or a patch of pasture cattle suddenly avoid can all be early clues. Producers who work with the same animals and ground every day build a baseline no phone app can replace.
Another old rule worth keeping: fix small problems before weather makes them big. A loose gate hinge in September becomes a gate on the ground during a north wind. A slow water leak becomes an ice problem. A thin cow that looks acceptable in warm weather may lose condition fast once her maintenance requirements rise. That is the advantage of doing work while conditions are still forgiving.
The strongest farm sayings tend to be the least magical. “Never let the water tank go dry.” “Buy the best hay you can afford, then waste as little as possible.” “A good fence is cheaper than a bad neighbor.” They survive because they point toward management, not prophecy.
Some old advice also survives because it was built for a world with less margin for error. If the well failed, no delivery truck was coming with water. If hay spoiled, you couldn’t always replace winter feed with a phone call. Preparing early was risk management, and that part still translates. Technology gives producers better forecasts, better diagnostics and faster communication, but none of it fixes a broken water line during an ice storm.
There is value in keeping the folklore anyway. Weather signs and sayings are part of rural culture, and they often start conversations about how people watched the seasons before radar apps and seven-day forecasts. The trick is knowing which sayings belong in the toolbox and which belong around the coffee pot.
The persimmon seed can stay, as long as nobody mistakes it for the National Weather Service. The old rule most worth keeping may be the simplest: pay attention early enough that you still have choices.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM
Scrapie is a chronic, progressive disease of the central nervous system that affects sheep and goats. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has worked for decades to eliminate scrapie from small ruminant operations. The United States was positioned to meet the World Organization for Animal Health’s seven-year benchmark for self-declared scrapie freedom in January 2028. Unfortunately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed classical scrapie in a sheep slaughtered at a facility in Oregon. With this detection, national scrapie-free status for the U.S. may be pushed back to sometime in 2033.
Scrapie is the oldest of the neurodegenerative diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Other TSEs include bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease; chronic wasting disease, found in deer; and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, found in humans. TSEs are protein-misfolding diseases that damage the brain, and they are always fatal.
Researchers don’t fully understand what causes scrapie, but evidence points to an infectious protein called a prion. These infectious prions damage the normal prion proteins found in the brain. The misfolded proteins lead to brain damage and the clinical signs of the disease. Prions resist destruction, so once they are in the environment, they are difficult to remove.
Scrapie appears to spread mainly by the oral route. Lambs and kids typically ingest prions when they contact placentas and birthing fluids from infected ewes and does. Older animals can be exposed the same way. Colostrum and milk are also sources of prions, and urine, feces, saliva and nasal secretions may contain them as well. Once ingested, prions cross into the lymphoid system, where they incubate for a long time, usually two to five years, before entering the nervous system.
Genetics plays a part in scrapie infections. Some breeds are more susceptible because of their genetic makeup. Genetic testing can help producers select breeding stock with resistant genes.
The clinical signs most associated with scrapie are intense itching (pruritus), incoordination (ataxia) and wasting. Early on, producers may notice slight behavior changes in infected sheep and goats. Animals may have a staring or fixed gaze, fail to respond to herding or act aggressively toward objects. As the disease progresses, signs include weight loss despite a normal appetite, incoordination, head tremors and intense itching. In the final stages, sheep go down and may show blindness, seizures and an inability to swallow. Once the first clinical signs appear, death usually follows in one to six months.
The gold standard for diagnosing scrapie after death is immunohistochemistry testing of brain tissue, along with microscopic examination of the brain for the lesions characteristic of TSEs. Veterinarians can also diagnose live animals by testing lymphoid tissue from the third eyelid and rectal mucosa scrapings.
No treatment exists for scrapie, so prevention is key. Biosecurity is a good starting point. Maintain a closed flock, and buy replacement animals only from certified scrapie-free flocks. Limit visitors’ contact with your animals. Keep lambing and kidding areas clean, and dispose of manure and bedding contaminated with birthing fluids and placentas properly. Use genetically resistant animals for breeding to produce genetically resistant offspring.
A novel, or atypical, form of scrapie also exists. Sometimes called the Nor98 variant, it was first found in Norway and has been diagnosed in the U.S. as well. It usually turns up in a single old animal in a flock or herd, and its brain lesions differ from those of classical scrapie. Experts currently believe natural transmission of atypical scrapie is unlikely.
Small ruminant producers can help the USDA’s eradication effort by contacting the agency when an adult sheep or goat shows clinical signs of scrapie or when an adult animal dies or is euthanized. Contact Oklahoma State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall at 405-522-6141 or USDA Veterinary Services at 405-254-1797. Collection and testing of samples for scrapie are free.
Another important step in eliminating scrapie, and other diseases, is identifying animals with official USDA ID. The USDA National Scrapie Eradication Program requires most sheep to be identified to their flock of birth when they leave their home premises for sale, show or events, or when they commingle with other sheep.
Unfortunately, the Oregon sheep diagnosed with scrapie had no tag, which will hamper USDA traceback efforts. You can find more information on official ID at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/nvap/reference-guide/animal-identification/sheep-goat.
The U.S. needs to eliminate scrapie. Once it does, the country will gain additional export markets for sheep and goat products. Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service has an informative fact sheet on scrapie. Ask your local county Extension office for fact sheet VTMD-9135, or view it online at https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/scrapie.html. Sheep and goat producers may also want to visit the USDA National Scrapie Eradication Program website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/sheep-goat/scrapie.
References
Cassmann, E. D., & Greenlee, J. J. (2020). Pathogenesis, detection, and control of scrapie in sheep. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 81(7), 600–614. https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.81.7.600
By Justine Anderson | OCC Public Information Manager
In Pawnee, Oklahoma, one landowner needed a plan and some help to turn his 400 acres, with three ponds and acres packed with Eastern redcedars, into usable land for cattle and wildlife.
Brian Heishman is a retired, disabled Marine Corps veteran. After five years in the infantry, 16 years in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and 10 years contracting for the U.S. government in Iraq, Brian wanted a way to stay active and a greater purpose. Managing the land with his wife, Melinda (Mindy), and bringing it back to its original state gave him both.
“Finding a greater purpose that is satisfying is a struggle for many who leave the brotherhood, but I’ve found mine in managing this land,” Brian said.
Brian and Mindy are in their fifth year of owning the land, and it has changed quickly from a cedar-filled landscape into an ecosystem full of native grasses with more water. Brian first met with Duel Brown, Pawnee County conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and a U.S. Air Force veteran, who gave him clear advice on managing the land.
Brian wasn’t sure he could clear the cedars himself. He had never done that kind of work. After he cleared an initial 500 feet to create a fire break for a prescribed burn, he felt confident enough to sign a contract with NRCS, with help from Cole Fagen at the American Bird Conservancy. He hasn’t looked back. Since signing his first NRCS contract in 2022, Brian has found a new purpose clearing Eastern redcedars and restoring native grasses.
Under additional NRCS EQIP contracts, Brian installed cross fencing and put grazing management practices in place, with help from two other former Marines who work for NRCS, Blake Crispin and Shaun Hull. He bought equipment with a loan from the Farm Service Agency, which sped up the cedar clearing. With help from other partners, he restored the dam on the property’s largest pond, giving the cattle that graze the area a source of fresh water. Kyle Johnson of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation helped Brian stock his ponds with a variety of fish to improve their ecological health. Brian credits the Pawnee County Prescribed Burn Association with teaching him the details of prescribed burning and advising him on best practices.
“Working with NRCS has been very easy and beneficial. My advice to others would be to get good equipment and keep at it. Conservation is possible if you just keep going. Once you see progress, it becomes addicting and you want to keep making progress!” Brian said.
A wildfire that swept through the land in 2025 sped up Brian’s cedar clearing. The fire also burned other trees, including oaks and black walnuts, but it cleared most of the cedars on the east side of the property. Brian is now clearing the burned skeletons, and he is seeing grass grow back. His ponds are filling faster, and new streams have appeared as water levels rise without the cedars pulling moisture from the ground.
“The differences between how the land looked in 2022 and now are very clear. Seeing the native grasses repopulating the land is very promising and sends a clear message that Brian’s hard work is paying off,” said Duel Brown of NRCS. “I’m grateful for Brian and Mindy and their dedication to preserving the land.”
As Brian keeps clearing cedars, his goal is simple: maintain the work he has done so the trees can’t take over again. Eventually, he and Mindy plan to build a home and enjoy what their work has produced. Brian hopes his story will encourage others to try a conservation practice and lean on the partners available to help. From brothers in arms to brothers in conservation, Brian and NRCS have shown what people can do for the land when they work together.
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