By Karla Wilke
By interseeding annual grass into established alfalfa fields and applying water with a K-line irrigation system, Jerry Weekes has developed a system for maintaining cows on limited perennial acres. Jerry Weekes has spent a lifetime in the cattle industry. Most recently, Jerry sold the local sale barn he owned for 27 years, in the Nebraska Panhandle, but continues to develop innovative approaches to the cattle industry. Intensive grazing management is not a new concept and is certainly not new to Jerry Weekes who was first introduced to the Allan Savory school of grazing management many years ago in South Dakota.
Today Jerry Weekes buys bred cows in January and February, winters them on dormant grass with protein supplementation, then grazes the pairs on the triticale interseeded alfalfa mix using an intense rotation system. By purchasing short term cows, weaning the calves, and selling the cows in July and August, he avoids dealing with bulls, and takes advantage of the seasonal peak in the cull cow market. He can then use the regrowth from the intensive grazing system to grow the weaned calves.
Source : unl.edu