Tackling Winter Livestock Grazing Challenges: Grow and Graze December 2025 Webinar
Winter of 2025 is especially challenging following a summer of drought that strained forage management and an early heavy snow across much of the state of Illinois. The Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition team discusses managing late fall grazing and concerns following a hard freeze. As we look deeper into winter, the group discusses the nutritional needs of fall pairs, winter feeding strategies, and fighting the mud we know is coming.
Like all Grow and Graze webinars, the session was designed as a conversation rather than a presentation. Christian Lovell, ILGLC executive director, moderates the discussion, joined by Dan Sanderson of Pasture Grazed Regenerative Farm and David Kleinschmidt of Progressive Agronomy Consulting. Together, the panelists shared updates from their operations, real-world challenges, and strategies Illinois graziers can apply in their own systems.
Highlights from the Discussion
0:00 Introduction of hosts and panelists
2:20 Drought's impact on forage and livestock management
8:33 Outlook on fall calving
10:38 Baling vs grazing cornstalks
14:51 What to do after a hard freeze
15:36 Prussic acid dangers
17:42 Annual rye grass, red clover, and forage collards seeding with drone
19:10 Solutions for semi-permanent fencing around cornfields
23:15 Establishing winter pastures
26:50 Can you graze plants down to the ground in winter?
30:44 When do you begin stockpiling fescue?
34:25 Keeping fall pairs in condition through the winter
35:10 Using Oklahoma State University Extension Cowculator
36:45 Hay quality
37:47 Feeding hay: bale unrolling, bale grazing
41:22 Fighting mud
43:36 Protein cost comparison
46:18 Illinois Grazing and Forage Hub free resources
47:19 Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition Grazing Schools Summary
Contact our panelists:
David Kleinschmidt, Progressive Agronomy Consulting, david@progressiveagronomy.com
Dan Sanderson, Pasture Grazed Regenerative Farm, pasturegrazed@gmail.com
Christian Lovell, ILGLC, christian@ilgrazinglands.org
Visit the Grazing and Forage Hub
Dig deeper with these resources discussed in the video:
OSU Cowculator v2.0 Beef Cow Nutrition Evaluation Software | Oklahoma State University
Beef Cattle | Oklahoma State University
Beef Cattle in Arkansas | Arkansas beef cattle resources