Small Acreage Management
Join us for a tour of local farms on Saturday, August 17th. Space is limited - registration is required.
There are special elements and considerations involved with managing small acreage properties such as weed identification and management, grass identification, pasture management, and reseeding.
Colorado Small Acreage Management
The Colorado Small Acreage Management is a partnership through the Colorado State University Extension and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. You can find more information, including the Colorado Forage Guide, on their website.
If you are interested in grazing management its first important to know what grass you are growing, this will determine when you should graze and how long depending also on the grazing animal. These guides and factsheets below will help you learn how to identify your grass and how to graze accordingly.
- Colorado Forage Guide: Guide created by CSU to help landowners learn how to identify common grasses, reseeding, and grazing management guidelines
- Dryland Pasture Condition Assessment and Guidelines for Small Acreages: Factsheet to learn how to assess your pasture for reseeding and grazing, factors to consider when applying rotational grazing, and record keeping.
- Grass Response to Grazing Presentation: A powerpoint with informative pictures that show how overgrazing and best grazing practices affect the grass root system and regrowth.
- Paddock Paradise for Horses: Learn how to reduce grazing pressure on your land and have your horses get exercise with this unique paddock design.
- CSU Management of Forage Plants Class: Take a non-credit discounted online class to learn more about grazing management, reseeding, and grow
If you are interested in reseeding it's important to know the cost, equipment, if you even need to reseed and the best of the year to reseed if you have a dryland pasture. The guides and documents below will help you learn how to reseed correctly.
- NRCS Small Acreage Management Newsletter - Thinking of Reseeding a Pasture: Information on what you should consider before reseeding
- Grass Seeding Plan for Colorado Small Acreages: A fact sheet that describes when to reseed, equipment, and maintenance.
- Pasture Establishment and Renovation: A worksheet to help you determine the cost of reseeding your pasture and the types of seed you should purchase depending on use and soil needs
- Pawnee Buttes Seed Guide to Grasses: A full guide of all the common grass types in Colorado for various uses (forage, lawn, reclamation, and restoration) and more detailed descriptions of each grass.
- Colorado Hay Directory: Certified Weed Free Hay
- CSU Hay/Forage Testing: Test nutrients in corn silage, sorghum, millet, alfalfa, etc.
- Hay Storage: Learn the best practices to store hay
- CSU Land Rental and Custom Rates: Learn about the average cost of hay, leasing land, contractors, labor, etc. for each year
- Manure Management for Small Acreages: Learn how to manage your manure to reduce weeds, nutrient runoff, increase nutrients within the soil, and protect your animals health.
- Best Practices for Manure Utilization: A more in depth packet on how to use manure to meet your soils nutrient needs.
- FDA Biological Soil Amendments of Animal Origin: Learn how to keep yourself safe when applying manure to gardens or on plants for food consumption.
- Small Acreage Irrigation: Learn about all the different types of irrigation, how to understand your water needs, and improve your irrigation efficiency
- Irrigation Ditches and their Operation: Learn how ditches work and how to contact ditch companies
- Limited Irrigation Management: Learn about changing irrigation frequency and time when in a drought or with limited water
- Irrigation Scheduling: The Water Balance Approach: Learn how to schedule the amount and frequency of water for various forage and crops.
- Fertilizing Cool Season Grasses and Grass/Legume Mixtures: Learn how to apply the right amount of fertilizer based on your soil needs
- CSU Soil Testing Lab: Send your soil samples to the CSU Soil Testing lab to learn if and how much you should fertilize depending on forage type and needs.
- Larimer County Weed District: Contact the Weed District to set up a site visit, learn about pesticide application rates, purchase pesticides, and get a discount on a pesticide contractor if within the weed district boundary.
- Larimer County Weed District Contractor List
- Weed Management Guide: Learn the best management plan to remove noxious and most common weeds in Larimer County
- Estes Park Noxious Weeds: Information on how Estes park land owners can access resources and attend events to learn more about how to manage noxious weeds.
- Sprayer Calibration Calculator: Calibrate your equipment each year to have the best herbicide application rates.
- How to Read the Label: Learn how to read herbicide labels to understand the risks, disposal and storing practices, reseeding post application, and if it can be mixed with other products.
- Weed Management in Organic Cropping Systems: Learn about how to reduce weeds using various weed management suppression practices and organic herbicides.
- Organic Weed Management
- CSU Management of Noxious Weed Class: Take a discounted non-credit online class with CSU to learn more about weed management
- Kochia and Russian Thistle
- Common Mullein
- Canada Thistle
- Musk Thistle
- Cheatgrass and Wildfire
- CSU Guide to Poisonous Plants: A database of all the poisonous plants in Colorado and the symptoms that various livestock animals show when they consume the plants.
- Colorado Poisonous Plants for Horses: A pamphlet on the top toxic plants for horses and their symptoms
- A Guide to Plant Poisoning in North America Book: A in depth book to all the plants in North America that can poison livestock
- Fencing with Wildlife in Mind: Learn how to create fencing that will help move wildlife (elk, deer, snakes, turkeys, etc.) through your property instead of trapping/harming them
- Managing Prairie Dogs
- Managing Moles
- Managing Voles
- Managing Ground Squirrels
- Native Shrubs for Colorado Landscapes
- Native Trees for Colorado Landscapes
- Native Grasses
- Native Herbaceous Perennials for Colorado Landscapes
- Low-Water Native Plants for Colorado Gardens
The Small Acerage Management Newsletters are offered through Colorado Small Acreage Management.
2021
- Eating Locally, Building a Stronger Colorado
- Colorado Produce Calendar
- Leave it Messy this Fall
- Turkey Time
- Ranch to Plate Act
- Winterbourne Weeds
- Beef with a Story to It
- Wetland Ecosystem Restoration
- 10 Tips on Managing Drought Stressed Horse Pastures
- Prostrate Weeds
- Journal Entry from a Bird Conservationist
- Livestock Checkpoints Planned in Brand States
- Beetle Outbreak Impacts
- Emergency Preparedness: Make A Plan
- Protecting Plants from Wild Weather this Spring
- Introduction to N-P-K on a Compost Test
- Annual Weeds
- Learning Opportunities and Grants
- New SAM Specialist
- Keeping Dogs Safe around Livestock and Horses
- Windbreaks and Small Acreages
- USDA Expands Resources for Poultry Growers
- Winter Chicken Care 6 Gardening Predictions for 2021
- Learning and Grant Opportunities
2020
- Small Acreage Management Survey
- Grazing Behavior Depends on Species, Location
- Wildfire Wednesday Webinars
- Plant Hardiness is More than a Zone Number
- Dryland Pasture Series
- Potential Restoration of Wolves in Colorado
- SARE Fresh Growth Podcast
- Victory Garden Program with Grow and Give
- 4-H Carries On
- A Website We Love
- Best plants to create habitat
- NRCS Resources 7 Composting 101
- Holistic Land Planning Opportunity
- Picking the Right Chicks for You
- Fire Resistant Landscaping
- Custom Rates of 2019
- Can Specialty Crops and Solar Thrive Together?
- Transplanting Warm Season Vegetables
- Upcoming Webinars and Educational Opportunities
- Life in the Times of COVID-19
- Thoughts to Consider
- Septic Systems
- Educational Videos, Audio, and Other Recordings
- Equine Corona Virus is Not COVID-19
- Maintaining a Healthy Barn
- Where do Bees go in Winter?
- Soil Health
- USDA Rural Development Value Added Grant
- Which Trees to Transplant in Spring and Fall
- Bird Migration Timing
- Payson Lupine and Silvery Lupine
2019
- Nature’s Little Serial Killer, the Loggerhead Shrike
- Thinking of Reseeding a Pasture?
- Vesicular Stomatitis Confirmed in 35 Counties
- Resources for Hay Buyers and Producers
- Plant Look-a-Likes: Hemlock and Osha
- Salmonella Outbreaks Linked to Backyard Poultry
- Fall Weed Management
- Rabbit Ownership
- Canada Thistle Rust
- Rangeland Grass Recovery After Drought
- Colorado Woody Plants App
- Gardening Hacks for Extreme Colorado
- Biodiversity
- YouTube University
- Colorado Forest Legacy Program
- Microgreens Production
- A Little Bit of Snake Knowledge Goes a Long Way
- Horse Pasture and Manure Q & A
- Pasture Seeding Q & A
- Weeds With Taproots: Organic Control on Small Plots
- Feeding Wildlife During Winter Does Harm
- CSU Online Land Stewardship Short Courses
- Bark Beetle Outbreak Expanding in Colorado
- The Spreading of Weeds
- Pasture Track System
- Air Quality and Agriculture
- Lavender Production and Management
- More to the Business than Harvesting and Selling
- High Altitude Baking
- Low-Cost Seedling Trees Available for Landowners
- Online Land Stewardship Program
- New Program Supports Agricultural Intern Opportunities
- Western Colorado Food and Farm Forum
Do you have questions?
Larimer County CSU Extension can help you reach the goals for your property.
Site visit cost: $75 (cost includes visit and management plan/additional resources)
During your site visit, we can consult on:
- Grazing management
- Weed ID
- Poisonous plants
- Re-seeding
- Irrigation
- Tree care.
Contact us at 970-498-6000 or CSUExtension@larimer.org to schedule.
Email Jessica Callen to be updated about small acreage events.
Colorado State University Extension is an equal opportunity provider. Colorado State University does not discriminate on the basis of disability and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations. CSU’s Office of Engagement and Extension ensures meaningful access and equal opportunities to participate to individuals whose first language is not English. Colorado State University Extension es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades.
Colorado State University no discrimina por motivos de discapacidad y se compromete a proporcionar adaptaciones razonables. Office of Engagement and Extension de CSU garantiza acceso significativo e igualdad de oportunidades para participar a las personas quienes su primer idioma no es el inglés.
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Larimer County Colorado State University Extension
ADDRESS
1525 Blue Spruce Dr.
Fort Collins, CO 80524-2004
Phone: (970) 498-6000
7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Monday - Friday
Our office follows the Larimer County Holiday Calendar for office closures.