Small Acreage Management (Extension)

A fence runs along a field in rural Larimer County 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.

Grazing

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

Reseeding

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.

Hay

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

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.

Irrigation and Fertilization

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.

Weed Management

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

Poisonous Plants

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