Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


beef cattle, or other livestock must be accomplished by the
establishment of improved permanent pastures. Fertilized im-
proved pastures furnish more and better quality feed than un-
fertilized pastures.

 ESTABLISHING PERMANENT PASTURES
 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
 Pastures may be established on most soils in Florida, but the
expense involved in planting and the returns should be con-
sidered beforehand. It is best to plan wisely before planting
pasture grasses and legumes, since much of the range land in
Florida is not suited to improved pastures for the following
reasons: (1) Expense involved for clearing stumps and other
obstructions which prohibit the use of mechanical equipment;
(2) soils too drought or too wet to support good growth of
improved pasture plants; and (3) lumber, turpentine and pulp-
wood value of trees present. The best soils produce the most
productive pastures and it is wise to establish pastures on the
best soils available.
 The primary factors to be considered when establishing per-
manent pastures include water control, fencing, destruction of
objectionable vegetation, planting adapted pasture plants, fertil-
ization, seedbed preparation and planting technique.

 WATER CONTROL AND FENCING
 All pastures should provide shade and a continuous fresh
water supply. Natural sources of water, such as streams and
lakes, are generally available if the pastures are planned care-
fully.
 It is generally desirable to provide for several fenced pastures
 to control grazing and breeding and to maintain best production.
 All fence lines could be seeded to improved grasses for fire pro-
 tection (Fig. 5).
 It is not necessary to construct expensive fences. Three- to
 4-strand heavy duty barbed wire fences are satisfactory for
 controlling cattle. In areas where hogs range freely and dam-
 age pastures by rooting it is advisable to use a hog-proof fence
 to exclude them. When available, cured heart pine, cypress
 or live oak posts are very suitable. Sap pine posts last 1 to 2
 years, while sap cypress may last 4 to 8 years. Sap pine or
 cypress posts properly impregnated with creosote will last 15
 to 30 years. Zinc chloride is also a satisfactory preservative