A few tips for keeping your lawn shipshape in April

The first sign of spring-like weather in Minnesota fools most of us into thinking it's time to start taking care of yard work. What should we be doing to our lawns during the first 2-3 weeks of April? Here are some tips for you to consider early in the month:

Should I rake or not rake? It's best to avoid raking, as well as lots of traffic or play on the lawn, until the soil has had a chance to dry. Once the soil has firmed up, lightly rake the lawn surface with a leaf rake. It's not an essential spring chore, but it does remove over-wintering debris. This can help the soil warm up a little faster, encouraging lawn grasses to begin active growth a little earlier. Most of the organic material removed from the lawn can easily be composted.

Once the soil has firmed up, raking or using a stiff broom should remove sand that has been deposited along curb lines or driveways. This will keep the grass plants from being smothered by sand. If sand is raked back into the street, be sure to sweep it up to keep it from being carried off to storm sewers, and ultimately into our lakes and rivers.

Early spring lawn repair: Early spring is a good time for lawn overseeding, to repair winter damage caused by de-icing salt or snow plows. This can be done shortly after the frost is out of the ground and the soil has had a chance to dry and become firm under foot.

The process of overseeding is pretty simple. First, scratch up the soil surface, sprinkle on some seed and lightly rake that into the loose surface soil. Then tamp the area lightly to ensure good seed-to-soil contact.

Keep the newly seeded area just damp for the next several weeks. If kept too wet, seeds will rot and not germinate. Likewise, allowing the new seedlings to get too dry will result in death of the young grass plants. Given good growing conditions, grass seed should begin emerging in about two to our weeks.

Don't mow... just yet: Early April is a good time to take care of those annual lawn mower maintenance chores. For a power mower, these typically include changing motor oil and spark plugs, cleaning air filters, lubricating the wheels and other moving parts, and last but not least, sharpening the blade. For manual push mowers, sharpening the blades and lubricating the wheels is usually all that is needed.

Always check your owner's manual for specific maintenance requirements needed before the first mowing in the spring and throughout the year.

For more information please contact: Will Yliniemi, Hubbard/Becker Extension at (218) 732-3391, (218) 846-2378, or by cell at 1-218-252-1042 or by e-mail at ylini003@umn.edu .

(The source for this article is Bob Mugaas, Horticulture Educator with University of Minnesota Extension.)

Pasture Rental Rates

Cattle will soon go on pasture and many of those pasture acres are rented or leased. Pasture rent is often done with a handshake, and thereby both parties are leaving themselves open to misunderstanding the terms of the agreement, which will almost always lead to conflict. That is why it is important to have a full discussion about responsibilities and provisions of a pasture rent or lease agreement.

Pasture rental rates should be determined and agreed on by both parties before any animals are placed on pasture. The best situation is to have the agreement in writing signed by both parties.

Rental rates will vary depending upon the method and factors used in calculating a rental rate. There is not one correct answer.

The method used may depend upon the quality of pasture available, time of year the pasture is rented and the type of livestock that will be grazing in the pasture.

Rental rate calculations are guidelines -- that is, they provide a place to start a discussion between parties. They may or may not provide the final, agreed upon rental price.

If there is high demand for rental pasture, rental price could go higher than a calculated value. Conversely, if demand is low, the rental price could be lower than a calculated value.

Get the agreement down on paper and sign it! There are several good publications available that provide information and guidelines relating to establishing pasture rental rates.

Iowa State University Extension has a publication entitled "Computing a Pasture Rental Rate" by Don Hofstrand and William Edwards.

It can be found online at: www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/pdf/c2-23.pdf .

There is also an Extension publication from the North Central Region, publication 149, entitled "Pasture Rental Arrangements for Your Farm" available for order through Midwest Plan Service ($4) at 800-562-3618 or on line at: www.mwpshq.org .

I also have written a fact sheet on using the Animal Unit Per Month method of calculating pasture rent. You can call the Hubbard or Becker County Extension Offices to get that fact sheet.

For more information please contact: Will Yliniemi, Hubbard/Becker Extension at (218) 732-3391, (218) 846-2378, or by cell at 1-218-252-1042 or by e-mail at ylini003@umn.edu .