2.5 cows per acre

[Warren Allison]

OK, I'm laughing, but that is only because I know exactly what you are saying. Here in SE Ohio, 2.5 acres are required per AU (Animal Unit), which is 1,000 lbs of live animal and a typical cow here averages 1,200 - 1,250 lbs, so a single cow = about 1.2 to 1.25 AUs, on average. So about 3 acres, on average, per average cow. Forage production per acre has considerable variation across Ohio but I don't ever recall seeing a soil type that can support more than 1 cow to 1.6 acres on a sustainable basis. I've also seen the other extreme where it takes 5 acres to support a single cow. Grazing carrying capacity (sustainable) varies greatly from state to state across the whole county. I don't recall the carrying capacity of pasture in Georgia, but I know it is considerably better than here in Ohio. Is it 1 - 1.5 cows per acre, with good, proper pasture management?

Conversely, has anyone ever heard the term "A 10-80 cow?" Its an illustration used to describe the type of cow and how it had to graze in the SW US. 10-80 is shorthand for a cow that has a mouth 10 feet wide and has to travel at 80 miles per hour eating in order for it to gain weight and be profitable.

 

[Warren Allison]

The northern half to 2/3rds. a pair to the acre is possible on fertilized and weed free pasture. South Ga, once you leave the red clay area and get into the sandy area, not so much. Kinda depends on the rain. here, you could run 10 cows on 10 acres, Down there, maybe that...maybe half that.. maybe 2. What you could do, though., is plant 8 acres in bermuda, irrigate it, and put up a 2 acre lot. You could raise enough good hay to feed 25 year round inn that lot, free choice.

 

[Ebenezer]

Netherlands is home to world wide seed companies. One that I am most familiar with has 100s of acres of both research and production greenhouses. They are not the only company doing that. So, as in the US, guess where the political financial power might be? The old political axiom: follow the money.

The Netherlands has had manure issues for decades. It is finally getting full exposure. I'm sure that it has increased the concerns of ground water. It is different than here in the US. I also wrote 1000s of waste management plans for every species of animals raised in SC for food. The controls used for land application were strongly 2 items: soil tests and a "tool" called a phosphorus index (P index). There were several problems with those standards. #1 - nobody knew where the base data came from to label nutrients on a soil test as inadequate, adequate, excessive or very excessive. It just "was". Secondly, a standard soil test tell you someone's professional estimate of the nutrients that a stated crop will need for ANNUAL production. It is not a tool to tell the needs for multi-year crop production or the banking of nutrients in the soil for future use. Likely, the P index has been replaced now but it was derived from a guy in an office taking a WAG on the needs of buffers, runoff CNs and such. What I did was required by law but I never believed that it was beneficial as some toted.

The Netherlands: they would be smart to dry and ship manure to other countries needing fertilizer.

 

[Otha]

The northern half to 2/3rds. a pair to the acre is possible on fertilized and weed free pasture. South Ga, once you leave the red clay area and get into the sandy area, not so much. Kinda depends on the rain. here, you could run 10 cows on 10 acres, Down there, maybe that...maybe half that.. maybe 2. What you could do, though., is plant 8 acres in bermuda, irrigate it, and put up a 2 acre lot. You could raise enough good hay to feed 25 year round inn that lot, free choice.

How many tons per acre per year can you get off of a irrigated bermuda field in Georgia? Curios how it compares to central Texas.

 

[Warren Allison]

How many tons per acre per year can you get off of a irrigated bermuda field in Georgia? Curios how it compares to central Texas.

Gosh .I have no idea, Otha. We don't irrigate here in north Ga like they do in south Ga. And it would depend on how they fertilize and lime, too. My main horse-quality field I fertilize and lime to specs after each cutting. I keep it as weed free as I xan. I easily get 4 cuttings a year, and often 5 if the timing of the rains hots right. How many tons I get would be a guess. I square bale it, 70-80 lb bales. This last cutting there were no gaps between the bales as they came out, This field is about 8 acres. I got right at 1000 bales this time, so that is about 70,000 lbs, so about 35 tons? That is a good question, though. There are some people I know around Macon that irrigates bermuda, and I will ask them how they do with it. They have 40 acres and they too raise it just to sell for horses, in square bales.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Gosh .I have no idea, Otha. We don't irrigate here in north Ga like they do in south Ga. And it would depend on how they fertilize and lime, too. My main horse-quality field I fertilize and lime to specs after each cutting. I keep it as weed free as I xan. I easily get 4 cuttings a year, and often 5 if the timing of the rains hots right. How many tons I get would be a guess. I square bale it, 70-80 lb bales. This last cutting there were no gaps between the bales as they came out, This field is about 8 acres. I got right at 1000 bales this time, so that is about 70,000 lbs, so about 35 tons? That is a good question, though. There are some people I know around Macon that irrigates bermuda, and I will ask them how they do with it. They have 40 acres and they too raise it just to sell for horses, in square bales.

I'm clueless as well and have little/no knowledge of the area. I will say this though. "Depends" is an appropriate response. Lots of factors go into it. What the soil is, lime and fertilization, amount of moisture, what the temperature has been, time of year, age/health of the grass stand itself.

 

[Warren Allison]

I'm clueless as well and have little/no knowledge of the area. I will say this though. "Depends" is an appropriate response. Lots of factors go into it. What the soil is, lime and fertilization, amount of moisture, what the temperature has been, time of year, age/health of the grass stand itself.

Yep. II have neighbors on both sides of me that have bermuda, and they get 2 cuttings a year, They don't fertilize and control weeds like I do. I cut the field on a Monday, sent soild samples in that same day, and Friday morning I had my results in an email. I fertilized the field again by those specs Friday afternoon. I am guessing that in an area where you could irrigate, and if you fertilized etc like I do, the yield would be even more.

 

[crossbreed]

Gosh .I have no idea, Otha. We don't irrigate here in north Ga like they do in south Ga. And it would depend on how they fertilize and lime, too. My main horse-quality field I fertilize and lime to specs after each cutting. I keep it as weed free as I xan. I easily get 4 cuttings a year, and often 5 if the timing of the rains hots right. How many tons I get would be a guess. I square bale it, 70-80 lb bales. This last cutting there were no gaps between the bales as they came out, This field is about 8 acres. I got right at 1000 bales this time, so that is about 70,000 lbs, so about 35 tons? That is a good question, though. There are some people I know around Macon that irrigates bermuda, and I will ask them how they do with it. They have 40 acres and they too raise it just to sell for horses, in square bales.

That's amazing! I've been considering moving some good cropland to grass . What kind of Bermuda do you have?