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Cattle Boards
Grasses, Pastures & Hay
A ? for you guys in the southern states
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<blockquote data-quote="Jogeephus" data-source="post: 628512" data-attributes="member: 4362"><p>This is probably a regional issue and where the board is a good source for ideas even though what I do may not be right for you and vice versa. I agree with you about typical hay and I agree with you about the ryegrass. It is wonderful stuff. Other things like rye wheat and oats are excellent forages too. While I'm not saying I don't plant them for their benefits I will say I can't count on them. A good friend of mine is in a terrible bind this year. He is a master of perenial forage production but something happened this year and he doesn't have squat in terms of grazing and this is the backbone of his operation. What he normally does is to put the cows on a rye field for 28 days and rotates them through the winter. This year he is only getting 10 days of grazing and is now having to supplement them and buy hay. The money he spent on the forages could have bought a lot of hay. Now he is having to spend money on both.</p><p></p><p>I've had bad luck with winter grazing several times. Just can't really make it work consistantly. For instance, if I spent $120/acre on winter grazing this year, I would be lucky to get 50 days of continuous grazing off it. (Did I mention this year was aweful?) Anyhow, the same expense would net me 3.2 tons of feed quality hay 12%-14%. At a consumption rate of 40 lbs/day this provides a 160 days of feed for a cow at a cost of $0.75/day. This compared to a cost of $2.40/day on rye - based on 50 days.</p><p></p><p>What I try to do is to plan for the worst and build up my hay supplies. Then I hope for the best and plant a percentage of the land in winter grazing. Of course I'm still experimenting with all sorts of things cause I surely don't know the right answer and I'm afraid if I did; I'd lose interest in cattle and start raising goats or something else. :lol2:</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jogeephus, post: 628512, member: 4362"] This is probably a regional issue and where the board is a good source for ideas even though what I do may not be right for you and vice versa. I agree with you about typical hay and I agree with you about the ryegrass. It is wonderful stuff. Other things like rye wheat and oats are excellent forages too. While I'm not saying I don't plant them for their benefits I will say I can't count on them. A good friend of mine is in a terrible bind this year. He is a master of perenial forage production but something happened this year and he doesn't have squat in terms of grazing and this is the backbone of his operation. What he normally does is to put the cows on a rye field for 28 days and rotates them through the winter. This year he is only getting 10 days of grazing and is now having to supplement them and buy hay. The money he spent on the forages could have bought a lot of hay. Now he is having to spend money on both. I've had bad luck with winter grazing several times. Just can't really make it work consistantly. For instance, if I spent $120/acre on winter grazing this year, I would be lucky to get 50 days of continuous grazing off it. (Did I mention this year was aweful?) Anyhow, the same expense would net me 3.2 tons of feed quality hay 12%-14%. At a consumption rate of 40 lbs/day this provides a 160 days of feed for a cow at a cost of $0.75/day. This compared to a cost of $2.40/day on rye - based on 50 days. What I try to do is to plan for the worst and build up my hay supplies. Then I hope for the best and plant a percentage of the land in winter grazing. Of course I'm still experimenting with all sorts of things cause I surely don't know the right answer and I'm afraid if I did; I'd lose interest in cattle and start raising goats or something else. :lol2: [/QUOTE]
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A ? for you guys in the southern states
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