It is so dry here I am not getting any grass growth. I have had less than 2 inches of rein all summer at the farm. this would be the summer I planted about 25 acres of cheyenne bermuda grass. I have very little grass growth and have had to resort to feeding some hay. anyone else having to do this. last time I complained about not getting any rain I got 2 days of sprinkles. mayge the rain gods will send some my way. I got about 45 inches of rain this winter, why can't it be spread out over the summer!!!!!
anybody else having to feed hay this summer
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MY
Well-known member
We've had so much rain that the irrigation district can't get in to fix lines without sinking a tractor, so I guess we'll be feeding hay before too long the way it's looking.
sidney411
Well-known member
We were just talking about that last night, I hope it doesn't come down to that though. There's still some hay in the feeders left over from the winter and I saw the cows munching on it this weekend. If they eat it all I guess we'll have to put some out for them.
Running Arrow Bill
Well-known member
We feed and/or make hay available year-around. Have bermudagrass pasture and irrigate about 8-10 acres of it. We're running an intensive seedstock operation and have way too many cattle for just pasture grass alone. When grass is green, they eat a lot more grass (and prefer it) than hay. So far all our pastures are green, but being eaten down predictably.
Old Man
Active member
been feeding hay for a couple weeks. Had no rain in May early June. Got a couple inches of rain this week, so grass should grow again. Got 1/3 of usual hay when I baled.
jt
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no, but i am understocked about 15-20%. we got a little rain today, too. had we missed this one, i would probably not be understocked at all, if you know what i mean.. my grass had started drying up. i am a little concerned about aug since we are so dry for this time of year.
jt
jt
plbcattle":1e40ijag said:
No, but it wasn't that many years ago that we were feeding hay by the first of July. You have my sympathy. We weaned our calves early that year. It made more sense to us to feed the calves directly than to supplement the cows so they'd milk enough to raise a calf. Good luck...
plbcattle":u7ninxkf said:
No, but it wasn't that many years ago that we were feeding hay by the first of July. You have my sympathy. We weaned our calves early that year. It made more sense to us to feed the calves directly than to supplement the cows so they'd milk enough to raise a calf. Good luck...
bwranch
Well-known member
dj":9qsoez5o said:
ditto
EIEIO
Well-known member
Not putting any hay out as of yet but I do a pretty good job of rotating my cattle and still have 3 pastures they have yet to be on. A few neighbors who stock to the limit are tho'. None of them use any kind of rotational grazing. We had a cold snap just as the fescue was comming on this year and that combined with a dry spring has hurt our fescue growth. Hay cuttings this year are roughly 1/3 of normal with the exception of orchard grass which seemed to be about normal.
I was worried about hay prices but just go 30 minutes of me in about any direction and folks got some good cuttings in. Yesterday I bought another 50 bales to suppliment what I cut this year for $20 a bale delivered of good first cutting fescue.
J
I was worried about hay prices but just go 30 minutes of me in about any direction and folks got some good cuttings in. Yesterday I bought another 50 bales to suppliment what I cut this year for $20 a bale delivered of good first cutting fescue.
J
EIEIO":2ji98tll said:
We aren't getting it either. We got a dribble last week but with temps in the low 90's the grass has quit growing anyway. Still have a couple of pastures to turn the cows in but the pickens is pretty scarce. The winter wheat got hit by that late cold snap too. Beautiful heads, no seed in them. Our OGT did about 20% above normal, but we only have one small field that's mostly OG. Now the perennial rye (no leave) is starting to grow, but the cows don;t eat it with diddly.
dun
SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE
Well-known member
We have gotten a little rain in western Arkansas,but with the heat it has been a case of too little,too late.I will start feeding hay this weekend as a supplement.I have been putting out a little feed along,and keep protein tubs out which helps some.You can sure tell how much the calves pull them down.The lack of rain and the heat sure hasn't seemed to bother the weeds though. ;-) :cboy:
lancemart
Well-known member
It has been very dry here too. I am in Rhode Island, and planted a pasture in April, that one is doing fine, we planted another in May approx. May 15th and that one is being babied every day. I have been watering it daily for the past month, it finally rained last night and cooled off, it is like fall her now, it was in the 90's last week, and it is raining tonight, I just fertilized my pastures just before it rained, what luck. My cows are now eating hay. The pastures are not ready for them yet. July 1, I will open them up. They look at them daily and I know they want to break out. When they finish their last round bale I will let them graze.
PATB
Well-known member
I would be glad totrade 4 weeks of rain for 4 weeks of warm dry weather. This is the wettest year I can remember. I have 200 plus acres of hay past ready to be cut and no weather to cut it in.
Medic24
Well-known member
finally got dry enuff to put in some hay today.......in the barn that is,,,,,,not the feed rings........best not to complain about the wet i guess :cboy:
plbcattle":yhp220al said:
Mother Nature doesn't work that way. We have been in drought for the past 5-7 years. This year we got every bit of that rain in a 3 week period, with no let-up in sight! We have 100 acres of hay down and can't bale cause it's too wet. The joys of Mother Nature's capricinous (sp?)!
Vicky the vet
Well-known member
When my husband walks the back pasture, his waist gets wet from the height of the grass...and he's almost 6' tall. We've had so much rain that I've been waiting a week to pour concrete...but since I'm on incredible drainage, no puddles or mud. Of course, drought is incredibly rare here...
V
V
