Baling pastures?

[Hogfarmer10]

Just out of curiosity. I've got some pastures that typically I just bushhog but this year they've really got a lot of good clean grass, mostly orchard grass and fescue, with some clover in it too. Just wondering if I should bale it up, at least the best spots. I just don't know how I feel about the fact that I'm going to get some manure in it. It'll definitely be fed to this particular herd of cattle

 

[chaded]

Are you going to feed the hay where it was baled or fertilize where you took the hay?

 

[kenny thomas]

Go for it. It will get some extra hay plus clean up the fescue tops. Mow a little higher maybe to avoid some of the manure.

 

[1982vett]

I do it all the time. Baled one patch this year I never closed them out of. They didn't particularly go into that patch much, tis the reason I baled it.

 

[coachg]

Have done it a few times . For some strange reason they didn't eat it as well as our other hay . Our cows can be a little picky some times.

 

[Hogfarmer10]

That was what I was thinking. I'll probably unroll it so they can pick and sort through it a little more. I sure don't expect them to clean it up but I would like them to eat majority of it. Yes it will be fed the same fields it was baled in.

 

[alacowman1]

Just out of curiosity. I've got some pastures that typically I just bushhog but this year they've really got a lot of good clean grass, mostly orchard grass and fescue, with some clover in it too. Just wondering if I should bale it up, at least the best spots. I just don't know how I feel about the fact that I'm going to get some manure in it. It'll definitely be fed to this particular herd of cattle

If it's like here your probably gonna need it..youll get very little manure in it anyway..

 

[kenny thomas]

Have done it a few times . For some strange reason they didn't eat it as well as our other hay . Our cows can be a little picky some times.

What we have rolled in the past was after everything else was done and the pastures were very over ripe. Plus of course the cows had eaten the very best of it.

 

[coachg]

Not the case here , but it was the last we cut and probably a little mature but still had most of the seeds on the fescue tops .

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We bale pastures all the time. All pastures are rotatonal grazed. But, grass is growing much faster than we can get grazed, so we will bale a few of the fields. Generally do not RAKE them.

 

[SPH]

Go for it. We bale part of one of our summer pastures that we turn out last on that basically has the same thing growing as yours does. Don't worry about the manure, if you think about it cows crap where they eat hay anyways and doesn't bother them. By the time you mow, rake and bale even if you kick up a few dried turds they'll probably break up in to enough small pieces they won't even make it into the bales.

In our first cutting of hay we bale up about half of a pasture that we break up with some electric fence and start to rotate into the uncut portions in mid to late July then start opening up sections as needed the rest of the summer so by the time we get to the portions we baled there is some nice clean re-growth to graze. If we don't bale it then it gets really over grown and the taller and less desirable grasses can't really irritate eyes some too, especially the calves that have to walk through it. Never hurts to have some extra hay on hand either and we've had a couple dry summers here now that we don't mind having a few more bales in reserve in case we run out of pasture earlier than usual. Worst case usually can sell it too.

 

[pleasantpasturesbeef]

Just out of curiosity. I've got some pastures that typically I just bushhog but this year they've really got a lot of good clean grass, mostly orchard grass and fescue, with some clover in it too. Just wondering if I should bale it up, at least the best spots. I just don't know how I feel about the fact that I'm going to get some manure in it. It'll definitely be fed to this particular herd of cattle

I actually had the same question! We finally got the back 10 acres of our property brush hogged just 2 days ago, after not having been mowed in 7 years, and I'm planning to get someone out there to put up electric fence for me, so I can finally have my cows at my place! There's plenty of grass right now since the weeds hadn't had enough time to fully grow up and go to seed yet, so I hope they will do well on it. But it will probably take awhile until it is as nice as where they are now. Right now I have 4 cows on about 3 acres, and they can't keep up with it. So while I do hope to get more cows, I was thinking, I may as well hay some of my pastures, so that I can feed my cows from my pasture even when there's a foot of snow on the ground. But will I need to wait a little while before the field is hay worthy?

Here are some pics of what it looks like now...looking back toward the field.

 

[pleasantpasturesbeef]

And then from on top of the hill, looking back past the hill down toward the woods. Also on top of the hill looking back toward the house.

 

[Ferd]

I don't understand the question. You have grass and wonder if you should bale it? Of course you should bale it. That's like saying that you have a corn field and asking if it should be harvested.

To pleasant pasture beef, looks great, string some fence and put some cattle out there.

 

[coachg]

Could stockpile it for winter .

 

[Hogfarmer10]

The biggest concern was getting manure in the hay. I know back when we milked, there was a big fuss about spreading Johne's disease by using the same loader bucket to pile/load manure and then using the same bucket to handle livestock feed. Wasn't sure if it applied to getting manure in hay, even though it'll probably be this fall before the hay is fed. That was the reason for my question. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions

 

[1982vett]

The biggest concern was getting manure in the hay. I know back when we milked, there was a big fuss about spreading Johne's disease by using the same loader bucket to pile/load manure and then using the same bucket to handle livestock feed. Wasn't sure if it applied to getting manure in hay, even though it'll probably be this fall before the hay is fed. That was the reason for my question. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions

Well then, retract what I had to say ("do it all the time") and put it in the "that's not a good idea here" file, as Johne's isn't a big issue here.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

If you are still dealing with Johnes, you do not want to bale up manure. But, if you do not have a problem, and it is YOUR cows that had grazed it, you should be fine. My hay crew does not rake the hay in pastures, so they don't pick up the manure as much.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Are you going to feed the hay where it was baled or fertilize where you took the hay?

Excellent point. Removal of the hay from the field will result in the loss of the nutrients removed within the hay from the cycle of recycling nutrients within the field.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Just out of curiosity. I've got some pastures that typically I just bushhog but this year they've really got a lot of good clean grass, mostly orchard grass and fescue, with some clover in it too. Just wondering if I should bale it up, at least the best spots. I just don't know how I feel about the fact that I'm going to get some manure in it. It'll definitely be fed to this particular herd of cattle

Baled mine for years.
Can never have too much hay.
I can satisfy a cows nutritional needs on three pounds a day, now I need 27 pounds to fill her up.