Brush hogging dead grass?

[OkieBrangus]

Currently have 80 acres that we use to bale off of. We decided not to do our last 2014 cutting and just turn the cows out to graze. My question is.. Should we mow the grass that is remaining so that new grass will start growing this spring? The cows haven't eaten the grass like expected and I am afraid that the standing dead grass will hinder the new growth. Thanks for your time.

 

[skyhightree1]

I personally clip pastures and hay fields if I have time.

 

[M5farm]

Burn It, Quicker, easier

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Burn It, Quicker, easier

Particularly if you can catch it on a windy day. I've got some great burn stories I could tell.

 

[OkieBrangus]

I have thought about burning it but one side of the pasture butts up to some houses. Not sure how they would feel about that!

 

[bigbull338]

just leave it and bale around the 1st of may to clean it up.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I have thought about burning it but one side of the pasture butts up to some houses. Not sure how they would feel about that!

They wouldn't like it at all. Don't ask me how I found that out.

 

[Kingfisher]

I have thought about burning it but one side of the pasture butts up to some houses. Not sure how they would feel about that!

The wind only blows one way there?

 

[dun]

just leave it and bale around the 1st of may to clean it up.

That's basicly what we do if the cows haven;t spent enough time in the hay fields to eat them down.
If you brushhog it you'll end up with a lot of heavy matted grass that will slow down the spring growth a lot.

 

[AllForage]

I think I would consult other "Okies" near you. Grazing advice from coast to coast just does not mean squat.

 

[M5farm]

I have thought about burning it but one side of the pasture butts up to some houses. Not sure how they would feel about that!

Do they own the pasture??? I would catch the wind right if I could but smoke only gonna last 30 min or so . The folks that burn pine s around here don't ask me if they can burn. And I ain't gonna ask permission either if I own it .

 

[bulldurham]

Currently have 80 acres that we use to bale off of. We decided not to do our last 2014 cutting and just turn the cows out to graze. My question is.. Should we mow the grass that is remaining so that new grass will start growing this spring? The cows haven't eaten the grass like expected and I am afraid that the standing dead grass will hinder the new growth. Thanks for your time.

Best thing you can do w/ a brushhog is to sell it. They haven't eaten the grass likely because they have access to something more palatable.

Lock them in there w/ a high energy/protein supplement and they will eat it. Makes me quiver to see people squandering their resources (mowing) that their cattle could absolutely utilize.

 

[Brute 23]

Good advice above but yes... shred it if there is any thing left before spring. ;-)

 

[bulldurham]

Good advice above but yes..BUY MORE COWS if there is any thing left before spring. ;-)

 

[TexasBred]

Currently have 80 acres that we use to bale off of. We decided not to do our last 2014 cutting and just turn the cows out to graze. My question is.. Should we mow the grass that is remaining so that new grass will start growing this spring? The cows haven't eaten the grass like expected and I am afraid that the standing dead grass will hinder the new growth. Thanks for your time.

Best thing you can do w/ a brushhog is to sell it. They haven't eaten the grass likely because they have access to something more palatable.

Lock them in there w/ a high energy/protein supplement and they will eat it. Makes me quiver to see people squandering their resources (mowing) that their cattle could absolutely utilize.

It will make a turd. Don't expect much else other than a high supplement bill.

 

[toughntender]

Question- Are the cows still in the pasture or have you moved them already? Are you already feeding them in this pasture?

One radical idea I would try is too use poly wire and confine them to a much smaller area, thereby increasing your stock density. If the terrain and water access allows, this will be the much cheaper way to go. Make the cows do the work. Next spring you'll probably see some neat things start to happen. More grass will grow where the cows were confined and spread all their dung and manure. They'll also trample all of the old dead grass, and put it in contact with the soil where it can do some good. It will act like mulch and help save water. It will also feed the earth worms and soil microbes so you can grow more grass in the future. It makes no sense to mow it, where it will shade out any new seedlings. It makes even less sense to burn it and turn all that organic matter into smoke to blow away. Not to mention the huge liability it is to start a fire with houses so close.

 

[M5farm]

Question- Are the cows still in the pasture or have you moved them already? Are you already feeding them in this pasture?

One radical idea I would try is too use poly wire and confine them to a much smaller area, thereby increasing your stock density. If the terrain and water access allows, this will be the much cheaper way to go. Make the cows do the work. Next spring you'll probably see some neat things start to happen. More grass will grow where the cows were confined and spread all their dung and manure. They'll also trample all of the old dead grass, and put it in contact with the soil where it can do some good. It will act like mulch and help save water. It will also feed the earth worms and soil microbes so you can grow more grass in the future. It makes no sense to mow it, where it will shade out any new seedlings. It makes even less sense to burn it and turn all that organic matter into smoke to blow away. Not to mention the huge liability it is to start a fire with houses so close.

You might want to do a little research on prescribed burning and benefits it produces for native grass lands before you make a blanket statement that it all blows away.

 

[toughntender]

M5 you are absolutely right about the benefits of "prescribed" burning. The operative word there is "prescribed." As in part of a greater plan. Fire used every so often to control brush or other invasive species is great and often necessary. However when its used to often it does more harm than good. Too many guys use it far to often as a crutch to overcome some other problem. Say you were to burn a piece of property once every 5 or 10 years, just to control brush. You will have at least four years to build up organic matter. Remember fire sterilizes the soil too, not just gets rid of the dead grass. My ultimate point is that there are other ways to deal with this problem.

 

[Supa Dexta]

One thing Im seeing here from yearly bush hogging - on fields that aren't being used, but that the owners want to keep them mowed - is the sod builds up really thick after several years, and acts like a sponge. Wet areas appear and spread. And turn once farmable fields into a mess.

I've since taken over several of these places, after talking to old timers who knew they farmed the entire fields in the past, without wet holes and sure enough after a couple years of ploughing and getting the sod busted up, they are back to a usable field.

 

[bulldurham]

Someone needs to be planning cover crops and running cattle on those fields 'that aren't being used.'