Bush-hog or cut hay

[tncattle]

I've got 7 heifers on about 28 acres of nice river bottom pasture that hasn't been grazed in about 7-8 years and only cut for hay occasionally and bush-hogged regularly. I could go ahead and bush-hog it now or have someone cut it for hay. I don't need the hay but it would keep me from using my time for labor and buying a bunch of diesel to bush-hog. What would be best for my situation or more importantly my heifers? This is the first spring/summer I've had this pasture, it's mostly Fescue/clover with other grasses sporadically mixed in.

 

[Kingfisher]

The cows can't mow it down for you? Maybe I'm missing something here.....

 

[tncattle]

The cows can't mow it down for you? Maybe I'm missing something here.....

The heifers were put on the pasture 9 days ago and it already could use bush-hogging by the time they got there. If I'm right it reduces their risk for pink eye if it's cut down where the grass isn't up around their eyes. I just don't think these 7 heifers (avg. 600 lbs.) can mow it down quick enough. They are really eating well but it's more grass than they can handle.

 

[bigbull338]

ok heres what id do.id fence off 8acs with a hotwire if i could.an put the heifers there.an then id bale the rest an keep 15 or 20 rolls as winter feed.an if gets ahead of them again,id have it baled again.

 

[tncattle]

ok heres what id do.id fence off 8acs with a hotwire if i could.an put the heifers there.an then id bale the rest an keep 15 or 20 rolls as winter feed.an if gets ahead of them again,id have it baled again.

That's just it I don't need the hay as I'm going to sell the heifers by fall and not keep anything through winter. I left this out, the owner lives on the property and has a small tractor with a 6 ft. bush-hog that I can use whenever I want. I have a full time job and I know it will be fairly time consuming to cut with a 6 ft. bush-hog. I have summers off but that doesn't start until May 28 and by then the grass will be really up there. There are small little sections of some weeds that have been almost choked out so I don't want to let them get going again by not cutting soon enough. :???:

 

[agmantoo]

As a rotational grazer, I would want to keep the tops of the grass cut forcing the grass to produce foliage and less seed heads since I have fescue. Keeping ahead of what the cattle are grazing using the rotary cutter would be adequate for me as I allocate where they graze. Therefore you could spread the work out over several days. This may not be possible for you depending whether you have any partition fences or not. I do not give my excess forage away as that contains nutrients that I would later need to purchase as fertilizer for replacement and I would loose what will become more carbon layer. Keeping the grass tall but not allowing thatch to develop will hold a lot of undesirable plants suppressed as well as creating a good situation for growing replacement Fall grass. It will also give some insurance by possibly providing grazing if you have future dry weather. IMO, you will need to rotary cut the area a second time in late Summer to give the trash a one two punch.

 

[tncattle]

As a rotational grazer, I would want to keep the tops of the grass cut forcing the grass to produce foliage and less seed heads since I have fescue. Keeping ahead of what the cattle are grazing using the rotary cutter would be adequate for me as I allocate where they graze. Therefore you could spread the work out over several days. This may not be possible for you depending whether you have any partition fences or not. I do not give my excess forage away as that contains nutrients that I would later need to purchase as fertilizer for replacement and I would loose what will become more carbon layer. Keeping the grass tall but not allowing thatch to develop will hold a lot of undesirable plants suppressed as well as creating a good situation for growing replacement Fall grass. It will also give some insurance by possibly providing grazing if you have future dry weather. IMO, you will need to rotary cut the area a second time in late Summer to give the trash a one two punch.

So are you saying bush-hog now and late summer also?

 

[agmantoo]

Yes, I would if I wanted to control weeds and I planned on using the pasture in the future. Folks here think I am against spraying but I am not. I have learned over the while how to control weeds and to maximize forage with minimal inputs thus controlling my expenses. I am not in the cattle/calve business for a hobby. My intent is to maximize my profit and I have very little influence on anything other than what occurs on my farm. I do occasionally foul up but my batting average is rather high if I must say so. I have assisted others numerous times and most of them succeed from the feedback I receive. Good luck.

 

[novatech]

Yes, I would if I wanted to control weeds and I planned on using the pasture in the future. Folks here think I am against spraying but I am not. I have learned over the while how to control weeds and to maximize forage with minimal inputs thus controlling my expenses. I am not in the cattle/calve business for a hobby. My intent is to maximize my profit and I have very little influence on anything other than what occurs on my farm. I do occasionally foul up but my batting average is rather high if I must say so. I have assisted others numerous times and most of them succeed from the feedback I receive. Good luck.

So what you are saying is that it is cheaper to mow repeatedly rather than spray once? I have found that spraying thick stands of weeds is the most beneficial. Mowing weeds keeping new growth coming on grass and weeds is beneficial as the cows will eat a lot of the new growth on the weeds as well. There are also weeds that are highly invasive that absolutely need to be sprayed, at least initially in order to give the grass a chance to start. IMO
You may be entirely correct on your recommendation for this particular pasture but it also depends on what the weeds are and how thick they are. Some weeds are stimulated to produce more seed by mowing. Just like grass, when some weeds are topped it stimulate more growth shading out any potential for grass seed germination.
Again I commend you on your accomplishments but one shoe doesn't fit all. I can positively assure you that I have some species of weeds and brush that will not be controlled by any form of grazing or mowing. Over all, I do agree with you system. It just doesn't work in every situation/location.

 

[agmantoo]

novatech
Rotational grazing and mechanical ridding of weeds is far more effective than spraying for me. I have yet to find a plant that can repeatedly tolerate a close shearing of the upper forage, either mechanically or by grazing and having to regenerate from the root reserves remain vigorous. My farm at one time was overrun by redroot pigweed. Today I doubt that I can find one without spending time searching. My neighbors still have the pigweed problem. The same goes for a plant called bitterweed. It has been my experience from growing crops such as wheat and soybeans in the past as to what happens when weeds are removed via herbicides. The crop survives and the weeds typically do die or are burned back. What does go unnoticed is what the impact is on the crops from the stress of the herbicides. Spraying pastures will do the same on them as field crops except to a greater extent. The herbicides that are sprayed on pasture may remove the weeds for now but at the expense of sacrificing many of the beneficial plants and stressing others. My method does require work and yes there is some expense, mostly for fuel. Fuel expense is still cheaper than fuel and herbicides combined. Much of my fuel expense is offset by the increased amount of forage and varied beneficial plants that allowed to grow. It is not cheap to kill off the legumes thus creating a need to buy nitrogen. Remember, I do not buy commercial fertilizer. The whole "picture" needs to be observed and recognized. Once the pastures are under good management the frequency of brush hogging diminishes but I do continue to clip the pastures as a management tool to encourage forage growth and to return ungrazed forage back to the earth to avoid thatch buildup and as a soil amendment. Rather than accept my word on this, why not take a few acres and apply the practice for as long as 3 years and observe the results?
.

 

[Douglas]

I would mow it now to keep the forage as nutritious as possible. Mow half of the pasture again in late August and remove cows and stockpile for winter feed. You seem to have enough grass that with only 7 heifers you should not need but a few bales of hay provided there is enough fescue in your grass mix. if in the mean time you have a lot of weed then spray this summer also. If you can subdivide your pasture you may not have to mow it all as you can concentrate the cows in a section that they can keep cleaned up.

 

[Brute 23]

Mow some dove weed over and over and see what you get.

 

[hillbillycwo]

Had basically the same situation last year. Bought a farm that had not been grazed in 15 years the bottom land is loamy soil with thick fescue...I grazed it and here it is the second year. I fertillized it with 126#/Acre urea, no rain and guess what little grass in those thick fescue bottoms. Cut the hay. Store it inside you will need it I think eventually and if not sell it. Just my humble opinion.

 

[agmantoo]

Brute 23
Doveweed grows here in zone 7 but I have never observed it to be a problem in my pastures. Recently I have become aware of some problem plants that seem limited to Texas but this is not one of them. Since Doveweed is later getting starting than most grasses here I do not understand why your main forage crops do not smother or suppress Doveweed. From my experience, even if I wanted to, I would not be mowing low enough with a rotary cutter (bush hog) to be cutting the bulk of the Doveweed plant since it grows so low. Normally I take my cattle off the paddocks when the forage is nearing 3 to 4 inches. Can you share some pics of your pastures so I can better appreciate what you are combating? Here is what I do to hold undesirable plants in check.

 

[PickensCowboy]

Here is what my father taught me. If you put a tractor in it hay it, fall of the yr is for bush hog