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<blockquote data-quote="farmerjan" data-source="post: 1402578" data-attributes="member: 25884"><p>I can see both sides. But 5S is right, cattle are comparatively cheap and hay is very cheap here at this time. Any hay brought onto the farm is like adding minute amounts of fertilizer from somewhere else. IF you have good perimeter fences, I think I would add some cattle now and buy some hay. Feed hay on the poorest spots to get some additional manure/organic matter there. Rotational graze the pastures, utilizing the cattle to maybe overgraze some of the "crappier" areas, then you can go through and clean it up a bit and try to improve it. Broadcast seed on some and let the cattle tromp it in a bit also. Don't know how accessible the 95 acres are for you to work on it; or what kinds of grass/weeds/brush you have growing.</p><p> </p><p>If there is a good hayfield, I would maybe cut a first cutting early, and then see how it comes back. If there are alot of weeds then you need to think about renovating it; or make it all grazing land and buy your hay. If you don't have the hay equipment, and can find someone close with good hay, you will be money ahead to just buy the hay for the time being. Equipment is not cheap, especially when you factor it out over the amount of ground you will be usuing it all on; and there is the time factor in making the hay.</p><p></p><p>With the cattle market being down and probably staying that way for the next couple of years anyway, if you can buy some cattle right, then you will get the benefit of their manure on the fields, they will hopefully help to clean up fields that are overgrown with brush & "junk", and even with feeding some hay, you ought to get back a small return on your investment. And any type of cattle will work, from bred cows, to cow/calf pairs, to feeders. You could buy some bulls, steer them, and graze them for the season and get rid of them when the weather gets cold and not have to feed so much through the winter. There are all sorts of ways to go, but only you know what you have in the way of grass/weeds and what you want to try to accomplish/ and how fast you want to do it and what you have to spend on the project at this time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 1402578, member: 25884"] I can see both sides. But 5S is right, cattle are comparatively cheap and hay is very cheap here at this time. Any hay brought onto the farm is like adding minute amounts of fertilizer from somewhere else. IF you have good perimeter fences, I think I would add some cattle now and buy some hay. Feed hay on the poorest spots to get some additional manure/organic matter there. Rotational graze the pastures, utilizing the cattle to maybe overgraze some of the "crappier" areas, then you can go through and clean it up a bit and try to improve it. Broadcast seed on some and let the cattle tromp it in a bit also. Don't know how accessible the 95 acres are for you to work on it; or what kinds of grass/weeds/brush you have growing. If there is a good hayfield, I would maybe cut a first cutting early, and then see how it comes back. If there are alot of weeds then you need to think about renovating it; or make it all grazing land and buy your hay. If you don't have the hay equipment, and can find someone close with good hay, you will be money ahead to just buy the hay for the time being. Equipment is not cheap, especially when you factor it out over the amount of ground you will be usuing it all on; and there is the time factor in making the hay. With the cattle market being down and probably staying that way for the next couple of years anyway, if you can buy some cattle right, then you will get the benefit of their manure on the fields, they will hopefully help to clean up fields that are overgrown with brush & "junk", and even with feeding some hay, you ought to get back a small return on your investment. And any type of cattle will work, from bred cows, to cow/calf pairs, to feeders. You could buy some bulls, steer them, and graze them for the season and get rid of them when the weather gets cold and not have to feed so much through the winter. There are all sorts of ways to go, but only you know what you have in the way of grass/weeds and what you want to try to accomplish/ and how fast you want to do it and what you have to spend on the project at this time. [/QUOTE]
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