clipped pastures & pictures from today

[SRBeef]

I have been traveling for about a week and a half. My cattle finished the paddock they were on and a couple bales of hay also. When they saw me, a bunch of them started bellowing the afternoon bellow that means "we want fresh grass".

There is a rotational grazing thread below that talks about clipping pastures, etc.

I moved my cattle to a paddock that they last grazed on June 7th and I clipped it that same day after they left. The paddock had a heavy infestation of thistle in some areas before I mowed it. This paddock has had about 36 days rest, and been blessed with some rain I must add.

Here are a couple pictures of them going to this fresh paddock. Note very few weeds visible now. I'm sure the weeds are there under the grass and will get mowed after the cattle have cleaned this couple acres up.

Moving to fresh grass:

Here's what clipping can do.

Looking in the other direction.

I am going to post a couple more cattle photos from today on the breeds board if anyone is interested.

We have been lucky with the rains so far this year. Got very dry in July & Aug last year. Scurried for hay. Hope you that are short rain get some soon. Jim

 

[dun]

There is a pitfall to clipping pastures. I clipped our pastures in June as I alwasy do to elimnate the majority of the seed heads since they had started shedding. I clip right at the top of the grass blades. We hit almost a month with no rain, grass stopped growing. We now have a number of ilcered eyes from them poking them on the staubs they had to reach into to get the grass. No pinkeye per se, just scratched eyes that while not infected are looking pretty awful. Treated them as you would for pink eye and it made no difference. Once the eye gets badly scratched it gonna take a couple of weeks for them to go through the healing process which encludes bubbles and white eyes. Probably should have fed hay during the non-growing time or turned them into the WSG (which they just barely eat)

 

[SRBeef]

There is a pitfall to clipping pastures. I clipped our pastures in June as I alwasy do to elimnate the majority of the seed heads since they had started shedding. I clip right at the top of the grass blades. We hit almost a month with no rain, grass stopped growing. We now have a number of ilcered eyes from them poking them on the staubs they had to reach into to get the grass. No pinkeye per se, just scratched eyes that while not infected are looking pretty awful. Treated them as you would for pink eye and it made no difference. Once the eye gets badly scratched it gonna take a couple of weeks for them to go through the healing process which encludes bubbles and white eyes. Probably should have fed hay during the non-growing time or turned them into the WSG (which they just barely eat)

When I "clip" pastures I should really call it mowing. I cut them as low as I can but still leave enough leaf area to regrow. This is usually about 3" and so far does not seem to leave the stubs you are referring to. It also nails most of the weeds pretty good so the grass can get a head start coming back.

There is no solution though for lack of rain other than feed some hay and wait. After last year's debacle of scurrying looking to buy hay in midsummer, I have a stash of bales ready this year....which seems to guarantee I won't need them! Well better prepared than unprepared like last year. Sorry to hear of your problem.

Jim

 

[dun]

The 3 drought years I clipped the grass short, this year had been so wet I figured it would continue. Other then those 3 years I've alwasy clipped at the height, even we we combine a field for seed we cut at that height. Just one of those curves that ol ma nature likes to throw at us when we start to think we have a prertty good handle on things.