Clover in the pasture surpised me + scurred bull
- Thread starter SRBeef
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Stocker Steve
Well-known member
SRBeef said:
TheBullLady
Well-known member
As long as the cows are doing as well as they are, with plenty of forage you certainly don't have to wean them.. I just meant they are big enough to should you decide to.
I keep hearing that the heavier weights are selling better than light weights, so as long as you can keep them gaining you're probably doing the right thing for the market.
I keep hearing that the heavier weights are selling better than light weights, so as long as you can keep them gaining you're probably doing the right thing for the market.
SRBeef
Well-known member
Steve,
The only "prep" work was to spread about 4 ton/acre of ag lime last fall. Spreader truck comes in. I'll try to find a picture of that. Only do this in the fall and when the ground is dry or you will have major compaction and ruts from the truck.
I think I also ran over this with the mower this spring just prior to coming in with the drill - probably about the first of May. Don't have records available tonight.
This was seeded with a Great Plains no till drill which was the only type drill available to rent at a nearby dealership when I needed it. This is a double disc drill and usually not as good seeding into sod as a JD750-1560 type single disc drill which is much heavier. The drill had a small seeds box on the back which is a must. You can not seed clover's tiny round seeds through the main drill box. Tighten the drill row unit springs down to the max setting.
As to rate, I started with the recommended rate on the seed bag and the setting in the GP manual. The first time I tried it at the recommended settings the slot was open and did not look good. I then doubled the seed setting on the drill from what it said in the book and that turned out to be about right. The best thing I probably did was to order a nice rain right after seeding which helped close the slot left open by the drill.
I seeded about 3/4" deep with a mixture of a bag of pure red clover and a couple bags of clover based pasture mix to account for the doubled rate. Take the bag rate and double it for this interseeding in my opinion. This is not like seeding into a plowed disced and harrowed field! Note that if you are seeding some grass along withthe clover it should probably go in the main box and add a couple bags of oats seed to helo the long sticky grass seeds toflow through the meter on either type drill.
It is a waste of money to seed clover if your pH is too low however. Do a soil test in the areas you want to seed and put on what lime you need this fall then seed early next spring. I suggest trying to find a JD 750 family drill to rent, borrow or hire. Many of the county soil and water conservation districts have access to one.
I would not waste the money with "frost" seeding, etc. I tried dragging it in on another field with no success. As you can see in the photos above the clover that took was in a line seeded by a no till drill. Disking the clover in will largely destroy the existing grass base.
As far as weaning goes, I think I am seeing about a 3.2-3.4 lb/day gain on the bull/steer calves and a 2.2-2.4 lb/day gain on the heifer calves which seems pretty fair so I would like to not change anything if there is no compelling reason to do so. Plan to wean about Oct 1, separate for a month and then put them back together on corn stubble after the corn is harvested.
Question: is a month apart enough? The grazing of corn stubble put a lot of condition on them very fast last fall,prepared them for winter, I think, and saved a lot of hay. Could have gone longer into stalks except dang snow came early and heavy covering stalks and the electric fence around them. Will process a couple BWF coming off stalks.
I could separate them in mid Sept if I need more than 4 weeks. Good luck with clover - takes lime and a good drill job at double the recommended rates. Seed cost while high is small compared to the economic benefit. I'm hoping the stand persists.
The only "prep" work was to spread about 4 ton/acre of ag lime last fall. Spreader truck comes in. I'll try to find a picture of that. Only do this in the fall and when the ground is dry or you will have major compaction and ruts from the truck.
I think I also ran over this with the mower this spring just prior to coming in with the drill - probably about the first of May. Don't have records available tonight.
This was seeded with a Great Plains no till drill which was the only type drill available to rent at a nearby dealership when I needed it. This is a double disc drill and usually not as good seeding into sod as a JD750-1560 type single disc drill which is much heavier. The drill had a small seeds box on the back which is a must. You can not seed clover's tiny round seeds through the main drill box. Tighten the drill row unit springs down to the max setting.
As to rate, I started with the recommended rate on the seed bag and the setting in the GP manual. The first time I tried it at the recommended settings the slot was open and did not look good. I then doubled the seed setting on the drill from what it said in the book and that turned out to be about right. The best thing I probably did was to order a nice rain right after seeding which helped close the slot left open by the drill.
I seeded about 3/4" deep with a mixture of a bag of pure red clover and a couple bags of clover based pasture mix to account for the doubled rate. Take the bag rate and double it for this interseeding in my opinion. This is not like seeding into a plowed disced and harrowed field! Note that if you are seeding some grass along withthe clover it should probably go in the main box and add a couple bags of oats seed to helo the long sticky grass seeds toflow through the meter on either type drill.
It is a waste of money to seed clover if your pH is too low however. Do a soil test in the areas you want to seed and put on what lime you need this fall then seed early next spring. I suggest trying to find a JD 750 family drill to rent, borrow or hire. Many of the county soil and water conservation districts have access to one.
I would not waste the money with "frost" seeding, etc. I tried dragging it in on another field with no success. As you can see in the photos above the clover that took was in a line seeded by a no till drill. Disking the clover in will largely destroy the existing grass base.
As far as weaning goes, I think I am seeing about a 3.2-3.4 lb/day gain on the bull/steer calves and a 2.2-2.4 lb/day gain on the heifer calves which seems pretty fair so I would like to not change anything if there is no compelling reason to do so. Plan to wean about Oct 1, separate for a month and then put them back together on corn stubble after the corn is harvested.
Question: is a month apart enough? The grazing of corn stubble put a lot of condition on them very fast last fall,prepared them for winter, I think, and saved a lot of hay. Could have gone longer into stalks except dang snow came early and heavy covering stalks and the electric fence around them. Will process a couple BWF coming off stalks.
I could separate them in mid Sept if I need more than 4 weeks. Good luck with clover - takes lime and a good drill job at double the recommended rates. Seed cost while high is small compared to the economic benefit. I'm hoping the stand persists.
You're most likely gonna have problems with a 30 day weaning. You need at least 6 to 8 weeks for the cows to dry up. I would suggest that if you are going to try 30 days at least put the can't suck nose pieces on them before you turn them back out, and hope for the best.
Real good success with the clover! We graze fields like that and never use bloat blocks, never had a problem on red clover but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
I wouldn't wean them at this time, unless you knew it was going to turn real dry in 2 weeks. :secret: The cows look good, the calves look good, the pasture looks good. As long as you have plenty of pasture, let them use it and let the cows make milk. I think you have a good plan for your weaning, but you may have to keep them separate a bit longer. I'd split the corn fields before I'd wean earlier, if the pastures hold.
FWIW, regarding your bull...I made(kept nagging until he agreed :tiphat: ) my husband ship a 2 year old this spring because he was (not)muscled like that. We used him sparingly last spring, bred to a select group of cows. He had a great profile, great bone, big square hips, and just wouldn't pack on the muscle even when well fed. Yesterday, husband came in from the pasture with a list of his top 4 heifer calves picks, guess who sired 3 of the 4? The 4th heifer he sired is our lightning orphan, and we already knew she is a keeper. He had the genetics to sire muscle, it just wasn't expressed in his own stature. Of course, we did give him the top cut of our cow herd so they also contributed muscle to the calves. Sometimes I think we'd do better to take our money to Vegas. :lol2:
I wouldn't wean them at this time, unless you knew it was going to turn real dry in 2 weeks. :secret: The cows look good, the calves look good, the pasture looks good. As long as you have plenty of pasture, let them use it and let the cows make milk. I think you have a good plan for your weaning, but you may have to keep them separate a bit longer. I'd split the corn fields before I'd wean earlier, if the pastures hold.
FWIW, regarding your bull...I made(kept nagging until he agreed :tiphat: ) my husband ship a 2 year old this spring because he was (not)muscled like that. We used him sparingly last spring, bred to a select group of cows. He had a great profile, great bone, big square hips, and just wouldn't pack on the muscle even when well fed. Yesterday, husband came in from the pasture with a list of his top 4 heifer calves picks, guess who sired 3 of the 4? The 4th heifer he sired is our lightning orphan, and we already knew she is a keeper. He had the genetics to sire muscle, it just wasn't expressed in his own stature. Of course, we did give him the top cut of our cow herd so they also contributed muscle to the calves. Sometimes I think we'd do better to take our money to Vegas. :lol2:
JHH
Well-known member
SRBeef":2acgrscc said:
Bull sure takes off the white and has well pigmented calves. I like them. JHH
SRBeef
Well-known member
Chris H":3f8sypvx said:
Chris thanks for the reply. I'm hoping the same may be true for this bull...we'll see. They appear to be all bred now (no signs of standing heat anymore) so I guess what will be will be for this year.
