I have a small operation in northern AL; I have a about +-25 acres. The pasture has a good stand of fescue/white clover. What's a good number of cow/calfs to run? I'm willing to feed hay Dec-Mar. Thanks for the advice.
bks
bks
Cow/calf per acre
- Thread starter bncsimps
- Start date
bigbull338
Well-known member
you could prolly run 15 cows on 25acs.now if you run out of grass youll have to feed hay.
Horseless
Well-known member
In my country you could run one cow, but you would have to be willing to feed hay Nov-May. Or you could run a whole herd across it in five minutes. 
Wisteria Farms
Well-known member
Dun,
Once again, thanks, I must be on the right track. I have got about that much acreage and cautiously started with 1 bred cow, 2 heifers and 1 steer. I'm going to slowly add as I can but have always expected to be able to "comfortably" maintain 8-10. We feed hay from mid-Nov through mid-April.
Once again, thanks, I must be on the right track. I have got about that much acreage and cautiously started with 1 bred cow, 2 heifers and 1 steer. I'm going to slowly add as I can but have always expected to be able to "comfortably" maintain 8-10. We feed hay from mid-Nov through mid-April.
Bama
Well-known member
I'm also in NW Alabama. I can run a cow and a calf per acre. I put out my first roll of hay this past Sunday. I will have to feed hay till about the first day of March or a week later. In the spring and summer lush I can run upto 2 cows per acre. Just don't overgraze it.
bncsimps":2qs488gx said:
Well, if it were me, I believe I would look up the number for the county extension office and ask them this question. Then, I believe I would talk to as many neighbors - who are also running cows - as I could, making sure to ask them about what kind of grass/legumes/ratio of one to the other, that they have. Yes, it is a bit of work but, between the two, I would then have a pretty realistic view of how many cows I could run/acre and wouldn't have to worry about being bitten in the butt. It's a funny thing about grass - while it can easily be overgrazed in a few months, it generally takes a few years for it to recover fully. ;-)
