COW PIES

[kerley]

I know we all have cow pies in our pastures. My question is What is the best way to break them up and spread them around the pasture so that they will fertilize more . Is there equipment that works off of a three pt. hitch designed for this purpose that won't tare up the pasture grasses.

 

[JMichal]

I use tractor tires tied together with cable.

 

[Jogeephus]

The best thing I've seen is a chain drag aka chain harrow. This is useful for other seeding pastures as well. Other than this, you can make drags out of old tires or old lengths of chain link fence.

 

[grannysoo]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add 2 1/2 scoops to a 9 " pie plate. Cook for 40 minutes or until brown....

I'm going to sell these at the seminars that Jogeephus is going to be having with his new money making plan.

Recipe is copyrighted, so don't try to steal my thunder!

 

[2barmcattle]

Drag 16' cattle panels(2 on top of each other make enough weight.)

 

[TB-Herefords]

A good harrow. Tearing up the pasture is not always a bad thing. If you have a mature stand than you wont hurt the grass; breaking up the ground a little will help with the conpaction the cows put on it. Better water obsorbtion and root growth. I use a drag harrow; not the chain kind. It will tear up the ground a little more but also break up the hard piles better; IMO. A spring tooth harrow would attach to a three point; but the replacment springs are expensive. No replacment teeth on the drags; you could use RR spikes or make your own quite easly. If your looking go real cheap any thing that will drag behing a tractor; Depending on how many passes you want to make.

 

[dun]

I just use wild turkeys

 

[Avalon]

harrow or disc lightly. I disc lightly every couple years. It smooths out breaks up the pies, loosens the soil a bit. I'm on coastal. This action really gets the roots stimulated also.

 

[hillrancher]

A big cedar tree.

 

[novatech]

I just use wild turkeys

Yea, but that stuff is expensive at about $30 a bottle!!! :roll: :roll:

I like strapping a bunch of heavy tires together to make a drag. Knocks down the ant beds too.

Or, get a bunch of kids over and give 'em each a long flat board. They'll figure out the rest :lol:

Wild Turkey, kids, and cow pies. Sounds like a normal family get together to me. :lol:

 

[Calman]

I use a 12ft gate with a couple truck tires wired on it and run round and round the pasture pulling it with my 4 wheeler. Also helps spread out the leftover hay from feeding round bales.

Cal

 

[Scotty]

I have been using old tractor tires. I find it is best after a rain or early dew in the morning. Kind of spreads them out. The next rain usually melts them away.

 

[jersey lilly]

We use an old cross tie with holes in it for the chain to run thru. Drag it around and it smashes and drags them all real good. Works real good.

Good job for the kids that are old enuff to drive the tractor too LOL

 

[Florida cattle]

I have to agree with Jogeephus on this, They flexable chain harrow (drag) they do a good job and flex over uneven ground real well, and are not that expensive, and last for a good while if taken care of.

 

[flaboy]

I use an old cattle gap made of rail iron about 12 feet long. Nothing survives not being crushed by it.

 

[Limomike]

I use old truck tires chained together, and hooked onto a heavy angle iron bar that connects to my drawbar on the back of the tractor. They bust em up really good.. as long as the temperature is above 30 degrees. If not, its like trying to level out concrete clods.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Dung beetles and other insects, chickens and other birds. (don't use systemic insecticides)

Also strip grazing, intensive grazing or other forms of herd effect will bust it up and grind it in.

 

[SRBeef]

Since cattle will not graze within a foot or so radius of a cow pie it is important to break them up and distribute the fertility. After a couple rains the grass grows especially well in these spots and cattle will graze more uniformly.

I use a simple 3-point Wingfield harrow. In rotational grazing, when I move cattle to a new paddock I usually try to run over the paddock they just left with the harrow. Don't drive over the paddock if the ground is too wet. The compaction causes more problems than the harrowing solves.

However if the ground is fit to drive on use a lighter tractor to harrow paddocks after grazing and it really evens out growth and removes the no-graze circles by the next time the cattle cycle in to that paddock.

Here is a link to some article on the Wingfield website:

http://www.wingfields.com/pasturearticle.htm

Jim

 

[mtncows]

If you buy a chain harrow or use truck tires,I like to use baler twine to attach to a clevis on the tractor.You then have a shear point if you find a rock or stob that is hidden. i have seen the main bar bent badly on a chain harrow and have heard tire/type drags going airbourne.A chain drag should be hung up in a tree or parked on rocks to keep from losing it,which I've done.

 

[dun]

One problem with trying to drag anything to break up the pies is what to do with all of the rocks that would get kicked up.