Drought stocking rate ?

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Stocker Steve

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The rain shut off here in early August so the cool season grasses went from a summer slump straight to dormant. So no fall grazing last year and the subsoil is also dry.

IF we get normal spring rains - - what level of forage growth can be expected? I know it will be less than average. My guess is 70 to 80% ???
 
Stocker Steve":3p5qh3fd said:
The rain shut off here in early August so the cool season grasses went from a summer slump straight to dormant. So no fall grazing last year and the subsoil is also dry.

IF we get normal spring rains - - what level of forage growth can be expected? I know it will be less than average. My guess is 70 to 80% ???

I hope you get that percentage growth - bet it is lower though.

And if the ground stays dry expect zero re-growth.

Get your plan together soon because if you eat that ground down too low it will take thousands of dollars and perhaps years to get it back to where it should be

Always cheaper to take the cows to the feed than it is to take the feed to the cows.

My best

Bez
 
snake67":1pvl2wcs said:
Get your plan together soon because if you eat that ground down too low it will take thousands of dollars and perhaps years to get it back to where it should be

Always cheaper to take the cows to the feed than it is to take the feed to the cows.

My best Bez

Moved the cows 9 miles this winter to get to more stalks. They did not like it so much, but they did not realize the other option was a sales barn.

Trying to protect the cows so I will need to sort replacements again, and also sell some would be stockers. Just not sure how many.
 
I've sold 1/4 of my cows probably already and maybe more to come. I just wonder if we wait till spring to find out we don't have any grass what the cows will be worth then? Who's gonna buy them if nobody has much feed for them? If it does rain they should be worth quite a bit but we may see a drop in prices from here until spring when people decide what to do.
 
Steve,

Do you have any snow on the ground now? Have you gotten any moisture. I remember around 02-04 some time we had no rain in the fall and grazing was done by Sept. 1st. I noticed no difference the following spring. Of course we had some winter moisture. Spring rains are always consistent here, it is what happens after that matters.
 
I sold a quarter of my cows too. Common in season cows have dropped to about $1250, and bigger kill cows are now about $1000. I think kill price will go up this spring but I don't really have that kind. A combination of hard cull'in and not buying other peoples heifers can really clean up a herd in two or three years.

Little snow this winter. We still drive around in the fields with a pick up. Cleaned the yard out once for snow and that was not really needed.

I think the grass will be a little slow this spring but you are right - - we will get enough May rain to make it green. With no soil reserves I don't expect a lot of summer growth except for reed canary meadows. Plan to spray out some bluegrass after one grazing and no till Sorghum Sudan.

The long term issue here is all the hay ground that has been plowed up for $7 corn. The cow herd has to go down unless Obama starts giving out free TMRs.

I was targeting a 75% stocking rate but that may be too much.
 
You guy's are really lucky knowing what the weather is going to do. Down here we just hope and pray for rain.
 
Yeah, I feel for the dry guys.

The blower has been on the tractor all winter and it has not been fun - we have been drifted in here every week.

It actually rained hard for a full night this week and we still have so much snow on the ground it is amazing.

Not going to be a dry spring here - but we are happy for the moisture

Best luck to all

Bez
 
Stocker Steve":wojaedze said:
The rain shut off here in early August so the cool season grasses went from a summer slump straight to dormant. So no fall grazing last year and the subsoil is also dry.

IF we get normal spring rains - - what level of forage growth can be expected? I know it will be less than average. My guess is 70 to 80% ???
That sounds like E Texas 2012. No fall rain--didn't start getting any till Jan 2103.

We had bad bad drought 2011 that lasted till late fall. Got big rains the following late Feb March time period,and a good part of mine was underwater for 1 1/2 days in March so I know a lot soaked in, but the April/may grass didn't do as much as previous years. WEEDS tho, (goatweed and dog fennel) came on like gangbusters in 2012 all thru spring and summer from the Gulf Coast to the Red River. Yes I know--E Texas isn't the same as your area. People that had good and well maintained fields tho, had bumper crops of hay all along that same 100 mile wide corridor stretching the length of E Texas in 2012--where there was NO hay in 2011.
That, is how fast it can turn. You just never know Steve, and it's a crapshoot following a drought, trying to keep ahead of it.
 
As Bez says above, just don't graze whatever grass you do get this year down too short. A very closely monitored rotational grazing system let's you maximize the grazing you do have but not destroy your stand for the future. As tempting as it may be, I never let my cattle graze a paddock shorter than about 4" left. This leaves enough leaf area that the grass can recover.

Jim
 
I am cutting my rates back 30%, And i am generally conservative to begin with. Combination of losing some grass, drought, and the prospects for a dry 2013 are making for some hard culling decisions for me. The easy and moderate culls didnt come up with enough. I must sell some good cows, no way around it.

We normally get enough rain in march- may to have spring thru early summer pasture, but it is the jun-aug rains that are iffy and make the biggest difference in grazing.
 
depending on how long the drought lasts that will tell you how meny cows youll cull.but you need to have culled 15% of your herd from the start an sell calves early to save hay.in the last 2wks our cows went from eating 12 bales of hay a week down to 3 or 4.but we also sold 17 calves as well.the cows are out hunting grass.
 

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