Grass Management

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There are a couple things that can help i think. Cutting the pastures to 3 to 4 inches in fall would more than likely do you a lot of good. I would suggest going from 200 lbs per acre to 100 lbs of triple 19, and adding 100# per acre of prilled lime. You can mix the two amd broadcast together. This will continue to fix your ph and maintain the hard work you have already done. I would also suggest that you drag your pastures in the fall right after fertilizer and lime application, and then again as soon you can get back out on them in the late winter or early spring.

Moving them around paddocs every couple days is an unneasesary pain in the ass, unless that is how you like to manage your grazing. I would not let them graze it down below 4 inches. The regrowth rate is much better than if it is lower.

This has done a world of good for the pastures i have fixed out here in the PNW.

Good luck
 
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The Ladino is longer lived than the RC. I like the RC because it gets tall along with the taller grasses. Also, if you can clip the RC 2 or 3 times in a year......thats putting a whole lot of plant food back on the ground....
While I agree about the growth and nutritional value of RC, if I clipped my pastures 2 or 3 times a year, I would never get anything else done. I have limited time availability and it takes me several weeks to get over everything once. Not because there is so much land but because I have to do it mainly on the weekends.
 
As stated by others common Bermuda is pretty much a weed here. I mow once, and I get some warm season grasses starting about now. I have half the farm that hasn't seen a cow since turnout in early April. I cut some of it today. Heavy seed heads. In 2 weeks it will be thick blades and white clover.
Labor day weekend about half my farm will get 55-66 actual pounds of N. No cows will be on those fields until Dec 20. I test the stockpile fescue in early December and it runs from 17% to over 19% protein. It will stay good all winter loosing only a point or two by late March. I fed hay 3 weeks last winter plus 3-4 days the grass was snow covered.
That is incredible KT
 
I'm not trying to convince any one to do any thing here. This is interred to me so I'm just reading along.

I know fescue seems to be a popular grass in some areas but reading this makes me think it's kind of high maintenance. A grass that you may have to mow once or twice a year to make it palatable or not toxic sounds like a pia. That's some expensive maintenance.

Is the nutritional value of fescue that great?

What is the stocking rate on fescue vs common bermuda?
The reason it's popular is because it's dominant. It will eventually take over most everywhere in the fescue belt, except maybe on the fringes.

I've had one year in one specific pasture with toxicity problems, lost about 3-4 tail switches. Works better to breed for the environment than to try and change it.
 
There are a couple things that can help i think. Cutting the pastures to 3 to 4 inches in fall would more than likely do you a lot of good. I would suggest going from 200 lbs per acre to 100 lbs of triple 19, and adding 100# per acre of prilled lime. You can mix the two amd broadcast together. This will continue to fix your ph and maintain the hard work you have already done. I would also suggest that you drag your pastures in the fall right after fertilizer and lime application, and then again as soon you can get back out on them in the late winter or early spring.

Moving them around paddocs every couple days is an unneasesary pain in the ass, unless that is how you like to manage your grazing. I would not let them graze it down below 4 inches. The regrowth rate is much better than if it is lower.

This has done a world of good for the pastures i have fixed out here in the PNW.

Good luck
There are many variables to grazing......cattle can do quiet well in conventional grazing maybe better in some ways especially if there is lots of clover, even just the dutch white clover and summer grasses. Cattle love short grass.... the biggest problem with conventional grazing is susceptibility to dry weather.
Here, conventional grazers get worried if it doesn't rain once a week or ten days and start complaining how dry its getting. With my rotational grazing...i know i have between 30 and 60 days of grazing still ahead of me if it turns hot and dry today. Anything can happen, but the last dry spell we had hear lasted 45 days and that was the longest since about 2008. My cattle never skipped a beat....and the grass took off after the next shower of rain. Short pastures(2 or 3 inches) will stay short because it has a short root system and 2 inches of rain won't make it grow a lot unless you fertilize....spend lots of money.
 
We clip the fescue after the seed dries, to mitigate eye problems and increase the stand. I believe toxicity is highest in spring and fall, and I also believe that clover and mineral are your answers there. I don't want to hijack, but recently read an article that goes against our conventional thoughts on stockpiling, and I may try it. It proposed feeding hay first, and then feeding the stockpiled fescue right before greenup in early spring/late winter when toxicity is the lowest. Has anyone tried this?
 
I disagree with leaving the "tall" grass if they are referring to the fescue stems. I am almost finished with taking my grass down to about 10". It will now come back strong.
In dry times, the stems and extra height create a microclimate for the soil. I honestly believe from experimental clipping some high or not clipping areas adjacent to the mowed areas that the microclimate decreased the impact of surface wind (drying) and increased the dew (unreported precipitation effects). But in a wet year or to advantage the warm season grasses, mowing is certainly a valuable tool.
 
It's probably been mentioned here, but what type of fescue is being referred to in this thread that is predominant in the fescue belt? I'm assuming tall fescue but that's only an assumption.
We have a lot of creeping red here, it would never get tall enough to consider clipping but does get thick and never needs to be reseeded. I wonder how it compares to tall fescue nutritionally.
 
Chaparral herbicide can be used to suppress seed head development in tall fescue. Undesirable if you are combining seed, but may have benefit if you are grazing. Never tried it. Per the label:

"Tall Fescue Precautions: Chaparral may stunt tall fescue, cause it to turn yellow, or cause seed head suppression. To minimize these symptoms, take the following precautions. • Do not use on tall fescue grown for seed. • Do not use more than 2 ounce/acre of Chaparral. • Tank-mix Chaparral with 2,4-D. • Use a reduced rate of non-ionic surfactant at 1/2 to 1 pint per 100 gallons of spray solution (1/16 to 1/8 % v/v). • Make application later in the spring after the new growth is 5 to 6 inches tall (until after reproductive culm has started to elongate), or in the fall. • Do not use surfactant when liquid nitrogen is used as a carrier. • Do not use a spray adjuvant other than non-ionic surfactant. Initial grass yields may be reduced due to fescue seed head suppression resulting from treatment with Chaparral at labeled rates. However, this could be beneficial because in tall fescue infected with the fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium spp.), the endophyte is concentrated in the seed, and cattle grazing plants with the seed head will get the maximum exposure to the endophyte. Increased levels of ingestions of the fungal endophyte can reduce weight gain and conception rates in cattle. Since the first grazing is often delayed in the spring until long after seed head development, Chaparral could potentially be used to reduce development of the seed head, thereby reducing the amount of the endophyte that would be consumed by livestock when grazing (see below).
Tall Fescue Seed Head Suppression and Broadleaf Weed Control: Chaparral herbicide can be used to reduce the number of seed heads of tall fescue when applied prior to flower emergence. For best results apply 2.0 to 2.5 ounce/acre Chaparral after initial greenup when grass height is approximately 6 inches. Later applications may still be effective, however, the seed head suppression will be less effective, and the number of seed heads could be noticeable higher. Many weed species can be controlled with this application timing in addition to the suppression of seed head development."
 
I'm not trying to convince any one to do any thing here. This is interred to me so I'm just reading along.

I know fescue seems to be a popular grass in some areas but reading this makes me think it's kind of high maintenance. A grass that you may have to mow once or twice a year to make it palatable or not toxic sounds like a pia. That's some expensive maintenance.

Is the nutritional value of fescue that great?

What is the stocking rate on fescue vs common bermuda?
It's not that fescue is preferred is more like a fact of life. The fact that it stays green year round is a big plus. Most of us use clover to mitigate the toxic effect.
I don't think I've ever seen a pasture renovation that actually penciled out.
 
In dry times, the stems and extra height create a microclimate for the soil. I honestly believe from experimental clipping some high or not clipping areas adjacent to the mowed areas that the microclimate decreased the impact of surface wind (drying) and increased the dew (unreported precipitation effects). But in a wet year or to advantage the warm season grasses, mowing is certainly a valuable tool.
Is that in conventional grazing or IRG?
 
A 15 ft batwing makes short work out of it.
While I agree about the growth and nutritional value of RC, if I clipped my pastures 2 or 3 times a year, I would never get anything else done. I have limited time availability and it takes me several weeks to get over everything once. Not because there is so much land but because I have to do it mainly on the weekends.
 
We clip the fescue after the seed dries, to mitigate eye problems and increase the stand. I believe toxicity is highest in spring and fall, and I also believe that clover and mineral are your answers there. I don't want to hijack, but recently read an article that goes against our conventional thoughts on stockpiling, and I may try it. It proposed feeding hay first, and then feeding the stockpiled fescue right before greenup in early spring/late winter when toxicity is the lowest. Has anyone tried this?
That would make me nervous because you really don't know what kind of winter you're about to have and hay is good insurance.
 
A 15 ft batwing makes short work out of it.
I downsized from a 10' pull behind to a 7' 3pt because there are just some places a big machine won't go on my land, as Dunn said and quoted in HDRider's signature, "Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations".

Everyone is different and have different needs and limitations. I am not being critical, just saying it is what works in this area, and for me.
KT is the true genius when it comes to land management and cattle.
 
I downsized from a 10' pull behind to a 7' 3pt because there are just some places a big machine won't go on my land, as Dunn said and quoted in HDRider's signature, "Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations".

Everyone is different and have different needs and limitations. I am not being critical, just saying it is what works in this area, and for me.
KT is the true genius when it comes to land management and cattle.
I understand
 

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