grass not growing

[MO Farmer]

We have got some rain this year but our grass is not growing very well. we have 150 acres with 60 head of cows and there is not enough grass there last year we had more than enough grass. we are getting them some hay today it is good grass hay plus some grain question is will they still keep there weight and gain it as well it is freshly cut hay with a good amount of protein in it. i am hoping they will gain just as much on the good hay as they would on green grass. sorry for the questions but this is the first year that we have had to feed hay during the summer time. thanks

 

[dun]

What part of MO, how much rain, all at once or spread out over a while, what kind of grass, was the grass cut for hay or just grazed? Those should do for starters

 

[grannysoo]

Soil sample & ph test done yet?

 

[MO Farmer]

i am from southwest missouri. We got a good amount of rain in april and may but the grass never really took off like it always does. Our grass is mostly clover and fescue with some orchard grass. That land was just used for grazing. We get hay off a friends place. thanks

 

[1982vett]

Might be to many cows.

 

[MO Farmer]

i was thinking the same thing but we have around the same amount of cows as last year at this time and we had plenty of grass we kept a few heifer calves this year but not enough to make that big of a difference in the amount of grass. Will the good green hay still put the weight on them i plan on feeding them as much as they can eat plus grain. i dont want to have to sell but i cant afford to feed them like this forever. i just dont understand what the deal is with the grass not growing.

 

[1982vett]

Grass doesn't grow like clockwork.

1. It was colder later this spring - warm season grass was slower to take off. Cool season grasses should have grown well if fertilized properly.

2. Over grazed grass takes longer to recover from being overgrazed.

3. Fertilization. Fertilize to early or in cold conditions and it just doesn't do much other than leach away. Skimping on fertilizer isn't productive either.

4. A mature 1200 lb. cow will consume about 30-35 lbs of forage a day.

5. Spraying weeds can slow growth in some grasses if applied to the grass at the wrong stage of growth.

6. To many things could be the problem. Not having knowledge about your area makes it hard diagnosing your problem impossible . But a stocking rate of a cow to 2.5 acres is probably to high. I assume you have calves too, those aren't figured into the stocking rate. (dyslexic moment repaired)

Take a look at you neighbors pastures. Are they having the same problem?

 

[dun]

Free grazinf, i.e. not rotating pastures? Way too many cows!

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Vette where did you get 2.5 cows to the acre??? :lol: :lol:

 

[grannysoo]

Soil sample & ph test done yet?

???

 

[1982vett]

Vette where did you get 2.5 cows to the acre??? :lol: :lol:

We have got some rain this year but our grass is not growing very well. we have 150 acres with 60 head of cows and there is not enough grass there last year we had more than enough grass. we are getting them some hay today it is good grass hay plus some grain question is will they still keep there weight and gain it as well it is freshly cut hay with a good amount of protein in it. i am hoping they will gain just as much on the good hay as they would on green grass. sorry for the questions but this is the first year that we have had to feed hay during the summer time. thanks

Wouldn't want to be that .5 cow or did I miss something?

(Yep, I missed something) :dunce: right in front of my face and couldn't see it.

 

[novaman]

Vette where did you get 2.5 cows to the acre??? :lol: :lol:

We have got some rain this year but our grass is not growing very well. we have 150 acres with 60 head of cows and there is not enough grass there last year we had more than enough grass. we are getting them some hay today it is good grass hay plus some grain question is will they still keep there weight and gain it as well it is freshly cut hay with a good amount of protein in it. i am hoping they will gain just as much on the good hay as they would on green grass. sorry for the questions but this is the first year that we have had to feed hay during the summer time. thanks

Wouldn't want to be that .5 cow or did I miss something?

You had the right number, wrong labels. It would be 2.5 acres per cow not cows per acre. Either way its way too high.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Mo Farmer - 1982vett had some good comments. Sounds like your land was overstocked thru the winter & is having a hard time coming back.
As mentioned, how is your neighboring grasses?
Cattle will do fine on good quality grass hay - especially if you are going to grain them. But, who can afford to do that? Do you rotational graze? Have you fertilized?
Do you have 60 COWS or 30 cows & 30 calves??

 

[MO Farmer]

I think we may have found somewhere to put some one of our family friends said that we could put 20 or so over on his place about 1 mile down the road. We got some hay in for them yesterday hopefully they will eat that and let the pasture grow up a little bit. One of our neighbor's has 9 steers in less then 2 acres with with hay in there at all times he may feed grain but i have never saw it and all of them look healthy :devil2: .Last year we had enough grass to feed all of them we did keep 9 heifer calves from this year but i did not think that would be enough to make a difference. thanks for the help

 

[dun]

and let the pasture grow up a little bit.

You're in the summer slump, won;t have much grass growth until early fall.

 

[MO Farmer]

Mo Farmer - 1982vett had some good comments. Sounds like your land was overstocked thru the winter & is having a hard time coming back.
As mentioned, how is your neighboring grasses?
Cattle will do fine on good quality grass hay - especially if you are going to grain them. But, who can afford to do that? Do you rotational graze? Have you fertilized?
Do you have 60 COWS or 30 cows & 30 calves??

One of our family friends down the road has got plenty of grass but there is not too many people around me that have cattle there land gets cut for hay. My other other neighbor has got 9 steers in less than 2 acres and there is not a blade of grass in there. No i havent fertilized but i never had too before. The cow's just stay in that pasture i do not have anywhere else to move them too. There mostly just mama cows all my calves are done sold i only kept 9.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

If you let them roam the whole farm, they will continue to grub up the little grass that is growing. You will need to put up a fence (portable fence is easy - 1 strand electric) to keep them contained on the hay diet, while the grass recouperates.
You have not answered anyones questions. Do you continuous graze, rotational graze, or have you fertilized any. 60 cows or 30 cows w/ calves? + 9 yearlings?

 

[1982vett]

Vette where did you get 2.5 cows to the acre??? :lol: :lol:

We have got some rain this year but our grass is not growing very well. we have 150 acres with 60 head of cows and there is not enough grass there last year we had more than enough grass. we are getting them some hay today it is good grass hay plus some grain question is will they still keep there weight and gain it as well it is freshly cut hay with a good amount of protein in it. i am hoping they will gain just as much on the good hay as they would on green grass. sorry for the questions but this is the first year that we have had to feed hay during the summer time. thanks

Wouldn't want to be that .5 cow or did I miss something?

You had the right number, wrong labels. It would be 2.5 acres per cow not cows per acre. Either way its way too high.

I guess that would be considered missing something. :lol: Couldn't even catch it with a hint. :dunce: Thanks.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Sorry, MoFarmer - we posted at the same time.
How long have you been grazing this land? Anything growing, takes nutrients out of the soil. Sooner or later, the soil doesn't have anything for the plant to grow. Plants of any kind won't grow without food. You would be money ahead to sell some cows & use that money to put down some fertilizer. Might not be the right time of year to do that where you are at. Check with locals.

 

[stocky]

MOfarmer, sorry about your pasture situation. I am in sw Missouri, also. One important thing is you can't use last year for a comparison. In my whole life, we never had a year where we produced as much grass as last year. On the average, we will produce about half the grass we produced last year. The terrible heat these last few days has made the grass slow way down and there wont be much growth from now until sometime in Sept-Oct. So, with Fescue, clover, orchardgrass, what you have now is about what will have to last you the next 3 months. If you have johnsongrass, it will continue to grow well. Cows will not do the same on the hay as they will on lush, full pasture. Fortunately, hay is very, very cheap because of such huge carryover from last year. But, it will still cost you alot of time and money to feed them this summer with no pasture. It is good you found pasture close by for some of the cows, that will help. Normally in our area, mid-July-mid September, you will see alot of people who try to carry full stocking rates feeding hay to their beef cows. Hope it cools down and rains and it will help us all---good luck