Grass on new land

[dwa]

Cotton1- I'm in the northern part of McCormick county but still not too far. Everyone asks me how the cow business in doing and I tell them that the price drop hurt but the drought is a continuous kick in the stomach. Looking back I wish I had destocked some in the early summer, kept waiting on the rain that never came. I will learn from it. I have carried the majority this far so I will keep going hoping for the best. Rest periods will vary with season and rain. In normal years my first rotation (around April) may be 30 days, while my last rotation will be around 120 days.

True Grit- I understand that all locations are different, and every year is different. If I lived where there was snow on the ground all winter I don't think I'd be a cattle farmer :lol:. Can you grow fescue at all? Do you plant winter annuals?

Hope this thread didn't get too far off topic.

 

[oscarsteve]

What works for me here might not work for you. I make the cows eat or stomp every field before I pull them off. Normally I give 50 head of cows 2 acres of grass for 2 days. Sometimes 2 acres will only last 1 day, depends on the rain. I like my pastures grazed closer than most people do. But I renovate and apply fertilizer as needed to the pastures every year. I also drag them each time the cows are moved to a different pasture. In a normal year I'll cut hay off a few of my pastures, but last year because of the drought I had to graze my hay fields. Every year is a different story.

So, TGF, what is the grass species make up of your pastures where you can put 50 head on 2 acres for 1 or 2 days (assuming normal moisture of course)? I want a diverse mix of mostly warm season perennials since we have many more warm/hot days than cool/cold ones. I am trying to build my herd. Thus, the current land clearing that is in progress in order to allow it. However, I want to be able to use temporary fencing to allow me to utilize it more efficiently and give it adequate rest. I envision the 40 acres being divided into 10, four-acre paddocks. I haven't thought about 20, two-acre paddocks. But maybe I should. The old pasture (also 40 acres) where my cows are now became very much overgrazed this year, as I suspect most pastures in GA did this year. I have it set up for rotational grazing, but not in small enough paddocks (yet) to allow more intensively manged grazing and the needed rest days.

 

[M-5]

I'm sure tg will come along and clarify but ive seen his grazing even after summerdrought this fall they were excellent. Native summer grass constitutes the majority of his fields from what I see is bahia and Bermuda . he does like most of here and plants winter grazing oats, rye , wheat. We don't have the luxury of fescue therefore you utilize you natives to their potential during their season. Stockpiling summer grass here is futile at best. Winter goal is to maintain till spring. Grazing oats and feeding hay.

 

[dwa]

My fields I would guess average 50% fescue, some areas more probably 70% and some 30%. Other grasses are Bermuda, Bahia, Johnson grass, Dallis grass, some crab grass, I think I found out some is called KR blue stem (wish I could get rid of it) and a few others I'm not so sure about. Some lespedeza, white clover, vetch, hop clover. Years depend on how much of each. On good years for stockpiling, I can put 60 head on .5-.6 acres/day. With the "stockpile" I have left this year they need about 2-3 acres/day. I'm giving about an acre a day and making up the rest with hay.

During the summer, I'm giving them 3-4 acres/day.

The key to rotational grazing is electric fencing. I'm not sure if you use it, if not you'll be surprised what you can do with polywire. Most of my fields are 10-15 acres divided by one strand. All of it was polywire on pigtail post when I first started in 2012. I am starting to put high tensile where I want a permanent fence, even if I change my mind, Its not that hard to move a 1 strand fence. And I promise you'll change your mind a few times.

I also have another farm leased I got in 2014. Bought the cows and leased the land. All barb/hog wire perimeter, no cross fences. Divided a lot of it up with polywire and a couple solar chargers. Didn't take the cows long to figure out what it was.

 

[True Grit Farms]

M-5, hit my operation dead on the money. What I was really trying to say, is don't give your cows more than they can eat in a day or two. If you do the cows will just pick what they like the best and waste the rest. Temporary fencing is your friend, besides the time it takes to put it up and take down. If we could grow fescue we'd have it made. I've asked the UGA Extension folks with the big letters in front, and behind their names a few times about trying to establish a heat and simi drought resistant strain fescue for us in the south. But the answer is always the same, no funding or not feasible for the limited area - market, and fescue can't survive the heat, well we all know that below the frost - knat line. It's pretty apparent to me the money is in Bermuda grass.

 

[oscarsteve]

Update on new land: Dry weather, then wet weather slowed things down. Instead of trying to tackle the entire piece of property, I decided to work smaller sections to completion before moving to the next one. Thought it would be easier to see progress that way and learn from some of my mistakes as I worked each one. Finally able to get about 12 of the 30 cleared acres planted Saturday, Feb.25. We have been picking up rocks and sticks of assorted sizes forever. Came to a decision that not ALL the sticks had to be picked up. Eventually, they'll rot and add to the organic matter of the soil. I harrowed and smoothed it, spread 4 tons/acre chicken litter, spread 5 tons/acre lime, and harrowed that in and smoothed. Broadcast ryegrass on top and ran the cultipacker over it. Have received only 3/10" of rain since then, but hoping for more Tuesday or Wednesday. (Won't get any grazing off this, but I had bought the seed in the Fall and I WANT TO SEE SOME GREEN out there!) Had some surgery last week so no work last week. BUT, back at it tomorrow on the next 10-12 acre section. May have it ready to seed in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Lime is stockpiled on site and my litter guy isn't far away. I know it will be too late for ryegrass on this next section. So, I plan to heed the advice of Jogeephus and put down a mixture of Tiff leaf 3 millet and Tif 9 Bahia on this section and the final section too. I'll go back to my first section later in the Spring or early Summer and reseed it as well. Comments and/or suggestions appreciated.

 

[5S Cattle]

Update on new land: Dry weather, then wet weather slowed things down. Instead of trying to tackle the entire piece of property, I decided to work smaller sections to completion before moving to the next one. Thought it would be easier to see progress that way and learn from some of my mistakes as I worked each one. Finally able to get about 12 of the 30 cleared acres planted Saturday, Feb.25. We have been picking up rocks and sticks of assorted sizes forever. Came to a decision that not ALL the sticks had to be picked up. Eventually, they'll rot and add to the organic matter of the soil. I harrowed and smoothed it, spread 4 tons/acre chicken litter, spread 5 tons/acre lime, and harrowed that in and smoothed. Broadcast ryegrass on top and ran the cultipacker over it. Have received only 3/10" of rain since then, but hoping for more Tuesday or Wednesday. (Won't get any grazing off this, but I had bought the seed in the Fall and I WANT TO SEE SOME GREEN out there!) Had some surgery last week so no work last week. BUT, back at it tomorrow on the next 10-12 acre section. May have it ready to seed in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Lime is stockpiled on site and my litter guy isn't far away. I know it will be too late for ryegrass on this next section. So, I plan to heed the advice of Jogeephus and put down a mixture of Tiff leaf 3 millet and Tif 9 Bahia on this section and the final section too. I'll go back to my first section later in the Spring or early Summer and reseed it as well. Comments and/or suggestions appreciated.

5 tons/acre? Is that a typo?

 

[ddd75]

a root grapple bucket or possibly a root rake on your tractor would clean up all those sticks / roots / etc.. a lot quicker then hand.

 

[oscarsteve]

SSCattle: That is NOT a typo. This was former cotton field lands from over 100 years ago that had turned into pine trees or whatever came up. Once we had it cut and cleared, I pulled soil samples on three areas of it. The analysis showed the pH to range from 4.2.to 4.6. UGA Cooperative extension recommended the following amounts of lime to get the pH to the recommended 6.0-6.5 range: Section 1: 4.5-5.25 tons/ac., Section 2: 4-5.25 tons/ac., Section 3: 3-4 tons/ac. I contacted Dr. Hancock, forage GURU at UGA, and he recommended I put it all on ASAP. The forage specialists at NRCS said the same thing and also suggested it would help if the lime could be turned into the ground with a harrow (which I did). The local Farm Supply didn't agree with that, but it was my final decision to do so. DD75: I did use a grapple on my tractor for some of the work. But the spaces between the teeth were too wide to get much. Ended up putting the bucket back on and filling it by hand....many times. The logger who cut the timber (only a small amount) also had a chipper. So, EVERYTHING was cut and anything that couldn't go onto a log trailer went into a chip trailer. So, there really wasn't much large debris left out there that a root rake/grapple would pick up. Especially true since the clearing crew used dozers with a root rake to push up stumps and debris into burn piles.

 

[oscarsteve]

SSCattle: I know that I, personally, loaded 48 tons of lime into the spreader trucks that went out onto the 11-12 acres that I had ready at the time. So, it averaged out to be between 4 and 5 tons per acre. The trucks could only be calculated to put out a maximum of 2 tons/acre. So,he had to go over the section more than once. As I watched him work, I know some was covered more than twice. I have about 96 tons stockpiled on the property already so that it's here and ready to go as I get the next sections ready.

 

[Supa Dexta]

A wind rower is likely the best suited, then come down the row with a picker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mdUEPLMpSI

 

[dwa]

A wind rower is likely the best suited, then come down the row with a picker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mdUEPLMpSI

I believe I can live with the sticks for a couple years for what that probably cost. I have a good many left around where they loaded the trees out, even after dozer with root rake. Wish I would have got a crew with a chipper. I have about a 1/2 acre worth of stumps to go on my clearing project. Ready to see the last one.

 

[Jogeephus]

Its amazing how much money you can save if you will be patient and work with nature. I know a guy who wanted me to help him get some new ground ready for pasture. I gave him a quote of $900/acre in grass but he didn't like the idea of the sticks and debris I suggested him leaving to rot so he turned to someone else who told him he could have it stickless for $1200/acre. When it was all said and done with he had $2000/acre in the clearing alone. It was a pretty job I'll give him that but he still had to lime, fertilize and seed and that to me is some expensive pasture.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Its amazing how much money you can save if you will be patient and work with nature.

Been there and was too impatient. I still do some backhoe work but it is less every year. The only things I continue to prioritize are single strand fence and clover seed.

 

[oscarsteve]

Yep, I spent way too much time picking up sticks on the first 11-12 acres. But, it was near the highway, so I did want it to look a little better. I have since decided that on the rest of, the sticks can rot and add to the organic makeup of the soil. Unless it's a big piece grater than 8-10 inches in diameter, it's staying where it is.

 

[RanchMan90]

Its amazing how much money you can save if you will be patient and work with nature.

Been there and was too impatient. I still do some backhoe work but it is less every year. The only things I continue to prioritize are single strand fence and clover seed.

How long does it take to train incoming stockers to single strand?

 

[Stocker Steve]

How long does it take to train incoming stockers to single strand?

Up to 99% in 24 hours with > 8,000 volts.
1) bunk break them
2) put hot wire in front of part of the bunk
3) put grain in the bunk
Or
a) build an electric wire maze
b) walk them thru it a couple times, till they all make the corners w/o touching

One percent are immune to electricity. :nod: