grazing cattle in woods

[Lucky_P]

Depending upon your timber stand, the value of the trees may be far in excess of any perceived feed benefit you get from running the cows 'in the woods'. Cattle are notoriously poor foresters - compacting soil, causing erosion, eating or damaging young seedling trees, etc.
Figures I've seen put forward indicate that it takes - in a typical woodland setting - 40-60 acres of wooded ground to produce enough forage to support one cow-calf pair. A whole herd roaming through the woods can probably damage or diminish timber quality more than the little bit of feed value gained.
On the farm I grew up on, the cows ran all through the woods - made it hard to find 'em sometimes, and sometimes you just stumbled over a skeleton somewhere down the line.
Perimeter fences here do go about 40 ft into the edge of the woods - I'm convinced that they need some access to shade at times - but I've pretty well written off any timber value - and prolonged survival - of any trees in that shady bufferstrip, but the cows are fenced out of the rest of my timberland.

 

[danl]

I know from reading the Missouri Conservationist that they strongly discourage running cattle in timber, due to what LuckyP mentioned. They damage the timber quit a bit, that being said I do let mine run in a few acres of woods, It can make them real tough to find even in a five acre spot.
If I go back in the middle of the night to check on a cow about to calve it is real real hard to find a black cow on a black night that doesn't really want to be find.

It also is a pretty good feeling when you shine the light and see a big set of glowing eyes about waist high and another little set about 18" off the ground to the rear....

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

As a forester I will say that if you have nice/quality woods then don't let the cattle in there. They really damage the quality to the existing trees as well as the future trees.

Having said that I have a few pastures that have woods in them and let the cows eat around in there. The woods they have access too is all very low quality aspen to begin with and good for nothing but firewood, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if it all just got turned into pasture/hay field someday so I don't really care.

 

[highgrit]

I let the cows graze in woods spring and fall. From what I see cows make the timber better. A cow will eat and push down small trees and that makes it better for everything. Sold some timber off land that had cows on it for 30 years and I was happy with the price. Might be something to do with the south but the cattle seem to do alright in the woods here.

 

[Jogeephus]

Forester here too. Not going to argue with Chevy but only offer some clarification. Damage to trees is species specific. Hardwoods in the deciduous forests are prone to root damage which causes fungal infections that cause the trees to be hollow. In the coniferous forests this is not the case. People growing high quality hardwoods might be best to keep the cattle out but if your hardwoods have been high-graded and don't have the potential for grade logs grazing shouldn't hurt a thing.

If I can raise a pair on 40 acres I see that as 365 grazing days on each forty acres of woods. In the spring when the flora in the woods are at their most nutritious is when I will normally pull from this food source and to not use it seems pretty wasteful to me and I will say the woods have pulled me out of a tight place during the droughts when others were liquidating.

 

[SRBeef]

I look at giving cattle access to some woods more for shade in the summer and shelter from the cold winds in the winter than providing grazing. I do have fences going through the woods however and they don't have access to most of my woods. It does help to have the cows trained to come when called (usually for a sweet grain treat in the corral) when its time to get them out for a rotation or vet visit, etc.

Rotating pastures with woods access, I don't see any visible damage to my woods, either hardwood or pines. Most of the time the cows have access to woods the ground is frozen.

I like the way the cows clean up the edges of the woods in mid summer.

Jim

 

[Jogeephus]

On one farm I manage we have most all the woods fenced in. The property has one pasture and each year we will take the cattle about 30 rolls of hay whether they need it or not and give them access to syrup tanks during the winter. Each year the calf sales are around $60,000 from this one property. Granted the cattle are a little frisky and are not accustomed to being petted or scratched on the head but if you do the math, it sure beats paying for feed and forage. The interesting thing is the longer the cattle stay on the property the more the understory is reverting to native grasses and forbs. Why anyone would not take advantage of free forage for cattle is beyond me.

 

[Anonymous]

On one farm I manage we have most all the woods fenced in. The property has one pasture and each year we will take the cattle about 30 rolls of hay whether they need it or not and give them access to syrup tanks during the winter. Each year the calf sales are around $60,000 from this one property. Granted the cattle are a little frisky and are not accustomed to being petted or scratched on the head but if you do the math, it sure beats paying for feed and forage. The interesting thing is the longer the cattle stay on the property the more the understory is reverting to native grasses and forbs. Why anyone would not take advantage of free forage for cattle is beyond me.

Probably because they are fertilizing the soil and bringing in seeds

 

[Post Oak]

I am a timber buyer/cruiser. I love cruising cow pasture woods because of the lack of thick undergrowth. Cows grazing in a plantation pine stand actually helps it out IMHO.

 

[Jogeephus]

No. Its reverting back to the way nature intended it to before we lost an understanding of how nature works and began our meddling. The seed bank is already on site. The junk that was there wasn't supposed to be there. You can either try to strong arm mother nature or you can work with her. Every pound of cattle gain that is derived from free forage is money in the bank. I really don't why this idea is so illusive to some. The cattle industry wasn't built around improved pastures and fertilizer it was built around knowing when and where to graze cattle and getting them to market with little or no input. Of course back then people had a different view of cattle. They were animals and not pets or whatever.

Before somebody misunderstands what I'm saying I am NOT saying to buy a load of cows and turn them loose in the woods. What I am saying is each person has certain resources. Certain unfair advantages so to speak. Why not identify them and make use of them? Free food is free food whether it comes out of a bag or not. Anyone can buy feed pour it to their cows and have some pretty lawn ornaments but can you make any money doing it this way? If you can, more power to you and I'm sure you have some pretty cows. But the magic to me is to see a cow take junk and turn it into money. That warms my heart to see something working for me and not me working for them.

 

[Post Oak]

Yea, when I am cruising timber in the wintertime and I run into a canebrake, I think how much my cows would rather have this than hay right now.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I think it's a good idea, I would turn them in a week a month in the spring and summer.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

How are you running 30 cows on 20 acres now?

 

[dogdoc]

I know this is an old thread but I find it very informative as I am fencing a new farm to me of about 140 acres that is half open. My 13 yo son and I are doing perimeter fence as i like to fence what is mine but I do not have the time and money to do alot of cross fencing at this time (I have other full time employment).I hope to put some cows on it this spring or summer woods and all. I am in east central Alabama and looks like everybody runs their cattle at least partly in the woods(me included).Oaks everywhere. I have tons of oaks and pines and have never had a toxicty but the always access to some pasture or hay. I just purchased a new angus bull and we had to go way into an oak bottom to look at the bulls. On my home farm, The woods are much nicer looking and easier to get through where the cattle have access (mixed pine hardwood). The difference is striking (ungrazed woods super thick with brush) and they seem to eat the privet which is an invasive species here. Bottom line is on my home place I think am going to shore up the perimeter fence on a 20 acre patch of mixed age pine hardwood and use It! I do not know how to quantify what you get out of the woods ? likely huge variabilty depending but I see some native type grasses in places? If it reduces fed hay a little then great.

dogdoc

 

[tnwalkingred]

I'm too looking to fence in about 90-100 additional acres here on the farm. It a mix of hardwoods and cedars. Much of the cedar growth used to be tillable land as I'm told by my grandfather. We did clear out about five acres of cedar growth a couple years ago and made them into food plots for the deer hunters. The food plots have done great and it makes me believe a lot of this farm can be good grazing land. My goal is to run a perimeter fence around the entire place and turn the cattle on it in relief of my other pastures. Then I can begin clearing the young cedar growth. The hard woods will become timber in time with the end result being 100 plus acres of good cattle grazing! Putting the cattle on it now will definitely make getting the trees cleared a lot easier. They really open up the wooded areas they are turned in on.

 

[Jogeephus]

I'm a firm believer in it. Not only will it give you some extra grazing when you get in a pinch it will also help out the quail and the turkeys and deer to some extent. Also, its free food and a lot of it is very nutritious. Only drawback I have found to doing it is when you are calving. Sometimes one will go hide and you won't be able to see its in trouble.

 

[Lucky_P]

dogdoc,
WDE!
I grew up in Lee Co. - in your neck of the woods - and yes, the cows ran in the woods on the old home place. Kept things more open - once Dad sold the cows, the place really grew up thick, in a hurry.
On this place, up here in the frigid northland of KY, I've got a mature stand of hardwood timber that's pretty open - certainly not enough undergrowth to make it worth my trouble to fence in the woods, for the small amount of 'free forage' that the cows could scrounge, and the wooded ground is steep and highly erodible, so it's doing what it's best suited for - growing trees.

 

[dogdoc]

hello
I live in Lee county and have farms in Lee and Chambers co. Woods commonly fenced in with pasture. I like perimeter fences to keep property lines up and marked so mine will run in the woods as I lack time and money for a lot of cross fencing. You are correct that pasture down here quickly converts to woods if you do not keep it bushhogged. I often cringe when I see people letting their pasture revert to woods as the cost to make pasture from woods is so high but to each his own. dogdoc

War Eagle!!!! Should be a great Bama game next week

 

[igrowgrass]

I'm in the process of transforming some woods into pasture at my place. This is the process that I am using.

1. Goats go in first and eat what they can. I usually pack them in pretty tight with electric fence and let them perform brush apocalypse LOL. They will eat all of the little stuff and most of the edible stuff up to as high as they can reach.

2. Pigs go in after the goats. They get supplemental feed, but not much of it. I want them to real wreck everything so I want them rooting and ripping stuff up. They also do a very good job. You have to be careful with pigs though as they will do a lot of ruining if you leave them on one piece for too long.

3. Next I go in and figure out which trees have to go in order to let some light through the canopy. Out comes the chain saw and we take care of that.

4. Now that we've punched some holes in the ceiling and we've cleared all the brush out I start parking cattle in there at night. Use portable electric and pack them in there pretty good. You want them pooping on every square inch of that woods.

I'm hoping that within a year or two I can probably turn a dozen acres of useless woods into usable pasture. Its not easy when you're doing it without a bulldozer, but it can be done. When you get some sunlight in there, some seeds, some nutrients and microbes...you're going to get grass. These grazing areas which have plenty of trees will be a good refuge for your cattle to graze in the summer.