Grazing standing corn

[jehosofat]

I grow cheap corn every year for cows to eat. I just lightly disc, spread combine corn out of a spreader, run over with a cultipacker. Cows don't care that it's not in rows.

 

[TexasBred]

Full 4x6 prairie hay baled late in the season after plants have well matured, no fertilizer, tight roll....hard to get your TSC hay spike in the bale , probably would come in at 1280# if measured against a comparable 5x6@ 1600........$60 in the field. Sell by the bale around here. Scales are too far away and nobody wants to fool with it.

The story is that you guys up there were buying all we could grow and ship, reason for the "high" price. If you contracted with a farmer you should surely get a better deal. Transportation would be an obvious expense.....if you had your own rig that would help. Hay is available. I sold all I made and bought some to keep my customers supplied.

Was by TSC (Greenville) the other day and nice 4x6 Coastal Bermuda rolls were $99.95...............................I just saw them sitting there and wondered.....I got my answer!

Paid equivalent of $45 a roll for good fertilized coastal hay back in August. TSC better move it quick as green grass is just around the corner.....do you work for TSC??

 

[TexasBred]

I grow cheap corn every year for cows to eat. I just lightly disc, spread combine corn out of a spreader, run over with a cultipacker. Cows don't care that it's not in rows.

Do you get much actual corn production or just the plants??

 

[jehosofat]

I grow cheap corn every year for cows to eat. I just lightly disc, spread combine corn out of a spreader, run over with a cultipacker. Cows don't care that it's not in rows.

Do you get much actual corn production or just the plants??

It usually does surprisingly well.

 

[Son of Butch]

I grow cheap corn every year for cows to eat. I just lightly disc, spread combine corn out of a spreader, run over
with a cultipacker. Cows don't care that it's not in rows.

When do you plant it, more importantly how many days do you let it grow before grazing?
Which state are you located?

 

[jehosofat]

Plant in May or June, depending on weather. Strip graze it in late fall or early winter. Alabama.

 

[Son of Butch]

So if it were in rows it would be ready to chop and store as corn silage or perhaps even harvest.
Okay got it.

 

[1wlimo]

A john deere 5x6 type bale is $55 many reports that corn grazing is a third of the cosy of feeding hay at that price. Swath grazing an oats mix here is about the third of the cost as well. I wanted to try corn this year only our spring was way to wet.

I paid U$S 65/ton for delivered meadow hay last fall.

A grazing expert said we are too wet for swath grazing, but I think it would work most years. What is your annual snow fall?

Corn, or a full season cover crop containing a lot of corn or SS, can generate good tonnage. I have been experimenting with this following bale grazing. What yields do you expect in Canada?

There was some work done in the US on burning down pasture and no tilling inexpensive corn. I don't recall that they ever addressed what happens in year two...

We average 20 inch of precip per year, mostly in the summer. Not sure what peoples yields are with corn. Oats for swathing is around 4 to 5 ton per acre at 40% moisture. That can vary a lot, depends on the land, summer rainfal etc. Have had 14 ton/ acre on peat ground.

 

[Son of Butch]

Paid $50 ton delivered last night from a local farmer for a load of untested large round bales of meadow hay.

Felt it was a good buy as grass hay testing 10% protein sold at auction earlier this week for $90 ton.

 

[bball]

Paid $50 ton delivered last night from a local farmer for a load of untested large round bales of meadow hay.

Felt it was a good buy as grass hay testing 10% protein sold at auction earlier this week for $90 ton.

How heavy are the bales each? That's a good buy.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Paid $50 ton delivered last night from a local farmer for a load of untested large round bales of meadow hay.

Looks like another cheap corn year... Did you buy some heifers and grass seed also to expand the herd?

 

[Son of Butch]

LOL.... no, but actually thinking about seeding a heavy grass, light alfalfa mix to bale and then perhaps convert it to
pasture to expand cow herd in 2019.

Which ever direction we do go will probably be wrong. :)

I'm feeling mortal, another former classmate (4 days older than me) died suddenly 2 weeks ago, so long range plans
sure can change unexpectedly. In the last 4-5 years lost 4 friends quickly to health problems all were just a few years
older than me at the time and of course I've gotten older since then.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Chores are good for you, so more cows means more longevity. :banana:

 

[Stocker Steve]

LOL.... no, but actually thinking about seeding a heavy grass, light alfalfa mix to bale and then perhaps convert it to pasture to expand cow herd in 2019

Used to plant a lot of tall fescue and alfalfa. It was a mistake for grazing palatability, and prone to winter kill.
Now use a lot of red clover (and some alfalfa), with meadow fescue (and some orchard grass) as a high ground base mix.
Now use BFT (and some Ladino) and meadow brome (and some timothy) as a base for meadow mix.
RC, BFT, and OG all reseed well, and my hope is that this will provide very long lived stands.

 

[Texasmark]

Full 4x6 prairie hay baled late in the season after plants have well matured, no fertilizer, tight roll....hard to get your TSC hay spike in the bale , probably would come in at 1280# if measured against a comparable 5x6@ 1600........$60 in the field. Sell by the bale around here. Scales are too far away and nobody wants to fool with it.

The story is that you guys up there were buying all we could grow and ship, reason for the "high" price. If you contracted with a farmer you should surely get a better deal. Transportation would be an obvious expense.....if you had your own rig that would help. Hay is available. I sold all I made and bought some to keep my customers supplied.

Was by TSC (Greenville) the other day and nice 4x6 Coastal Bermuda rolls were $99.95...............................I just saw them sitting there and wondered.....I got my answer!

Paid equivalent of $45 a roll for good fertilized coastal hay back in August. TSC better move it quick as green grass is just around the corner.....do you work for TSC??

Nope, just idle curiosity.

 

[TexasBred]

Ok....just noticed the hay spike was TSC also. ;-)

 

[Banjo]

Plant in May or June, depending on weather. Strip graze it in late fall or early winter. Alabama.

how many days grazing do you get out of it? and for how many cows?