Grazing Stockpile during May/June Drought ?

[Stocker Steve]

Ordered some sunn hemp for the summer mixes. Got 0.7" of rain yesterday which more than doubled our summer rain total! So time to grease up the drill.

Will need to move some more cows if the annuals don't look good in July.

 

[W.B.]

I would not graze the hay ground. In fact I did not graze ours thru the last drought. I sold down and preserved pasture at all costs. I was one of the first to have hay ready to cut when it started raining. Even with all the rain some people are having to buy this outrageous priced feed because they grazed it too hard in the drought. We are sitting pretty good with low numbers, cows in good condition, and grass starting to stockpile going in to August.

Over grazing can bite you in the rear for years to come.

Here in the north country failed hay crops dont come back. The season is too short to get a haycrop even if it rains. You could graze it now and it rains you can graze again later. I have done this before and it works.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I agree with Brute 23. Better to 'lock down' what you have in the hand than to bet on the come .

 

[Rydero]

Here in the north country failed hay crops dont come back. The season is too short to get a haycrop even if it rains. You could graze it now and it rains you can graze again later. I have done this before and it works.

You're right. IF it was a thick alfalfa stand with good fertility AND the rains came after it was grazed you'd probably actually help it produce more by keeping it from getting too mature. The hay crop for.this year is decided already for the most part in the North.

I don't see how responsibility grazing a hay field that already needs renovation and is probably dormant would be detrimental to the soil. There's a big range.between not worth cutting and grazing down to the dirt. Most decent cattle people know.enough to navigate those waters.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Harvested a big crop of rocks and then rushed to seed the first paddock to a SS based mix yesterday. Rain was forecast for today but we only got a couple drops...

Have a NT drill lined up for German millet next Tuesday. Have not grown this variety before. Hope to get hay out of it.

Have some pearl millet to go next. The low seeding rate and the re graze possibility attracted me, but after I bought it I was told we do not have enough heat for it. Will have to blend it in lightly.

Will start seeding bin run oats and hybrid turnip based mixes in August.

If nothing else I will be way ahead on field work next spring.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Finished first round of millet seeding. No tilled it into the dust... What is the longest you have waited for millet or SS to germinate ?