Hillbilly Pasture

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inyati13

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Dec 17, 2011
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Kentucky, Outer Bluegrass
Here are some pics of mowing my pasture from the tractor. This is steeper than it looks:
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cowboy43":1z7o9qgc said:
Nice pasture, why are you mowing, it looks like all grass?
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I clip the tall grass down after it gets "rank" which is a local term for mature. The cows like to graze the clover and grass blades down low. The tall grass can be abrasive to their eyes which can invite pinkeye.

Dr. Ray Smith, U of KY Forage Specialist will be at my farm tomorrow morning to look at my forage. The county agent commented on how good the forage is even though the land is steep. On June 27th there will be a field day put on by the KY Cattle Asso at my farm. so I am also getting things ready for that. I cleared my farm with a Cat D3G dozer I bought. Put 1000 hours on it and sold it for $500 less than I paid so I did well. I used the dozer to track in the seed beds and the result has been some of the most outstanding pasture I have ever seen. Now others are taking note of it. For a beginner, I have been very lucky.
 
Inyati....When you said you cleared your farm, was it full scale woods- or grown up old fields.
Also, what did your initial soil tests come in at(as far as PH).
Thanks, just trying to learn, and great pictures!
 
Looks like some good grass. Looks like you are cutting it at about the right height too. If you don't need it for about a month or 6 weeks the blades will get thicker and be more palatable.
 
jasonleonard":fe2tw6yw said:
Inyati....When you said you cleared your farm, was it full scale woods- or grown up old fields.
Also, what did your initial soil tests come in at(as far as PH).
Thanks, just trying to learn, and great pictures!
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It ranged from bushes just a little bigger than is right for a heavy duty bushhog up to full size deciduous trees like hackberry, black locust, honey locust, walnut, boxelder, oak, hickory, maple, etc. But most of it would fall into the grown up old pasture. I took out the perimeter fence. When the adjoining neighbor would cooperate, we would have a fence contractor put in high quality woven wire fence with treated posts and one strand of barbed wire on top. The soil tests showed a need for about 2 to 3 tons of crushed limestone per acre. I had that put on the ridge tops. Most is of the pasture is too steep for the trucks that spread it. I was low on P but K was fine. Actually, the soil was pretty good. I have seen that when you turn those old grown up fields as you remove trees and do some grade work, it revitalizes the soil. It is my theory that you accellerate the oxidation of the minerals and more becomes available for plants. If you do a good seed bed preparation and track the seed in (my LGP, low ground pressure, dozer was ideal; the grousers really work well for putting the seed in), you are going to get quick high percentage plant germination.

Banjo, exactly right.
 
Just me, but I would cut, raked, and rolled that. Especially if I was just wanting tender growth. If have another dry spell, you could have been a popular guy. I never let my horses on mature fescue, or fescue with seed heads. I've mowed my fair share of, don't get me wrong.
 
I now understand why you mowed it. My thought was after 10 years of drought and the cows eating dirt, it would be a sin to cut grass like that and a jail offense. Sure would be nice to have enough rainfall so our pastures could produce good grass. Like others said you have done a good job of rehabbing your pasture.
 
In 3 to 6 weeks he will have gained back in feed value everything and more plus much more palatability.
 
Dr Ray Smith was out today and it was very interesting. He suggested letting some areas go back to seed every 2 to 3 years. The pictures just happen to be an area that is mostly fescue but in my pastures as a whole, there is rye grass, blue grass, red clover, ledino clover, orchard grass and timothy. He said to keep it going good and not have it all go to fescue, that letting the seed heads rippen every 2 to 3 years before mowing and then mowing the mature stems in late fall would be a good program. Having said that, he was very encouraging about a good mowing program. He said mowing is the best practice to bring on good forage and he likes the early mowing before the weeds go to seed. He also said what Banjo did above. Mowing regenerates the soil with nutrients and builds back the humus which is gone from most areas which have been cleared with a dozer. He was impressed with the success of my extensive clearing operations. I explained that when I cleared areas, I deliberately left them rough and crossed ditched them until they could be seeded in the fall. Some of those areas were left open all summer. I then went back in and done the grade work, broadcast the seed and tracked the seed bed with the dozer by going up and down the slope.
 
Red Bull Breeder":15tb73kn said:
That ain't to steep for the guys around here to lime or fertilize.
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The pictures do not make it look as steep as it is. But there were five of us on the tour today and one other said they had pastures steeper than these and they fertilized theirs when needed. I mow up and down the hill and I would say you could pull a spreader the same way.

But I would not think you could pull a roller over it without doing some damage. I would not want to harvest hay from it.
 
TennesseeTuxedo":1ey90amd said:
Sounds like you're on the right track. I wonder if Dr. Smith would like to visit Gallatin County?
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I would say definitely. Those guys probably look for a reason to get out. Contact you county agent. You are really not that far from me.
 
If you do a good seed bed preparation and track the seed in (my LGP, low ground pressure, dozer was ideal; the grousers really work well for putting the seed in), you are going to get quick high percentage plant germination."
After you knocked all the trees and such down how did you prep the fields? What's a "grouser?". Thanks for your post. I take it your field day went swell?
 

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