How many can get through a winter with only pasture grazing

[bigbull338]

ive got a friend that has yet to feed a bale of hay.an mind you we have been in the drought.he gambled an sold all his 1st cutting of hay.thinking it would rain an he could cut again.but it didnt rain.so he planted wheat rye grass an oats on his meadows an pastures.an has been grazing his cows all winter without feeding hay.he is cubing them every day or every other.has yet to buy a bale of hay.talked to him today.an his pastures are knee deep in grass right now.he is rotate grazing them.

 

[movin' on]

Attaboy's to all you and your friends. If your friend was on the tractor one time to plant things for winter grazing and then parked the tractor, he is a cowman and not a farmer! Those cows will get every last bit of good out of what he planted. The rotational grazing may take a bit of extra labor, but not near as much as all the labor involved with hay. I've been doing a little thinking about what I said last night with regards to "most parts of the country" and "nearly everyone". I probably threw out too big a net with those two statements. There are so places that simply get too much snow to graze anything in the winter. There are those folks that simply do not have the resources available to them to do it any other way than to feed hay in the winter. I guess what I was trying to say was.....MOST people, I believe could benefit by reducing their stocking rates, planting winter grazing, stockpiling hay, etc., etc. I think less cows (just enough to utilize all your rescources) can often be more profitable. It never ceases to amaze me when I drive by muddy, nasty lots in the winter where guys are feeding hay,rolling out straw bales and just begging for scours and who knows what else, when they farm (or ranch) thousands of acres that are sitting empty all winter long!!!!!!! It just doesn't add up to me.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Fall calving works great in this climate. I am short on cows tho and kept some surplus hay. Sold a bunch. Will probably sell 600 bales in '07. Winter wheat, rye, clover, vetch, and turnips give them something green when I rotate them in those patches. Coastal hay feeds them the rest of the time.

I buy cubes every now and then and use them to move them from pasture to pasture. Other than that, they eat what is grown on the place. I could run another hundred head except for the '05 drought. '06 wasn't good to me either. But I have surplus hay. Sold all I care to sell.

 

[CowpokeJ]

Fall calving works great in this climate. I am short on cows tho and kept some surplus hay. Sold a bunch. Will probably sell 600 bales in '07. Winter wheat, rye, clover, vetch, and turnips give them something green when I rotate them in those patches. Coastal hay feeds them the rest of the time.

I buy cubes every now and then and use them to move them from pasture to pasture. Other than that, they eat what is grown on the place. I could run another hundred head except for the '05 drought. '06 wasn't good to me either. But I have surplus hay. Sold all I care to sell.

They are saying summer 07 is going to be tuff also.

 

[J. T.]

Other than a little shelled corn on the coldest nights, my cows spend the winter eating stockpiled KY31 tall fescue and seem to thrive on it. I haven't fed hay in two years and if the Lord continues to bless us with rain in the fall so I can topdress the grass, I'll never feed hay again.

 

[houstoncutter]

For me it varies from year to year, with all the rainfall that we have had my pastures are a bog.... I have ryegrass for the cows to eat, but I cant put them on it, because it has been to wet the last 2 months..... As for stockpiling grass here in my part of Texas, it doesnt work....When we start getting the winter rains it just turns the stockpile grass to nothing....Granted the grass I have is bahia, and perhaps another type of grass would work better. So I buy the hay and cover it and hope I wont have to feed it....I got lucky last year it was somewhat dryer winter and the ryegrass and clover did the trick.... This year I am out there ever 3 days, trying to find someplace dry to feed 9 round bales of last years hay. If anyone has had good luck on stockpile grass along the Gulf Coast, I sure would like to get a few pointers,

 

[novatech]

For me it varies from year to year, with all the rainfall that we have had my pastures are a bog.... I have ryegrass for the cows to eat, but I cant put them on it, because it has been to wet the last 2 months..... As for stockpiling grass here in my part of Texas, it doesnt work....When we start getting the winter rains it just turns the stockpile grass to nothing....Granted the grass I have is bahia, and perhaps another type of grass would work better. So I buy the hay and cover it and hope I wont have to feed it....I got lucky last year it was somewhat dryer winter and the ryegrass and clover did the trick.... This year I am out there ever 3 days, trying to find someplace dry to feed 9 round bales of last years hay. If anyone has had good luck on stockpile grass along the Gulf Coast, I sure would like to get a few pointers,

Your stockpile of bahia should be used up by the 1 st. of january. You might try Oats for early feed along with crimison clover. Rye and native bur clover are better from feburary on. Save your hay for the extreemly wet weather and feed it in a sacrifical pasture. You may also need to reduce the number of permanent cattle. Went you have to much grass use stockers or cut it for hay.

 

[houstoncutter]

I've got plenty of ryegrass thats about 7 inches tall. Unfortunately, it's been in standing rainwater for the last two weeks. Clover is coming up quick and the cows are all over it but it's not enough. Got to give them hay and liquid feed. I would like to shoot for a hayless winter next year but I'll have some hay on hand just in case!!

Aint that the truth, a hayless winter. Seems like I can pull it off, about once every 5 years. I assume your clover is S-1, crimson doest like wet feet.

 

[houstoncutter]

For me it varies from year to year, with all the rainfall that we have had my pastures are a bog.... I have ryegrass for the cows to eat, but I cant put them on it, because it has been to wet the last 2 months..... As for stockpiling grass here in my part of Texas, it doesnt work....When we start getting the winter rains it just turns the stockpile grass to nothing....Granted the grass I have is bahia, and perhaps another type of grass would work better. So I buy the hay and cover it and hope I wont have to feed it....I got lucky last year it was somewhat dryer winter and the ryegrass and clover did the trick.... This year I am out there ever 3 days, trying to find someplace dry to feed 9 round bales of last years hay. If anyone has had good luck on stockpile grass along the Gulf Coast, I sure would like to get a few pointers,

Your stockpile of bahia should be used up by the 1 st. of january. You might try Oats for early feed along with crimison clover. Rye and native bur clover are better from feburary on. Save your hay for the extreemly wet weather and feed it in a sacrifical pasture. You may also need to reduce the number of permanent cattle. Went you have to much grass use stockers or cut it for hay.

Thanks for the suggestions, pretty much what we have did in the past. Unfortunaly, this close to the coast your oats and clover dont work... Its pretty much ryegrass and S-1 clover, the crimson cant handle the poor drainage in our area of Texas, and the oats seem to get some type of fungus. Who knows maybe the folks at Texas A&M will come up with a early maturing grass that will work on the coast, where we seem to get too much rain most winters