Ideal Pasture

[dun]

I envy you guys that can grow fescue. If I could grow it I doubt I'd ever need to feed hay.

I thought fescue grows almost everywhere?

It doesn;t do well in warmer climates, that's why it's classified as a cool season grass

 

[plumber_greg]

Actually, my fescue has given way to brome the last few years. Jo, I do miss it in the winter, makes good feed, way better than brome.
My experience with thistles. They took over the area 10 years ago. Sprayed, sprayed some more, dug, mowed. Just as many as when I started. Dedicated my self to eradicate them. Failed.
Some older guys bought the bugs that were supposed to eat the flowers. They put out a lot of them. Would laugh, they got a box of thousands, and were susposed to put 4 on each flower. Started thinking I was winning the war, with my efforts, but it was the bugs. Thistles are no longer a problem. I won't spray or mow any that aren't in my yard, or other wise in the way. Maybe if a big patch is in the lot by the house. Gotta' leave some to keep the bugs alive.
Have some people around that kill them all, or nearly all, and they fight giant patches every year. Hard to let most of them go the first few years, but after you get a bug population established, you're more afraid a bad winter like this will kill them if they ain't fat enough to hibernate. gs

 

[Jogeephus]

Those bugs sound interesting Greg. Wish there was one for smutgrass.

 

[TexasBred]

Really gets your goat when you fight thistles all year then look out and see next year's thistle seed floating in the breeze into your yard, pasture and everywhere else from the neighbor's place up the road.

 

[Jogeephus]

That's what I saw when the DOT put out that bad seed. I even mowed the ROW for two miles when I saw it beginning to head out. That helped prevent my having a bigger problem but those little furry seeds can fly a ways.

 

[Angus Cowman]

my ideal pasture
in the late fall and early winter and early spring it is one of the neighbors wheat fields in the late spring and summer it is a neighbors corn,bean and hayfields
for me it has became the cheapest way to graze yr round
the way it works is I turn cows out at dark everynite and then dry lot them every morning before sunrise my neighbors can't understand how my cows stay so fat yr round with nothing but dirt and a few bales a hay pr yr
it has worked out for me to be the cheapest way of running cows
Now if some of my neighbors would just buy a few high quality bulls for me to utilize at nite then I could cut production cost even further

 

[plumber_greg]

Gonna' look into that. gs

 

[Chuckie]

Durana Clover and Fescue.

 

[Brute 23]

2/3 Tifton... 1/3 scattered oaks with light yaupan under brush

 

[dun]

The only reason I can see for a monoculture is if you plan on harvesting seed. Even then, with fescue a little other mix, particularly if low growing doesn;t hurt the dollar yield for the seed

 

[Bigfoot]

Spring and fall--------Fescue/ladina clover
Summer---------Bermuda (May never happen, but I'm trying)
Early winter----------Stock piled fescue

 

[Lazy M]

Ladina is amazing stuff in a pasture- hearty as a weed and the cattle love it

 

[houstoncutter]

Native grasses like bluesteams , but alas Bahia is know the main grass mixed with s1 clover and crimision clover

 

[Stocker Steve]

my ideal pasture in the late fall and early winter and early spring it is one of the neighbors wheat fields in the late spring and summer it is a neighbors corn,bean and hayfields for me it has became the cheapest way to graze yr round the way it works is I turn cows out at dark everynite and then dry lot them every morning before sunrise my neighbors can't understand how my cows stay so fat yr round with nothing but dirt and a few bales a hay pr yr

Another plus for black cows -- they are harder for the neighbors to see !!!

 

[WalnutCrest]

A little SW of Kansas City ...

I'd like to get our new place to have about 20% in legumes of at least two different types. Tempted to start with a little alfalfa drilled in this spring and then maybe broadcast some lespedeza and/or clover this fall/winter for the snows to settle the seeds in.

With the rest of the pasture in fescue (60%) and brome (20%).

Or something like that.

And, I agree with DUN ... trees with undergrowth available to them is a good idea. However, my reasoning is that it's been our experience that beef harvested off of pastures with this sort of forage available to them taste better than beef off of "straight pasture" areas.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Lespedeza needs to be planted in the spring.

 

[cowgirl8]

Lespedeza needs to be planted in the spring.

Thats the best grazing ever.