Calhoun Farm
Well-known member
State will pay $500/yr here for mowing inside out, they say it cuts down on killing wild life.
Inside out
- Thread starter cowgirl8
- Start date
Funny you should say this. As i mow, the rabbits run out and a red tailed hawk picks them up..lol...not funny, but i do what i can to avoid hitting rabbits and even go out of my way to make sure one gets to a safe spot only for a hawk to swoop down and get it.Calhoun Farm":2clpjfbu said:
TexasBred
Well-known member
cowgirl8":13vhugji said:
Have you ever tried to show him how and why you do it like you do? Sort of help him out by showing him the results. Or does he think he's got it all figured out?
Before you condemn his way of doing things put yourself in his shoes.
Figure the amount of fence it would take to divide the 300 ac. Multiply that footage by the cost to build fence.
Now take how many extra head you could run and multiply it by your profit on each animal.
Divide the cost by the additional income and see how long it takes to pay for itself. Throw an extra amount of time on for the great equalizer... drought.
What is great management practices doesn't always convert to dollars in your pocket. Just because he is doing it differently doesn't mean it's wrong.
Just some thing to keep in mind. There are a lot of variables you can not see by just looking over a fence. ;-)
Figure the amount of fence it would take to divide the 300 ac. Multiply that footage by the cost to build fence.
Now take how many extra head you could run and multiply it by your profit on each animal.
Divide the cost by the additional income and see how long it takes to pay for itself. Throw an extra amount of time on for the great equalizer... drought.
What is great management practices doesn't always convert to dollars in your pocket. Just because he is doing it differently doesn't mean it's wrong.
Just some thing to keep in mind. There are a lot of variables you can not see by just looking over a fence. ;-)
His father left his place to this guy with cows. He's lazy, sits up at the local gas station all day. There are 4 pastures on his place fenced. 2 are so grown up the cows cant even get in there. It's really sad to see what he's done to the place his dad took care of. He has a tractor and a shredder that sat out in the middle of the field with a flat for 2 years. Him spraying was quite a shock. So maybe things will change. He is a cowboy, grew up a cowboy, has cowboy sons. So it' really makes no sense other than he just doesn't care.
I got ya. That explains a lot more. So it's being lazy and not giving a rats butt that makes his pastures look like that.
cowgirl8":38oprutg said:
thats what happend to me this weekend.. was mowing and two hawks came down to "watch" one of them picked up a rat.. the other went after a rabbit. . dont know if he got it or not..
TexasBred
Well-known member
Amazing how many out this way graze what they refer to as "Mesquite Pasture". Filled with mesquite but always seems to have a huge amount of native grasses growing everywhere. Of course mesquite doesn't blot out the sun like most trees so grass does well. Neither they nor the cows seem to care one way or the other and the cattle always look pretty darn sassy.Brute 23":770o5sbo said:
Nesikep
Well-known member
For the original topic, I have lots of triangles, my mo-co is a NH 473 I think, which only cuts on the right side of the tractor, so I mow from the outside in, however, I do have a couple tricks.. I work from the outside until I get a nasty sharp corner, then I divide the field in 2, so that I only have a few rounds with the sharp corners, and then the other half is mostly squared up again.
For raking, I have a 5 wheel rake, which can turn one windrow at a time, but you can use it to put 2 together if you like. With that, I work backward from the inside out, which reduces bunching in the corners and I don't have to drive over my raked hay to get out at the end. The added bonus is that it moves the hay inward, which means I can get the baler by the outside of the first row in the normal direction, and I don't have to go move all the bales outward after.
I have one field that I would like to mow, the alfalfa grows so fast and lush it always lays down, but the haybine won't pick it up, and the cows just trample it... it produced phenomenally, first cut I had 280 80 lb bales off less than 3 acres, and half of it was still on the ground. I just don't have the right equipment to do it
For raking, I have a 5 wheel rake, which can turn one windrow at a time, but you can use it to put 2 together if you like. With that, I work backward from the inside out, which reduces bunching in the corners and I don't have to drive over my raked hay to get out at the end. The added bonus is that it moves the hay inward, which means I can get the baler by the outside of the first row in the normal direction, and I don't have to go move all the bales outward after.
I have one field that I would like to mow, the alfalfa grows so fast and lush it always lays down, but the haybine won't pick it up, and the cows just trample it... it produced phenomenally, first cut I had 280 80 lb bales off less than 3 acres, and half of it was still on the ground. I just don't have the right equipment to do it
Nesikep
Well-known member
I have to crank mine up by hand, unless I'm ambitious and take the cylinder off the haybine.. usually more of a PITA than it's worth. I'm also a 1 man show here, so I can't be waiting on myself :O
TexasBred":r7vgbjgs said:
This times of year brush pastures have some tint of green on them. Any thing that is wide open is burnt.
If you dont do something where i live yearly, you'll get a pasture full of berry vines and locus trees. If you dont shred for years, it will be so thick nothing can get in or out. After a few years, you'll have to hire a bulldozer to come in and clear it.
We boom spray annually. It is a must to keep the huisatche, mesquite, black brush, Texas Croton, ect at bay. With normal rainfall a person would have to shred monthly through out the growing season to keep the weeds back. Shredding does more harm than good to most of those. Its more economical under our circumstances to spray.
I have not seen any thing we have sprayed have enough residual effect to slow down clover. Most grasses will grow 9mo out of the year so its not a deal breaker even if it did. Clover, with the right amount of rain, is only around a couple months at best. Its not some thing we bank on as part of our feed plan. Usually if we can stock pile Bermuda with a little molasses you are fine through the winter. Throw out a little hay or cubes if it gets cold enough they can't get out and graze.
I have not seen any thing we have sprayed have enough residual effect to slow down clover. Most grasses will grow 9mo out of the year so its not a deal breaker even if it did. Clover, with the right amount of rain, is only around a couple months at best. Its not some thing we bank on as part of our feed plan. Usually if we can stock pile Bermuda with a little molasses you are fine through the winter. Throw out a little hay or cubes if it gets cold enough they can't get out and graze.
