Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Grasses, Pastures & Hay
Irrigation advice
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="uncle" data-source="post: 840036" data-attributes="member: 16697"><p>This subject is quite difficult for someone like myself who has never tried to irrigate grass! I have the advantage of a 70 year old dad who use to irrigate cotton but that is a very different thing all together.</p><p></p><p>The expense is quite high to say the least even if you have a well as you still have sprinkler systems and underground feeder pipe... looking at $75K right now! The problem for me is that I am working this deal on borrowed money so I have to be able to make payments which is huge if you can't make them but and this is a BIG BUT... if my carrying capacity is increased then it would make sense.... no increase then it is a bad, bad idea!</p><p></p><p>The idea of doing it to keep cattle is a tough decision as I am also in that position... I am "caking" now and have about 30 days more grass and I am done. My heifers still look pretty good but my older cows with calves look like crap...fix'n to strip them off! And if I sell them I know that I won't get anything for them and will loose a ton of money on them... I don't want that of course. I am afraid that if I do that then when and if it ever rains again :bang: what I get for the stuff I sell off will do little more than make a down payment on starting over. </p><p></p><p>I am in this situation where if I sell off then later I will have to borrow money to buy back... If I put in the irrigation then I have to borrow money now, but if it does not improve my stocking rate then I will again loose money!</p><p></p><p>I think that I will get some improved stocking rates with the irrigation and doing more of a managed type grazing then the cell grazing that we do now but how much I don't know? I read an article in Acres magazine a week or so back called "Tall Grass MOB Stocking" that is really interesting but the numbers that the author is running on land seem crazy... Joel Salatin says that he is running 400 head on 1.5 acres for 1 day. I don't need to run nearly so many to make my deal work :lol: !! Read it here <a href="http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/May08_Salatin.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprint ... alatin.pdf</a></p><p></p><p>The system that I am looking at is called K-Line and requires 70 gpm for a 14 pod system which covers about .91 acres per set ( I need 11 systems to cover in 7 days). It works out to about 3" in a 12 hours set and then is moved. I have about 220 acres that I am looking at doing this on with improved grasses (WB Dahl and others) and legumes (white clover and maybe hairy vetch) all in multi-species plots. My hope is to graze each paddock 1 -2 times per year with my calves, older/kept heifers, grass fed steers and maybe some stockers if I can handle them to help my income.</p><p></p><p>That is my deal... and my confusion and frustration! Tough decision and lots of money. But if I knew I could improve my stocking rates and how much then my decisions would be much easier... if I can get "Salatin" type results then I am all in! 8) </p><p></p><p>Uncle</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="uncle, post: 840036, member: 16697"] This subject is quite difficult for someone like myself who has never tried to irrigate grass! I have the advantage of a 70 year old dad who use to irrigate cotton but that is a very different thing all together. The expense is quite high to say the least even if you have a well as you still have sprinkler systems and underground feeder pipe... looking at $75K right now! The problem for me is that I am working this deal on borrowed money so I have to be able to make payments which is huge if you can't make them but and this is a BIG BUT... if my carrying capacity is increased then it would make sense.... no increase then it is a bad, bad idea! The idea of doing it to keep cattle is a tough decision as I am also in that position... I am "caking" now and have about 30 days more grass and I am done. My heifers still look pretty good but my older cows with calves look like crap...fix'n to strip them off! And if I sell them I know that I won't get anything for them and will loose a ton of money on them... I don't want that of course. I am afraid that if I do that then when and if it ever rains again :bang: what I get for the stuff I sell off will do little more than make a down payment on starting over. I am in this situation where if I sell off then later I will have to borrow money to buy back... If I put in the irrigation then I have to borrow money now, but if it does not improve my stocking rate then I will again loose money! I think that I will get some improved stocking rates with the irrigation and doing more of a managed type grazing then the cell grazing that we do now but how much I don't know? I read an article in Acres magazine a week or so back called "Tall Grass MOB Stocking" that is really interesting but the numbers that the author is running on land seem crazy... Joel Salatin says that he is running 400 head on 1.5 acres for 1 day. I don't need to run nearly so many to make my deal work :lol: !! Read it here [url=http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/May08_Salatin.pdf]http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprint ... alatin.pdf[/url] The system that I am looking at is called K-Line and requires 70 gpm for a 14 pod system which covers about .91 acres per set ( I need 11 systems to cover in 7 days). It works out to about 3" in a 12 hours set and then is moved. I have about 220 acres that I am looking at doing this on with improved grasses (WB Dahl and others) and legumes (white clover and maybe hairy vetch) all in multi-species plots. My hope is to graze each paddock 1 -2 times per year with my calves, older/kept heifers, grass fed steers and maybe some stockers if I can handle them to help my income. That is my deal... and my confusion and frustration! Tough decision and lots of money. But if I knew I could improve my stocking rates and how much then my decisions would be much easier... if I can get "Salatin" type results then I am all in! 8) Uncle [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Grasses, Pastures & Hay
Irrigation advice
Top