kudzu-someone ask and I don't know the answer

[greybeard]

Do/will cattle eat kudzu?

 

[FourSquareFarm]

I have heard that they do. I don't believe it harms them, but I don't have any personal experience with it.

 

[cowgirl8]

A quick google search should give you the answers you need.

 

[Deepsouth]

Actually it's very nutritional and high in protein. I know deer love it and will almost live in it in the summer.

 

[M-5]

Yes, if you want to plant something just like it but is not evasive get you some velvet beans

 

[Jogeephus]

Yes, its a bean and would be just like turning them loose in a soybean field only it will keep growing back.

 

[bball]

Thanks! Just spent last hour reading about kudzu. I am very intrigued. Sounds like awesome fodder for cattle, but a lot of folks sure seem to hate it (impossible to contain??)

 

[Jogeephus]

(impossible to contain??)

Not impossible but not very easy. If you planted some in the middle of pasture where there were no trees and an ample buffer of moweable ground around the plot you could pretty well keep it confined as long as they don't outlaw Tordon.

Seems like it grows something like six inches a day. Is that right? It bears a little bean that looks a lot like soybeans. I assume these would be nutritious as well. What was the hardiness of kudzu. I know it grows like banshees here but what about in your area?

 

[JWBrahman]

Do/will cattle eat kudzu?

Greybeard I have seen ours nibble the new growth but not really dive in for a meal.

If you want to eradicate it completely run a few St. Croix hair sheep in the area with Kudzu. It has been 10 years since I sold my flock and still no kudzu.

 

[kenny thomas]

Cattle here eat it like it is candy. Keeping it where you want it is the hard part. I think it is illegal to plant it though.
Just like Johnson grass if you leave the cattle on it long enough they will kill it.

 

[bball]

(impossible to contain??)

Not impossible but not very easy. If you planted some in the middle of pasture where there were no trees and an ample buffer of moweable ground around the plot you could pretty well keep it confined as long as they don't outlaw Tordon.

Seems like it grows something like six inches a day. Is that right? It bears a little bean that looks a lot like soybeans. I assume these would be nutritious as well. What was the hardiness of kudzu. I know it grows like banshees here but what about in your area?

From what i read, it will grow here but no where close to as aggressive as in the humid south. Couldn't find if it would winter kill or survive and comeback. It sounds like a great feed source though, would be easier to manage here..Apparently, to kill it you have to destroy the rootcrown. Sounds like hogs work pretty good on that.

 

[kenny thomas]

I am south of you some but the weather is not that much warmer here and it does not winter kill. The first frost kills the part above ground and they wont touch it after that. The roots are real deep so I doubt the winter will kill it there either. Hogs do a great job of killing it.

 

[Lucky_P]

Jogeephus nailed it. Once it gets into the trees... it's off and running. Maybe if you were also running some giraffes with the herd...you could keep it contained.
Had some on the farm back home in AL... Had to clean off and re-stretch the road frontage fence about every 3 years, 'cause it would have pulled the top (5th) strand of barbed wire almost down to ground level.
Top quality forage, and vines will grow up to 18" per day... and cows eat the heck out of it... but I'm not sure about tonnage produced... when you turn 'em into a pasture with it, they'll clear off all the leaves and tender shoots in a hurry. Gotta pull 'em off and give it time to re-grow if you're gonna continue to use it. Could graze it off several times during the growing season. It was a life-saver in bad droughty years, but all in all, I wouldn't want it.
There are a couple of patches of it that I see up here in the frigid northland of southern KY, and it's not as aggressive as it was down home, where it's also known as 'The Vine that ate The South'. Probably illegal to plant ANYWHERE in the USA...and I sure wouldn't advise it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=kudzu+t ... d=0CD0QsAQ

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Would graze it if you already have it, but forget it otherwise. Grows good while in season, but if is around the end of May before it greens up here and we have already turned out on fescue for a couple of weeks.

 

[bball]

I have a 20 ac piece of ground that stays pretty wet unless we don't get rain for 1.5 months. Only thing that really grows is canary grass, was wondering if kudzu would take to it....thanks for all the previous feed back..sounds like it doesn't start well from seed??

 

[Cabo]

I have a 20 ac piece of ground that stays pretty wet unless we don't get rain for 1.5 months. Only thing that really grows is canary grass, was wondering if kudzu would take to it....thanks for all the previous feed back..sounds like it doesn't start well from seed??

If you will bring a couple of semi trailers and workers to cut and dig up the roots I will load it for you for free. It is no friend of the soil as it will let gullies wash right under it. Cows love it green but mine won't touch it in a bale.

 

[bball]

I have a 20 ac piece of ground that stays pretty wet unless we don't get rain for 1.5 months. Only thing that really grows is canary grass, was wondering if kudzu would take to it....thanks for all the previous feed back..sounds like it doesn't start well from seed??

If you will bring a couple of semi trailers and workers to cut and dig up the roots I will load it for you for free. It is no friend of the soil as it will let gullies wash right under it. Cows love it green but mine won't touch it in a bale.

:lol: do they hold their condition on it pretty well?

 

[Tim/South]

Cattle will gain weight on kudzu faster than any grazing I have ever seen and no fertilizer is needed.
I had 20 acres where the plant had consumed in just 3 years. We fenced it and put thin sale barn calves on it. I have never seen cattle change in such a short period of time. It is gone now, mission accomplished. Kudzu will not stand up to the grazing. I do not believe it would make a good long term pasture. Just can not graze the cattle per acre long term.