lawn grass clippings?? anyway to keep it??

[keithr]

I have a buddy who is in the lawn care business, he mows and vacuums up a tremendous amount of grass clippings each year, is there any way to put up the clippings and feed it this winter?? thanks!

 

[MikeC]

I have a buddy who is in the lawn care business, he mows and vacuums up a tremendous amount of grass clippings each year, is there any way to put up the clippings and feed it this winter?? thanks!

Ensile it. Pile it up. Cover with plastic (keep sealed as best you can).

If you're feeding just a few cows, just keep it sealed in plastic bags.

Oxygen will start a mold.

 

[LonghornRanch]

The problem with lawn clippings is DRYING. It's cut so fine it's hard to dry and store.

 

[dun]

Before attempting to ensile grass clippings you might want to give the following a look
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic- ... a-Cow.aspx

dun

 

[BTRANCH]

You might want to consider any pesticides that have been put on the grass that was cut. It might be toxic to cows. I know it is not recommended to feed horses yard clippings.

 

[TheLazyM]

I bought a bagger just to gather the grass clippings. I feed mine thru the summer. I dont bother trying to store it for winter. But it sounds pretty interrresting for a site like this to get underway and experiment and find a good way to do this. I hope you told your friend you would take all he has.

 

[tytower]

You might want to consider any pesticides that have been put on the grass that was cut. It might be toxic to cows. I know it is not recommended to feed horses yard clippings.

Recommended by who and what do they know?

 

[mountainranch]

not sure about cowes, but i've heard that feeding grass clippings to horses could kill them.

 

[SCRUBS620]

not sure about cowes, but i've heard that feeding grass clippings to horses could kill them.

I say load up the trucks and bring them to all of these city people who just have to have horses. They spend year after year in 100 x 100 mud lots, no pasture, no excercise. They just stand there head down, nothing to do and some nothing to eat.

 

[GhengisKhan]

Hi there, I found this forum via a google search for just this topic. We have corrals and a barn, but no land. We are poor, but hard workers. We have bottle calves we've taken on, and will have to sell them before next winter, or find a cheap way to feed them.

One thing worth mentioning is that there are untold tons of lawn clippings sent to landfills daily in summer. What a waste. Any useful purpose would be an improvement.

The pesticide/herbicide issue is valid of course, but generally, the person cutting the grass is the person who applies chemicals. They should be able to wait a certain period of time; only collecting chemical free clippings.

Regarding weeds, same holds true here. The guy with the mower should be able to choose grass from weed-free lawns.

So if we assume that the first two problems are solved....

Properly drying the stuff might be possible. I'm thinking, a giant tumbler with a fan? Or a box with air pumped in from the bottom?

If the drying could be done, are there still health risks? What percentage of their diet could safely consist of urban lawn clippings?

What about the nutritional value? If we could properly dry it, and save it for winter, does someone know what kind of suplementation we would need?

In addition to bottle calves, we have a few goats, and I wonder if I could winter them with the grass clippings? Does someone know if there is any kind of animal that would thrive on grass clippings? I like the idea of making profit and use from others wastefulness.

Thank you
Ghengis

 

[vs_cattle]

I guess the best thing to do is experement try it out on a few head of calves or goats then if its not working take them to the sell barn
Good luck and tell us how it works out

 

[TheLazyM]

You might want to consider any pesticides that have been put on the grass that was cut. It might be toxic to cows. I know it is not recommended to feed horses yard clippings.

Recommended by who and what do they know?

It seems that this is a no brainer!!!! Why would anyone challenge the assertion that it's wrong to feed pesticide/herbicide treated yard clippings to an animal? I suppose that if the goal was to kill your animal slowly then this might a good way to do it. Or, like Scrubs said just sit there and watch the horses in their unattended mud holes and watch then slowly fade out.

Wait a minute. I challenge that assertion. Please if you will read some labels of whats going on and in our cattle as wormers, herbicdes and even pesticides. Farmers every day spray 2-4-d ester, glyphosate n{roundup and generics} pantera, ect ect, treating weeds to fireants to horn flies. We feed our cattle fenbendozal for worms. We spray Carbaryl {seven dust on our trees and what nots to keep them dang beetles off em but i havent found anything yet to keep the cattle from nibbling the leaves. Could grass clippings hurt a horse? Maybe so, but i would be willing to bet its not due to chemicals its proply more of a grass species or amount issue. Everybody knows horses have what appears to be weak stomachs. I've seen them get sick just for changing feed.
I feed my grass clipping all summer just because i got this thought in my head "waste not, want not". Its not a matter of me having to, but i want to. I have'nt had the 1st head get sick yet.
keithr I wish i knew somebody that was in the lawn busness that i could get the grass from. I've talked to some companies but everyone i talked to compost theirs. It makes sense they charge their clients to bag the grass plus they charge to fertlize their lawn. Yea thats right they pay for someone to take the grass off and then pay to have it spreaded back out. I've tried to talk them into a trade for their grass for my cow manure. I would feed every blade i could get.

 

[GhengisKhan]

I share your waste not-want not attitude. Although I'm also motivated by my limited means.
What percentage of their diet could I get away with do you think?
Also, from a lawn business is my idea too. I think I know a guy I could make a deal with. But what do you think about the issues of fermentation, and moisture content in relation to immediate use as well as storage for winter?
Thank you for any help you can provide.

 

[TheLazyM]

I share your waste not-want not attitude. Although I'm also motivated by my limited means.
What percentage of their diet could I get away with do you think?
Also, from a lawn business is my idea too. I think I know a guy I could make a deal with. But what do you think about the issues of fermentation, and moisture content in relation to immediate use as well as storage for winter?
Thank you for any help you can provide.

I dont know those answers. I cut 5 acres a week. I bag all 5 acres I empty the bag out in a hayring right when it fills up. Like i said i feed it right when i get it.
If i had it to store. I think the first thing i would do it lay it down and let it dry. Now how much you get at a time will depend on how fecible this is for you. I think to gather it back up i would use a sweeper or rebag it. Again what ever makes it easier on you. I think I would cut the bottom off a 55 gal drum. I'm thinking about the kind that has a removeable lid whith the lock ring. I would turn the barrel upside down and put the dried grass in the barrel and press it tight. Then all you have to do is lay the barrel on it's side and push the grass right on thru. If it works it should look like a wierd looking bale of hay. I dont know how much handling the bales are going to be able to take if any. If this did'nt work for me then i would try putting the grass in the barrel as soon as i got it and let it dry inside the barrel. If you have some one to help ya. Ya could lay some twine on the ground and put the barrel right on top of the twine and yoyu or someone else could pick up the barrel and the other try to tie the bale. I would'nt waste alot of time on this. If I could'nt get this baling thing to work for me I would just build me a crip and just store the sun dried grass in it.
I think this would be a good prodject for a site to play with. Of corse it sure would give cattle raisers a whole new resource. Face it the price of fuel, chemicals, grain, and everything else is'nt going to come back down. The price of cattle aint going to get much better. WE got to off set some of these rediculious prices some how.

 

[GhengisKhan]

I'm still poor, and still have about 8-10 calves I'll want to feed next winter. I'll likely have to sell them unless I can figure out a way to feed them for free. I'm thinking some kind of giant tumbler with a swamp-cooler blower to dry the clippings. Or maybe a box about 8 feet cubed with air blown into the bottom somehow?

 

[Bez>]

I'm still poor, and still have about 8-10 calves I'll want to feed next winter. I'll likely have to sell them unless I can figure out a way to feed them for free. I'm thinking some kind of giant tumbler with a swamp-cooler blower to dry the clippings. Or maybe a box about 8 feet cubed with air blown into the bottom somehow?

Probably smarter to sell them and use the money to buy replacements when the new grass comes.

Sometimes we get so smart trying things we out smart ourselves.

Bez>

 

[Chuckie]

If I'm not mistaken, the horses that died, ate it when it was going through a heating process, after being piled up. A man in a neighboring town cut his grass and dumped the clippings over in his neighbors barn lot, thinking he was feeding the horse, and the horse died.
Chuckie

 

[mnmtranching]

I sure wouldn't be afraid to feed fresh lawn clippings to my cows weeds or not. I don't see any practical way to store clippings for Winter feed. Unless there was sufficient quantities to bag it. If that were the case it would make good haylage.

 

[rc]

If it stays in a bag even overnight I'm afraid it would sour. Whats the point in catching grass anyway, it's better for the lawn to leave it and if it could be done in a costly manner safely folks would be doing it.

 

[3MR]

I used to cut my acre yard, let it dry, rake it up and feed it to the horses. I did this for years before I got to lazy and just started bagging it on the mower and throwing it away.

I would just piled it up in the loft of the barn and it lasted as long as it was there. I have no doubt it would have lasted for years if I hadnt fed it.