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Looking for cheap winter graze -possibilites
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<blockquote data-quote="Arnold Ziffle" data-source="post: 250608" data-attributes="member: 43"><p>Congrats on your new purchase; sounds like a nice piece of ground. Isn't Frost, Texas near Corsicana? What do the locals grow, if anything, for winter grazing? I agree with you about the $9,000 figure.</p><p></p><p>I hope you got some decent moisture out of this latest storm system. From what you described, if it were me here's what I think I'd do for a "real quick" with a view to winter grazing: Right now I'd shred the sunflowers, etc. and hope for a good volunteer stand of the Johnson grass regrowth (maybe lightly disc it to stimulate the Johnson grass). If the Johnson grass came back thick enough I'd get it baled --- if not I'd let the cattle graze it while green assuming it was growing in conditions not real condusive to nitrate & prussic poison. If in doubt I'd have it tested. Cows really love Johnson grass and will graze it into oblivion -- it cannot take continuous grazing pressure like bahia or bermuda. Meanwhile you could be stockpiling some of your 66 + 80 acres of native forage for use later in the fall/winter.</p><p></p><p>If you really need the cool season forage from the 100 acres or have a viable plan for it : For late fall, winter and early spring you could try ryegrass, oats or winter wheat. Of course, so much depends on your moisture and soil fertility situation. A few years back a buddy of mine drilled about 400 acres of oats in a field near Madisonville (which isn't all that far south of Frost). He fertilized it and was fortunate to get timely rains. It grew so well that he didn't have enough calves to put on it so he took on others' calves on a pound gained basis. I'd guess that you'd get earlier grazing on oats & wheat than on ryegrass, but oats are more cold sensitive than ryegrass. If you were fortunate enough to grow too much oats you could always let it head out and then if conditions were right come early spring you could bale it (I've done that with good success) -- of course, you could also bale the ryegrass. And I'd guess there will be one or two guys around you that would be interested in buying hay or paying for grazing gain. ;-) </p><p></p><p>You say the 100 acres was hay ground and was previously plowed every year, so the prior owner was probably planting haygrazer or one of the related sorghum or millets each year, and maybe also planting a winter crop of oats, ryegrass or wheat. Later on down the road you can decide if you want to continue with something like that or possibly consider another route, such as really working up the land, killing out the undesirables and then planting sprigs or tops of Jiggs bermuda, $$Tifton 85, etc. for a permanent hay meadow or improved pasture, or going "native" if you so desire. That sort of permanent pasture would also lend itself to broadcasting ryegrass and/or drilling oats or wheat for cool season grazing.</p><p></p><p>Just a bunch of rambling thoughts -- others will probably have much better ideas. And of course take some soil samples and have them tested and for this very first season <u>possibly</u> fertilize accordingly for the cool season planting. Don't spend a lot of money growing more than your herd can realistically utilize, unless you have other plans for any excess forage. But how soon do you want to increase your herd size? Right now you've only got 15 cows for 80 + 66 acreas of grazing land in addition to the 100, so the 146 acres alone might hold you in good stead for stockpiling, assuming you're not down to just bare dirt due to the drought. Good luck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Arnold Ziffle, post: 250608, member: 43"] Congrats on your new purchase; sounds like a nice piece of ground. Isn't Frost, Texas near Corsicana? What do the locals grow, if anything, for winter grazing? I agree with you about the $9,000 figure. I hope you got some decent moisture out of this latest storm system. From what you described, if it were me here's what I think I'd do for a "real quick" with a view to winter grazing: Right now I'd shred the sunflowers, etc. and hope for a good volunteer stand of the Johnson grass regrowth (maybe lightly disc it to stimulate the Johnson grass). If the Johnson grass came back thick enough I'd get it baled --- if not I'd let the cattle graze it while green assuming it was growing in conditions not real condusive to nitrate & prussic poison. If in doubt I'd have it tested. Cows really love Johnson grass and will graze it into oblivion -- it cannot take continuous grazing pressure like bahia or bermuda. Meanwhile you could be stockpiling some of your 66 + 80 acres of native forage for use later in the fall/winter. If you really need the cool season forage from the 100 acres or have a viable plan for it : For late fall, winter and early spring you could try ryegrass, oats or winter wheat. Of course, so much depends on your moisture and soil fertility situation. A few years back a buddy of mine drilled about 400 acres of oats in a field near Madisonville (which isn't all that far south of Frost). He fertilized it and was fortunate to get timely rains. It grew so well that he didn't have enough calves to put on it so he took on others' calves on a pound gained basis. I'd guess that you'd get earlier grazing on oats & wheat than on ryegrass, but oats are more cold sensitive than ryegrass. If you were fortunate enough to grow too much oats you could always let it head out and then if conditions were right come early spring you could bale it (I've done that with good success) -- of course, you could also bale the ryegrass. And I'd guess there will be one or two guys around you that would be interested in buying hay or paying for grazing gain. ;-) You say the 100 acres was hay ground and was previously plowed every year, so the prior owner was probably planting haygrazer or one of the related sorghum or millets each year, and maybe also planting a winter crop of oats, ryegrass or wheat. Later on down the road you can decide if you want to continue with something like that or possibly consider another route, such as really working up the land, killing out the undesirables and then planting sprigs or tops of Jiggs bermuda, $$Tifton 85, etc. for a permanent hay meadow or improved pasture, or going "native" if you so desire. That sort of permanent pasture would also lend itself to broadcasting ryegrass and/or drilling oats or wheat for cool season grazing. Just a bunch of rambling thoughts -- others will probably have much better ideas. And of course take some soil samples and have them tested and for this very first season [u]possibly[/u] fertilize accordingly for the cool season planting. Don't spend a lot of money growing more than your herd can realistically utilize, unless you have other plans for any excess forage. But how soon do you want to increase your herd size? Right now you've only got 15 cows for 80 + 66 acreas of grazing land in addition to the 100, so the 146 acres alone might hold you in good stead for stockpiling, assuming you're not down to just bare dirt due to the drought. Good luck. [/QUOTE]
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