Mob grazing- Anybody clean up after the cows go through?

[Richardin52]

I have been grazing at about 100,000 lbs/ acre. They do a pretty good job knocking down and eating everything but I am noticing milk weed increasing in my pastures so I have started cutting behind them.

The only other option I see is to increase the stocking rate. Anybody else have this problem?

 

[dun]

Here the follow on weeds are queen anns lace and bull nettle. If I can catch them before flowering and seeding I spray other wise I clip.

 

[shaz]

Not really. The weed problem I have is not a bi-product of mob grazing. Horse nettle and cuckle burr for the most part.

 

[cowboy43]

My mob grazing consists of 1000# to 20 acres and with this drought that is too much.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Here the follow on weeds are queen anns lace and bull nettle. If I can catch them before flowering and seeding I spray other wise I clip.

Dun, you read my mind! We have the same problem, with bull nettle. I have been going behind the cows with the brush hog, we rotate every 48 hours. Kind of a pain, but at this point I see no other option since all that is left when they move is the bull nettle (with flowers and green seed balls)! We also have a big issue with buckhorn plantain, but the cows are eating it at least. I have a rather large patch of it, right where we seeded the red clover so if I spray I kill the clover we just put in. Not too happy about that!

 

[Banjo]

I have been grazing at about 100,000 lbs/ acre. They do a pretty good job knocking down and eating everything but I am noticing milk weed increasing in my pastures so I have started cutting behind them.

The only other option I see is to increase the stocking rate. Anybody else have this problem?

How long is your recovery time?

 

[highgrit]

I use a 7' rotary mower and a 8' drag harrow hooked up behind it. In one pass everything gets mowed and the crap gets spread.
We do this twice a summer, I will drag the harrow more if there's a need for it.

 

[Chris H]

I have been grazing at about 100,000 lbs/ acre. They do a pretty good job knocking down and eating everything but I am noticing milk weed increasing in my pastures so I have started cutting behind them.

The only other option I see is to increase the stocking rate. Anybody else have this problem?

That's pretty heavy stocking rate. At 1200 lb cows, that would be 83 head/acre, or 524 sq ft/cow. That's about 21 * 25 ft.

How often are you taking them on a paddock to mob graze? I mean, most times are you allowing enough height that the grass/legumes recover quickly? We have a few milk weeds, but not enough to worry about. They don't seem to be increasing in number. I don't mob graze a paddock more than once/year, and not every year.

 

[igrowgrass]

If you want them to smash the weeds down better you should make your paddocks longer and narrower. The skinnier (less square) you make them, the more of your green that you get trampled onto the ground. Also, if you can move them a few times a day, you can pack them in tighter and they will really wreck stuff LOL.

I cut every thistle I see before it goes to seed and I burn them. I hate the stuff. In my mind there is no place for it on my place, but some of it always finds its way back on.

 

[snake67]

I have been grazing at about 100,000 lbs/ acre. They do a pretty good job knocking down and eating everything but I am noticing milk weed increasing in my pastures so I have started cutting behind them.

The only other option I see is to increase the stocking rate. Anybody else have this problem?

If you are getting milk weed in high numbers you are beating your pasture up - time for it to have a rest

Bez