most efficient way to use pastures?

[mudhole]

I have 10 acres that has been eaten over fairly good, it is a fescue/durana clover mix, with Bermuda that comes in the summer, I had to pay a lot for hay last winter and am looking for a way to minimize that cost for next year. so I cleared another 10 acres and planted fescue/clover mix last fall, the clover didn't come in last fall when planted, but the fescue is about 12-15 inches on average.

what is the best way to maximize the pastures?, should I move the cows onto the new field while the summer Bermuda is starting to come in?
should I keep them on the existing field and let the fescue go to seed head then let them out in it?

also what would be the best way to stockpile standing forage for the winter?

I live in Georgia..., thanks in advance for any advice

 

[MikeBo]

You can't graze new pasture hard if you want it to survive the summer, graze the new fescue to 4-5 inches and then get them off, if you have 2 10acre fields, divide them with a hot wire into 5 acre fields and rotate them often, this will greatly increase your efficiency and utilization.

 

[mudhole]

thanks for the information, my other concern is will the fescue have enough root to them to not be pulled up? it has been 6 months since I planted it.

 

[MikeBo]

Highly unlikely it will get pulled up, the biggest concern is overgrazing!

 

[pdfangus]

You can't graze new pasture hard if you want it to survive the summer, graze the new fescue to 4-5 inches and then get them off, if you have 2 10acre fields, divide them with a hot wire into 5 acre fields and rotate them often, this will greatly increase your efficiency and utilization.

I agree with this....the original posted made no mention of how many head of livestock....but I assume it is not many....

I would advocate dividing the 20 acres into 8 2.5 acre paddocks....all you need is a single strand of good hot polywire to make divisions....I would divide it so stock can get to water from each paddock rather than trying to move water .....

with eight divisions you cold move them every five days and every paddock would get 35 days rest between grazings....rest and not grazing the grass into the dirt are the two most important factors is maintaining good grass......

to stockpile in our country we fertilize the fescue in late August and do not go back to it until after a hard frost....this year we had some we did not go to until Jan....

 

[dun]

The basic rule of MIG/rotational grazing is take half and leave half. Then you rest it to regrow before grazing it again. The only time you get away from the take have leave half is in the winter when you;re grazing stockpiled grass. Then you graze it short.

 

[pdfangus]

The basic rule of MIG/rotational grazing is take half and leave half. Then you rest it to regrow before grazing it again. The only time you get away from the take have leave half is in the winter when you;re grazing stockpiled grass. Then you graze it short.

I agree with this.....

The more you can leave the better headstart you give the forage on regrowth....the biggest problems I encounter on small acerage is overstocking....and big fields grazed continuously.....

 

[skyhightree1]

thanks for the information, my other concern is will the fescue have enough root to them to not be pulled up? it has been 6 months since I planted it.

any new pasture I plant I keep them off a FULL YEAR they cattle never get put on it till after then. They are rough on grass with little roots. In my opinion its a waste of seed and $ to put them on before a year. We plant grass for longevity and years of usage.

 

[Dave]

The more often you move them the higher the rate utilization will be.

 

[mudhole]

has anybody had bad experiences from grazing a field before 1 year?, i don't need to graze it heavily, but want it to tiller and if it gets to long doesn't it lose some of its nutrients?

i guess i could let it grow until late fall and turn them out for the winter.

 

[MikeBo]

Yes I graze mine within a year, all the time. Just don't abuse the new grass and keep it at least 4-5 inches

 

[Farmerjon]

If it is 35 days until next grazing, eventually won't some of the paddocks start heading out? Then the grass quits growing because it has matured? So do you mow high?

 

[Banjo]

If it is 35 days until next grazing, eventually won't some of the paddocks start heading out? Then the grass quits growing because it has matured? So do you mow high?

You can mow it after it heads out just don't wait until it turns brown...mow it while its still green and it wont go dormant as bad. Yes mow it high at least 8 to 10 inches.
You may have to mow/clip fescue and OG a couple of times in the spring, then it stops trying to head out for the rest of the year, for the most part, but it will still grow blades which is what you want.

 

[dun]

If it is 35 days until next grazing, eventually won't some of the paddocks start heading out? Then the grass quits growing because it has matured? So do you mow high?

You can mow it after it heads out just don't wait until it turns brown...mow it while its still green and it wont go dormant as bad. Yes mow it high at least 8 to 10 inches.
You may have to mow/clip fescue and OG a couple of times in the spring, then it stops trying to head out for the rest of the year, for the most part, but it will still grow blades which is what you want.

It will still grow but very slowly. It's called a cool season grass for a reason. In the fall it will start growig vigorously again.