Mowing Pastures

[Djm961]

Is anyone cutting back or not clipping their pastures due to fuel prices? I typically would have most of the heads clipped off by now but i cant bring myself to do it with fuel prices this year. I believe I am going to wait until August this year. Typically I would mow once most seed heads appear and then again in August on anything that had weeds come up. The fall clipping I do mainly because i like the clean look of it

 

[shaz]

Once in the fall is all I ever cut. Never saw the value in cutting twice.

 

[bird dog]

You folks need a few (hundred) fire ant mounds. It makes the decision much easier.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Is anyone cutting back or not clipping their pastures due to fuel prices? I typically would have most of the heads clipped off by now but i cant bring myself to do it with fuel prices this year. I believe I am going to wait until August this year. Typically I would mow once most seed heads appear and then again in August on anything that had weeds come up. The fall clipping I do mainly because i like the clean look of it

I see this is a post from a year ago. Clipping seed heads in late spring/early summer is done for a much more important reason than making the pasture look tidy. I'm making an assumption here that you are talking about cool season grasses, most likely tall fescue. The reasons don't apply to warm season grasses.

The intent of a pasture is to produce forage for the livestock. Generally speaking, the more forage produced in the pasture, the more the animals can graze on their own which in turn means a decrease in need for hay, which is a lot more expensive forage than pasture grass. The heads/seed heads of any grass produce hormones that are sent to the rest of the grass plant. These hormones tell the grass plant "hey, you have produced enough carbs/food to make seed this year, you don't need to keep growing." As a result of that message being sent from the seed head to the rest of the plant, the growth of the plant slows down, meaning not as much new forage is being produced so there is less for the livestock to graze on. That in turn means an increased need for hay later on, and/or lighter selling weights of livestock going to market.

IF you normally produce an excess of forage in your pastures and have forage to spare (this is a very small, select group of producers but they are out there) you can forgo clipping seed heads in your pasture. If you aren't in this group, then expect pasture forage production to drop due to slowed growth due to seed head formation (other factors can also contribute to slower pasture growth) and hay demand will increase.

 

[Dave]

I have been told by grass experts that grasses goal in life is to form a seed. A farmers goal should be to not allow that to happen.

 

[Ebenezer]

I have been told by grass experts that grasses goal in life is to form a seed. A farmers goal should be to not allow that to happen.

Grass experts might not be farmers or economists.

 

[Dave]

Grass experts might not be farmers or economists.

True story. But they do know how grass grows. And if you are a grass farmer first you need to pay attention to what they say. How economical it is would be up to the individual.

 

[Ebenezer]

True story. But they do know how grass grows. And if you are a grass farmer first you need to pay attention to what they say. How economical it is would be up to the individual.

Some of the most useful forages here are not on the radar of the grass experts. Too bad as others suffer from their willful ignorance. We have a forage person now who is more interested in the people from what I know.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Once in the fall is all I ever cut. Never saw the value in cutting twice.

The value depends on the objectives you have and what you are accomplishing with the clipping. Clipping in mid May for you (I'm guessing) to remove seedheads will keep the grass plants growing for much longer into the season resulting in a considerable increase in available forage which means a variety of things. First, you need to feed less (considerably expensive) hay relative to grazing grass. Second, your animals will likely eat more meaning they will be heavier which means, Thrid, you will make more money at the sale barn. Between more grass per acre grazing (which makes grass cheaper if you consider expense cost by the acre), making more or buying more hay (added expense either way) heavier cows (more lb = more $$), I suspect producers who clip their pastures ( at a somewhat nominal cost) are more profitable than those that don't. The exception would be the producer who has an excess of pasture growth to begin with and does not mind if the growth rate of their grass does slow down due at least in part to seed head formation. For those select producers, you are correct, there really isn't value in cutting twice. Honest question here. Is OP one of those producers and are you one of those producers? You could be correct.

 

[birdog]

True story. But they do know how grass grows. And if you are a grass farmer first you need to pay attention to what they say. How economical it is would be up to the individual.

My grandad always said, "As ranchers we are in the grass business, we just use cattle to harvest it."

 

[Mark Reynolds]

My grandad always said, "As ranchers we are in the grass business, we just use cattle to harvest it."

I learned pretty much the same thing at Oregon State University as a grad student: Ranchers are really grass managers, they use livestock as tools to manage it.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I have been told by grass experts that grasses goal in life is to form a seed. A farmers goal should be to not allow that to happen.

This is true .
I just believe in using a bovine to mow pasture.
That is why my place is cross fenced.