Need some advice on a high grass pasture

[Alan]

I have a 10 acre pasture that has been kept in good condition and is my main cow calf pasture. For a number of reasons it won't be baled this year. So here is the facts and I would like to hear some opinions.

The pasture has good seed head in it now, three feet tall grass, I need it for the herd in about two weeks and it will last for a month or more while other pastures grow again. For those that don't know I run polled Herefords. In the past when a pasture gets too tall the cattle just stomp it down and eat what they need, meaning a waste of grass. I have the time this year to brush hog it and turn the cattle in the next day. My thoughts are to brush hog it and leave about 6 inches of stem hoping they will eat some of the freshly cut grass on top and let the underside grow when I move them or while they're there.

Your option or thoughts .... Suggestions?

Thanks,
Alan

 

[Dave]

Portable fence and just give them a small amount each day. Think long narrow strips. That way a lot of their activity is back on where they were yesterday and the day before.

Or you can do like I did yesterday. I moved about 50 head into roughly 10 acres of reed canary grass that is over my head tall. How to watch 50 head disappear. You have to be within 40 or 50 feet of them to even see them. They will eat some and waste some. But it still way to wet to get in there with a tractor.

 

[dwa]

So you are worried about turning them in there and trampling in to the ground being wasted grass? Your solution is to go in and bush hog it and cut the grass down? That seems like a waste of grass and fuel to me.

The best thing is like mentioned above, strip it. If you were to turn them in the whole pasture, they are going to eat the best first, then eat the second best, then go back and take a bite off of the best again, and won't touch the forage they don't want to until they have to.

By stripping it, they will be forced to eat the good, bad, and ugly in the same day and it will be a better plane of nutrition for your cows.

This is just my opinion, but I've been to Greg Judy's grazing school.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

So you are worried about turning them in there and trampling in to the ground being wasted grass? Your solution is to go in and bush hog it and cut the grass down? That seems like a waste of grass and fuel to me.

The best thing is like mentioned above, strip it. If you were to turn them in the whole pasture, they are going to eat the best first, then eat the second best, then go back and take a bite off of the best again, and won't touch the forage they don't want to until they have to.

By stripping it, they will be forced to eat the good, bad, and ugly in the same day and it will be a better plane of nutrition for your cows.

This is just my opinion, but I've been to Greg Judy's grazing school.

Sounds like a good plan to me and I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[Alan]

So you are worried about turning them in there and trampling in to the ground being wasted grass? Your solution is to go in and bush hog it and cut the grass down? That seems like a waste of grass and fuel to me.

The best thing is like mentioned above, strip it. If you were to turn them in the whole pasture, they are going to eat the best first, then eat the second best, then go back and take a bite off of the best again, and won't touch the forage they don't want to until they have to.

By stripping it, they will be forced to eat the good, bad, and ugly in the same day and it will be a better plane of nutrition for your cows.

This is just my opinion, but I've been to Greg Judy's grazing school.

Not sure what "Greg Judy' grazing school" is :roll: , but no, I'm not worried about trampled ground. This thing happens every year in the wet part of the north west. I'm hoping for the best feed utilization of this pasture, without stomping good grass into nothing and covering up good growth with stomped good grass and the rest rotting . So far Dave has as good of a suggestion as I could have wanted, small strips and let them graze. But this is at least a six week pasture. Part of my thoughts are with a recent post talking about eye problems related to tall grass and cattle trying to get to fresh grass below the tall stuff.

Alan

 

[skyhightree1]

I turned some cows and calves onto a pasture like that about 2 weeks ago and they are stomping alot of it down and eating what they want. I plan on if its dry enough to use the haybine and clip the pasture. I am worried about the tall grass and eye problems though I have never had any pink eye on my place and am worried that tall grass could cause some issues.

 

[Kingfisher]

How many polled Hereford do you have? I thought you had something different?!? I'm glad you have grass.

 

[shaz]

Dave is right, the long narrow strips will give you trampling and short wide strips will increase consumption.

If you have a lot of weeds I would forward graze wide strips every day. Your choice though. You won't believe how long 10 acres will last.
I just did the same thing with 90 head for 13 days and left plenty of litter.

 

[dun]

If the seed isn;t shedding from the heads strip grazing would work, but if the seeds are sheding upi will ant to clip it so that you just take off the very tip of the grass blades. If you leave the stems too long you can run into problems particularly with calves of having their eye balls lacerated by the sharp stems. Cut too short and you will loose grass that could be grazed. Been down both of the roads of seeds in the eyes and the lacerated eye balls.

 

[Banjo]

You didn't say what kind of grass.
Or how many cows. If you are going to mow you should give it about a month or more to grow out, they aren't going to eat much of the residue the bushhog leaves unless you turn them in the same day. Most of the advice above is good advice. Strip graze it will make it go farther. Besides, nothing is really wasted. What gets trampled will feed the soil and also cover it.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the advice, I'll put up temp fencing and strip it off until it's grazed down. I'm 12 cows with calves at their side a couple of steers and a bull .... 27 head total but one will soon be walking into my freezer.

 

[Banjo]

Thanks for the advice, I'll put up temp fencing and strip it off until it's grazed down. I'm 12 cows with calves at their side a couple of steers and a bull .... 27 head total but one will soon be walking into my freezer.

You could probably do a 1/4 of an acre a day if its real thick to no more than a 1/2 acre/day. That's 20 to 40 days....if you did a 40 day rotation it would probably be ready to graze again at the first part in 40 days. I would put up a backfence every 3 or 4 days. If you try to stripgraze it all without any back fence in a week the first will start growing again and the cows will want to pick it instead of the mature stuff.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the advice, I'll put up temp fencing and strip it off until it's grazed down. I'm 12 cows with calves at their side a couple of steers and a bull .... 27 head total but one will soon be walking into my freezer.

You could probably do a 1/4 of an acre a day if its real thick to no more than a 1/2 acre/day. That's 20 to 40 days....if you did a 40 day rotation it would probably be ready to graze again at the first part in 40 days. I would put up a backfence every 3 or 4 days. If you try to stripgraze it all without any back fence in a week the first will start growing again and the cows will want to pick it instead of the mature stuff.

Great advice I'll do just that. Thanks to all, and hats off to Dave and Banjo and all. :tiphat:

 

[Chris H]

Thanks for the advice, I'll put up temp fencing and strip it off until it's grazed down. I'm 12 cows with calves at their side a couple of steers and a bull .... 27 head total but one will soon be walking into my freezer.

You could probably do a 1/4 of an acre a day if its real thick to no more than a 1/2 acre/day. That's 20 to 40 days....if you did a 40 day rotation it would probably be ready to graze again at the first part in 40 days. I would put up a backfence every 3 or 4 days. If you try to stripgraze it all without any back fence in a week the first will start growing again and the cows will want to pick it instead of the mature stuff.

Great advice I'll do just that. Thanks to all, and hats off to Dave and Banjo and all. :tiphat:

Got any way to make about half of it as hay right now? If you don't, that hay you graze 21-40 days from now is going to be pretty ripe, and lost a lot of quality.

 

[dwa]

If the seed isn;t shedding from the heads strip grazing would work, but if the seeds are sheding upi will ant to clip it so that you just take off the very tip of the grass blades. If you leave the stems too long you can run into problems particularly with calves of having their eye balls lacerated by the sharp stems. Cut too short and you will loose grass that could be grazed. Been down both of the roads of seeds in the eyes and the lacerated eye balls.

We have not mowed in 3 years. Cows are actually in chest high mature fescue with seeds shedding at the moment. I'll notice a cow here and there with eyes watering. I guess that it is from seeds but it usually clears up in a couple days. We have not had any serious eye problems but, I'm not saying it won't happen.

I understand that all beef cattle farms are different. For example, some folks want pretty pastures and pretty cows, and I understand that. We want cows that make dollars. If I'm mowing, that is cutting into profit. If the cow can't survive in the environment we are providing, then it is time for her to leave. The majority are doing just fine.

 

[Kingfisher]

You guys got it hard....we hope for something green on the burger. Strip graze it ! Praise the Lord.

 

[skyhightree1]

clipped my tall pasture today

 

[Ruark]

If you can do it cheap enough, you might want to bale it anyway. 3 feet is pretty high. If you shred it, you'll have thick mats of dead cut grass choking off your grass like a mulch and making dead spots all over your pasture. Been there, done that.

 

[Ruark]

If you can do it cheap enough, you might want to bale it anyway. 3 feet is pretty high. If you shred it, you'll have thick mats of dead cut grass choking off your grass like a mulch, and several months from now you'll have dead spots all over your pasture. Been there, done that.