plant grass or crops for cows?

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bdog

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I am new to this so bear with me if this seems like a dumb question. I recently bought 5 acres of land that I put my cows on. I know I am not going to make any sizable money with such a small area but I enjoy it and if I can make a few bucks at it then that is great. The land has been in cultivation and this past spring I planted haygrazer and it fed 10 yearlings for 2 months. I have plowed the land and am planning on planting winter wheat and then putting another 10 head on it for a couple months. Basically planting two crops a year with 4 months total grazing(but 10 head at a time).

I have thought about abandoning the crops and planting grass so that I can have cattle on it year round. I know that the grass will not support as many head but they will be able to graze on it longer. I figure with grass I may be able to have 3-4 head on a continual basis.

I already own a small tractor, plow, and drill that are paid for. What do you think would be the best plan - keep doing what I am doing rotating the crops or plant grass? If I go with the grass I probably won't need the tractor and implements once it gets established so I could probably sell them and free up some cash which would be nice.
 
Don't sell the tractor. You can sprig grass (they type depends of where you are located) and you can still overseed the grass when it goes dormant with wheat or rye for winter grazing.
 
Ok well maybe I will keep the tractor, but it just seems like I have too much $$$ tied up in it for no more acreage than I have. When I bought the place it was in bad shape and I used the tractor and a blade to level things, fix roads, etc.
 
You may not need it much, but its great to have it when you need it, especially if its payed for.
 

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