Planting a field with cattle on it

[Twin G]

I have a place with lots of mesquites. I am working on thinning out a bunch of the small ones. I have a few areas that aren't huge, but I would love to make better grazing.

I have a disc, spreader, and drag. My question is there any chance I can get decent enough growth without keeping cows off of it?

I know it won't be one of those great looking green fields, but can I get enough to help?

I haven't spent much time researching what to plant. Seeing if it is worth the trouble first.

 

[Brute 23]

It will be pretty tough with out super low stocking rates and even then it wil be decent at best. The cows will go right to the fresh growth and likely damage it before it can get established. Especially if its going to be the better of the grasses in the pasture.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

My cows would find that lush new growth from a mile away and have those tender roots ripped out in no time flat.

 

[coachg]

Not sure about there but we find the cows will pull the young plants up by the roots . Any way you could strip graze by running a Hotwire to cut them off what you plant till it gets better established ?

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

I tired and failed.
No way to keep them from eating the new grass.

 

[Twin G]

That's what I was assuming. I am going to put some thought into before spring and electric fence an area. I am talking to my neighbor about leasing his land. Maybe I can move them all over there and plant a few areas.

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

Even if it's a pretty large pasture and you're only playing half of it, they will find that new grass if you don't keep them off of it.
If you can keep them off of it for 8 growing months or so it would be best. IMO

 

[Warren Allison]

@Twin G , what do you do with the mesquite you are clearing? Man, that stuff is like gold down here. I wish I had a tandem dump truck load of it for my smokers and grills. That's what I use for beef and chicken. Good ole hickory for pork. What you want to do just depends on the size of the grass plot, the total; acreage in pasture, and the number of cattle. If you had , say, a thousand acre pasture, and planted a 30 acre plot of grass, and just has 2 cows on the place....they would eventually find it, but with that much, the grass would stay ahead of them grazing. Your idea about partitioning it with electric fence, or leasing another pasture for the cows, would be your best bet. How many total acres do you have, and how many head of cattle are on it?

 

[Twin G]

@Twin G , what do you do with the mesquite you are clearing? Man, that stuff is like gold down here. I wish I had a tandem dump truck load of it for my smokers and grills. That's what I use for beef and chicken. Good ole hickory for pork. What you want to do just depends on the size of the grass plot, the total; acreage in pasture, and the number of cattle. If you had , say, a thousand acre pasture, and planted a 30 acre plot of grass, and just has 2 cows on the place....they would eventually find it, but with that much, the grass would stay ahead of them grazing. Your idea about partitioning it with electric fence, or leasing another pasture for the cows, would be your best bet. How many total acres do you have, and how many head of cattle are on it?

The mesquites I'm clearing aren't really quite big enough for smoking. At least for now.

I have 6 cows on 140 acres. I could hold a few more if we could ever get rain.

 

[Twin G]

My neighbor agreed to lease me his 180 acres starting in February. It's a game changer for me. I am very excited. Hope to purchase another 8 or 9 head. Move them all on his place to give my grass a chance to recover and plant a couple fields.

 

[bird dog]

Winter is a good time to kill the larger mesquites using the basal bark method. Spray them now and you will have skeletons next spring.

 

[Brute 23]

My neighbor agreed to lease me his 180 acres starting in February. It's a game changer for me. I am very excited. Hope to purchase another 8 or 9 head. Move them all on his place to give my grass a chance to recover and plant a couple fields.

Congrats! That is a game changer.

What kind of grasses are you looking at if you don't mind? Do you know what grows naturally on your place?

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I was about to echo what @Brute 23 said in terms of what grass do you have/intend to plant? You have already been told by about everyone that planting with the cows in the pasture won't work. What might end up being a problem for you is that, if you are where I think you are, you only get enough rain once every 3 to 5 years to get grass established. If I'm right about that, then your 'system' (ecosystem, grass production system) is very brittle so to speak. Once you get grass re-established, ( hopefully not red brome if my guess is right) be careful how you graze it and don't overgraze it. Be especially careful with grazing it during the growing season and don't graze the same pasture during the growing season for two consecutive years. It will sound strange to the producers I work with on a regular basis, but what you may want to consider is setting up a 3 pasture system and grazing each pasture for 6 months (yes, that gives each pasture an entire year of rest) or a 4 pasture system and grazing each pasture for 4 months (again, a full year of rest).

Contact your local NRCS and/or Extension Service.

 

[Chuckie]

Your neighbor leasing his ground to you can totally change your land this year. I always go to someone who does a wonderful job of cutting and selling hay. They always know the right chemicals that will knock out the weeds and broad leafs for what grasses that do well in the area you are in.

 

[Twin G]

The lease starts February 1st. I lay awake at night thinking of the opportunities this gives me. I can't wait to get in and do some clearing and planting, but I am going to have to reign in the spending for a little bit. For now I am going to move the cows over there to let my land recooperate a little. Get as much mowed as a I can to let the grass come up good in the spring.

 

[4hfarms]

Have to do the same, clearing and planting that is. Have about 7ac in briars across the street. Have to make it pasture again this year. Wouldnt even know what to do with the amount of land some y'all have.

Have you decided what to plant on yours while it rests? Looks like the anual rainfall would be good for cactus! Wonder if you can grow cow friendly cactus? Hmmm.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

My neighbor agreed to lease me his 180 acres starting in February. It's a game changer for me. I am very excited. Hope to purchase another 8 or 9 head. Move them all on his place to give my grass a chance to recover and plant a couple fields.

It's great you have that opportunity with the additional land/lease. Before you add more livestock, consider what you can/need to do with your land only when livestock is off of it and do that before adding.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Have to do the same, clearing and planting that is. Have about 7ac in briars across the street. Have to make it pasture again this year. Wouldnt even know what to do with the amount of land some y'all have.

Have you decided what to plant on yours while it rests? Looks like the anual rainfall would be good for cactus! Wonder if you can grow cow friendly cactus? Hmmm.

It's quite different from Tennessee to the west half of Texas. It takes 10 or more acres in Texas to support what you can with one acre in Tennessee.

 

[4hfarms]

It's quite different from Tennessee to the west half of Texas. It takes 10 or more acres in Texas to support what you can with one acre in Tennessee.

I see how lush it is when it rains. One of the reasons we picked this state. We traveled the US after returning.