Planting trees in pasture

[Goodlife]

When I cross section my pasture into paddocks, two of the paddocks won't have any trees. I would like to plant a few to provide some shade for the cattle. If I plant small trees (2"-3" trunk so 6'-8' tall) will the cattle eat them and kill them? Not sure if I would plant Pine, Oak, or Maple (or a mixture), but does one have an advantage over others?

As an aside, I follow these boards regularly even though I don't post a lot. I see a lot of trash talking going on. It mostly seems like joking, but are there serious grudges going on between some? Sometimes I think you all are poking fun at each other but other times it seems pretty serious and I can't tell.

Ed

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I would like to plant a few to provide some shade for the cattle. If I plant small trees (2"-3" trunk so 6'-8' tall) will the cattle eat them and kill them? Not sure if I would plant Pine, Oak, or Maple (or a mixture), but does one have an advantage over others?

If you decide to plant some young trees, yes the cows will eat eat them, rub on them and damage (poss. kill) them. I would suggest putting a fenc around the trees to give them a chance. I would put the fence at least 5' to 6' feet from the trunk. I have seen many people do this and not just with young trees. Usually the type of fence I have seen is post and board, usually 3 boards.

As to the type of trees, personally I would plant Maple (regular not Red). While I do have some pines on my property, they don't bother them much and they do provide "cover" and shade, but some folks have problems with the cows eating the pine needles. Certain type of pines can cause 'health' issues, I'm not sure which types. The type we have are benign, some folks call what we have "Bull Pine". We have a couple of Oaks and have no problems, but some folks have health issues with regards to their cows eating too many acorns.

My thinking is, if there's plenty/an abundance of pasture, the cows are less likely to eat too much of things they shouldn't. But, that's just my experience in my area.

:2cents:

Katherine

 

[Limomike]

Katherine is right.. cattle WILL eat trees, and rub around on them. IF its Pine trees, they will rub their heads on em too.. bulls especially love to do this with any evergreens. Best to fence them off, so they cant get to em.

 

[dun]

What the others said, plus I would plant multiple tree together. One areal fast growing variety and one of a slower growing longer lasting type. Fruitless mulberry is about the fastest growing tree I can think of that will alos provide shade.

 

[Goodlife]

What the others said, plus I would plant multiple tree together. One areal fast growing variety and one of a slower growing longer lasting type. Fruitless mulberry is about the fastest growing tree I can think of that will alos provide shade.

Thanks for this suggestion Dun. It had been on my mind that if I plant sapling trees it would be 10 years till I had any shade at all to speak of. Sounds like a good mix. I know mulberry trees grew wild in southern MO where I grew up, wonder if I can find them wild (read free) around here?

 

[Goodlife]

Another question. I have lots of woods with oak trees. How big a tree can be moved? I will have a high lift out here this spring/summer for some pond digging. Might have a track hoe out here a little later. Can he move a larger tree to my pasture and it survive with either of these? How big do you think can be moved? I have an oak forest on part of my land so I have plenty of oaks of all sizes. I know acorns can be an issue but I don't get too concerned about it as I plan to keep my herd small enough so as to not overgraze. Like you said workinonit, if they have good grass they won't eat very many of those acorns.

 

[dun]

Oaks can be a real stinker to move since they tend to have very large and spreading roots not to much below the surface. I would suck it up and buy fruitless mulberry trees, theyre realatively inexpensive at a smaller size. If you get the fruiting type you'll have pruple bird crap stains on the cows and everywhere else that a bird can sit

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I would plant multiple tree together. One areal fast growing variety and one of a slower growing longer lasting type. Fruitless mulberry

Good suggesstions. I hadn't even thought about the Mulberries. We have a few "Paper" Mulberry, fruitless, that have grown quickly in the 'yard'. Paradise trees (a 'weed' tree) in my area grow very rapidly, provide some shade but the cows love to eat them! Once the Paradise are established they are 'safe'. My cows love to eat the leaves of those things. I have known of some folks, myself included, when in times of drought we've collected as many small branches and limbs full of leaves as a feed.

And as Limomike stated, bulls love to rub their heads on evergreens. On the larger Cedars we have, along with the pines, the lower parts have been rubbed bare which in turn has provided some nice sheltered areas for the cows. Often these are the areas where the cows calve.

Katherine

 

[jerry27150]

osage orange cows won't bother. thornless honey locust, river maple, work good for shade and grow fast, cottonwood makes lot of shade & grows fast also. mulberry works good too, but grow a little slower & will spread to your neighbors & everywhere a bird shits

 

[Jogeephus]

If you check with the extension people or with your state forester either should provide you with a list of trees suggested for an urban landscape. These trees are used in the urban area because they can take abuse to their root system and can thrive in areas that have very little soil aeration - which happens to be the same conditions they will have to tolerate in a pasture environment. Just a suggestion.

 

[B&M Farms]

I agree with the fruitless mulberry trees. They grow really fast. I would stay away from planting oaks because they grow so slow. I have seen oaks moved with a special machine that could dig up and hold a tree with around a 12 inch diameter trunk. It was probably pretty expensive and it was live oaks. I'm not sure it would work on every kind.

 

[BC]

Have you considered pecan trees for shade. They get big, don't have the problem with acorns and you might get to go pick up some good eating nuts.

I would also advise to to follow the suggestion about planting multiple species and fencing them off untill they are well established.

 

[cypressfarms]

donwn south here every cattle pasture has pecan trees (mostly native and some planted) that provide shade in the summer and revenue (with the pecans) in the fall. It's a win/win situation...

 

[Caustic Burno]

donwn south here every cattle pasture has pecan trees (mostly native and some planted) that provide shade in the summer and revenue (with the pecans) in the fall. It's a win/win situation...

Amen brother Amen.

If i'm planting a tree it better bear fruit or a nut of some kind.

Just remember the rule of trees. It will always fall in the direction that cause's the most damage or is uninsured.

 

[dun]

Up here the pecan trees grow a lot slower then mulberrys or even sassafras

 

[ohiosteve]

Goodlife, you may be surprised at the size of tree you can move and how easy it can be. I worked for almost 10 yrs. for a large tree moving company and still occasionally take a job as a subcontractor. I have moved large trees in nearly every state in the nation and some of the biggest were 3' plus trunk diameter live oaks in Ok. city. B&m farms is right about the truck mounted tree spades and for about $200/hr you could easily get a truck and operator to your place, and if the conditions are right you can easily move 20 trees (short distance) in the 8"-9" trunk diameter range (20'-30' tall). This would be a 90" spade mounted on a tandem axle truck. The type of tree's that transplant well vary by location but it sounds like you have some woods and likely would have some candidates. The most moveable are usually on the edge of the woods. Right now is the optimal time to move trees, especially on a day in the 25-30 degree range when there is a crust of ice on top of the ground the truck can ride on. The trees will be dormant and when spring comes they will take right off but will require water this summer. There are also ways to move larger trees with equipment but this gets quite a bit more expensive. Good luck, I would be glad to answer any questions I can, just pm me.

 

[Goodlife]

That is very interesting Ohio Steve. One of the jobs I have for a high lift is digging a pond. We will be removing 10-12 oaks 1'-3' trunk diameter that are in the location the pond will go. They are right across the driveway from the pasture. Moving those into the pasture would be awesome and solve my problem. Can a skilled Track Hoe or High Lift operator move them successfully or do you think it really requires the specific machine built for moving trees?

We were already talking about planting a couple of Pecan trees but not in the pasture. Will the cattle eat the pacans? Even if they do, perhaps I should have Pecans inside and out of the pasture. Assuming we plant, sounds like Mulberry, Pecan and Maple are the most likely choices for a mixture.

 

[ohiosteve]

A good hoe operator can absolutely move trees with great success. A general rule of thumb is 12" of rootball per 1" of trunk diameter for example a 3" tree needs a 36" rootball. Most roots will be less than 16" deep unless they are white oaks which have a deep central Taproot which is important not to break. After the hoe digs them out trim the hanging roots with a sharp saw or pruners, make clean cuts. The most important thing is not to plant too deep. A couple inches above grade with good soil tapering to grade is best. Water the trees in heavily after you plant them. If you move them before the buds open up this spring that is the optimal time. Good luck!

 

[wrightwayangus]

As to the type of trees, personally I would plant Maple (regular not Red). While I do have some pines on my property, they don't bother them much and they do provide "cover" and shade, but some folks have problems with the cows eating the pine needles. Certain type of pines can cause 'health' issues, I'm not sure which types. The type we have are benign, some folks call what we have "Bull Pine". We have a couple of Oaks and have no problems, but some folks have health issues with regards to their cows eating too many acorns.


Katherine[/quote]

Pine needles can cause a cow to lose a calf if she is pregnant. Does anyone know how hardy the Maple trees are? I really like Maple trees, but I don't know how hardy they are. Could they grow successfully in the Northwest?

 

[dun]

Does anyone know how hardy the Maple trees are? I really like Maple trees, but I don't know how hardy they are. Could they grow successfully in the Northwest?

They grow well in washington, Seattle through the Kitsap peninsula, just not very fast.