Reclaimed mine land

[Bandsaw]

I asked this question several years ago, but perhaps more information may be available now. Does anyone here have experience converting reclaimed coal mine land to pasture? This is unfenced land growing fescue and lots of trees, many planted locust trees. I would like to hear any experiences along that line.

 

[inyati13]

There are reclaimed mines in KY that support beef cattle operations. It should be no different in Indiana, in fact, due to the less steep terrain, it should be less difficult. In Eastern KY the Mountain Top Removal mines are the ones that are more often used for pasture. Contour mining requires the land to be reclaimed to AOC (Approximate Original Contour) and it is problematic to use those areas without compromising the stability.

I was an coal mine enforcement specialist in North Dakota. Not only are the reclaimed mines put back as pasture there, due to the excellent soils, some of it is returned to cropland.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id157/id157.pdf

http://www.kentucky.com/2009/08/30/9147 ... attle.html

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/id96.pdf

http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0025.html

 

[M.Magis]

A lot of cattle are run on reclaimed land here in eastern Ohio. I have no personal experience, but from what I see the forage seems to be a bit lower than most other pastures. The cattle do fine, but other than spring time the grass appears mediocre. I would expect one would have to run less per acre than comparable pasture that's taken care of. Still, around here it's by far the largest amount of leased pasture a cattleman could hope to find. Most land available here is under 100 acres, most reclaimed pieces are hundreds or thousands.

 

[ERNIBIGB]

I saw some cattle on some reclaimed land in SE KY a few years ago. Was with a local group of ATV riders. The pastures were not very lush but were very adequate for the numbers of cattle I saw. Even saw where some hay had been rolled up. What I don't remember seeing was much in the way of fences. They were just sort of free ranging but there were fenced lots where they were probably tolled in to work or sort them. We got close enough to tell they weren't wild so the owners probably checked and/or fed them often enough to keep them manageable.

 

[Bandsaw]

Thanks,guys. Any idea about those areas' water arrangements? Do the cattle run to the lakes left by the mining operation, or perhaps pump water from them to a waterer? Ernibigb, do you think the Kentucky sites had a perimeter fence enclosing a few thousand acres and essentially ranged inside that? M.Magis, any idea on enclosure size in the Ohio sites?

 

[RScott]

A lot of cattle are run on reclaimed land here in eastern Ohio. I have no personal experience, but from what I see the forage seems to be a bit lower than most other pastures. The cattle do fine, but other than spring time the grass appears mediocre. I would expect one would have to run less per acre than comparable pasture that's taken care of. Still, around here it's by far the largest amount of leased pasture a cattleman could hope to find. Most land available here is under 100 acres, most reclaimed pieces are hundreds or thousands.

I just read an article in Beef Magazine today about Young Cattle Company of Belmont, OH that had a very good discussion of how they have nurtured over 2,500 acres of reclaimed land for their operations.

http://beefmagazine.com/stockerback...ocker-award-winner-builds-value-middle?page=2

 

[M.Magis]

M.Magis, any idea on enclosure size in the Ohio sites?

I'm afraid I'm not sure. It seems to vary widely depending on location. Some look to be a couple hundred acres, but the tracts I'm familiar with in Belmont county look to be in the thousands.