talltimber
Well-known member
I am trying to rotational graze. This has not been done on this farm before other than moving cattle off hay ground then back on for a while. Other than that I would call it continuous grazing. Generally, they may run the hay ground until March, then be turned north all summer and returned in the late fall.
I put up some single strand and cut the north up in to 5 patches. Size ranges from 6 acres to 22 acres or so. I would cut those bigger spots more but they are across the ridge and I can't get water over there easily. In studying this type grazing system and forages available, actually LOOKING at the grasses, there are a lot more to eat here than I thought. I've got a mix of crabgrass, some kind of goosegrass/barnyard grass (not identified for sure yet), fall panicum (I think), lespedeza (mostly thinly scattered), clover, fescue (majority by far), cheatgrass, and scattered/thin orchardgrass in areas. One thing I have noticed, and it was easily noticed, is that the thorn sprouts are not as tall as normal, and the canadian thistle is not as high as the tractor hood (sometimes cab). I am moving cattle when it gets eaten down pretty good. Some of the tougher stuff not too short, some of the better clover areas i sometimes let get too short, as they pick those areas time and again. I think they have been eating the tops out of the thorns bushes, and maybe the thistles when they were small? If I don't ruin the clover patches by letting them pick them over too much, I think this rotating thing is going to be ok. I like the idea of holding them in a smaller area, one reason being as it's easier to find them to check. Don't have to ride the whole place. I have planned my rotates to have them back to their first patch the second time just as they are beginning to calve, which requires them to water at the barn, which might prove to be very handy. The only down side I can see is that I have been over a couple patches a couple of times with the bushhog to keep the weeds knocked down. I am probably burning about the same amount of fuel vs mowing one time and it being hood high in previous years.
Just relaying what I've seen and learned so far and maybe looking for some input from others doing this. I have read other threads lately about spraying the weeds and I may have to try that next year to cut the tractor time. Any good reference links for setting up a sprayer/tip sizes to use? I am debating a tractor mounted rig, or maybe a pvc boom to go on the four wheeler to run off my spot sprayer tank.
I put up some single strand and cut the north up in to 5 patches. Size ranges from 6 acres to 22 acres or so. I would cut those bigger spots more but they are across the ridge and I can't get water over there easily. In studying this type grazing system and forages available, actually LOOKING at the grasses, there are a lot more to eat here than I thought. I've got a mix of crabgrass, some kind of goosegrass/barnyard grass (not identified for sure yet), fall panicum (I think), lespedeza (mostly thinly scattered), clover, fescue (majority by far), cheatgrass, and scattered/thin orchardgrass in areas. One thing I have noticed, and it was easily noticed, is that the thorn sprouts are not as tall as normal, and the canadian thistle is not as high as the tractor hood (sometimes cab). I am moving cattle when it gets eaten down pretty good. Some of the tougher stuff not too short, some of the better clover areas i sometimes let get too short, as they pick those areas time and again. I think they have been eating the tops out of the thorns bushes, and maybe the thistles when they were small? If I don't ruin the clover patches by letting them pick them over too much, I think this rotating thing is going to be ok. I like the idea of holding them in a smaller area, one reason being as it's easier to find them to check. Don't have to ride the whole place. I have planned my rotates to have them back to their first patch the second time just as they are beginning to calve, which requires them to water at the barn, which might prove to be very handy. The only down side I can see is that I have been over a couple patches a couple of times with the bushhog to keep the weeds knocked down. I am probably burning about the same amount of fuel vs mowing one time and it being hood high in previous years.
Just relaying what I've seen and learned so far and maybe looking for some input from others doing this. I have read other threads lately about spraying the weeds and I may have to try that next year to cut the tractor time. Any good reference links for setting up a sprayer/tip sizes to use? I am debating a tractor mounted rig, or maybe a pvc boom to go on the four wheeler to run off my spot sprayer tank.
