Never grazed it before... at what point do I need to turn the cows out on it bf it gets too far along for optimal grazing and getting regrowth? How many times might I be able to graze it? Northeast Missouri. It was fertilized this spring too. It's about 8 inches now. Thanks!
Rye grass
- Thread starter Rniemann
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slick4591
Well-known member
IMO turn them in now. Rye grass will head and die out when it gets hot.
Bamadan
Well-known member
Here in North Alabama, I've been grazing ours for a couple hours at a time for a little over a week. I divided the rye pastures w/elec fence and have rotated them to different fields each day.
*Note: FYI, I've had several farmers (including my Dad) tell me to have high Mag mineral available to cows while they are on winter rye, which I've done.
*Note: FYI, I've had several farmers (including my Dad) tell me to have high Mag mineral available to cows while they are on winter rye, which I've done.
aaroninga
Well-known member
Yup, graze it now while you got it, down to 4-5" for regrowth.
I rotational graze and saw about 1-2" growth 2-3 days after moving them.
I rotational graze and saw about 1-2" growth 2-3 days after moving them.
Bamadan
Well-known member
Our girls are loving it, in fact they don't want to leave the rye grass pasture.
coachg
Well-known member
We drilled in around 40 acres , and over seeded another 80. All has done well with the moderate winter we had in N Al. My question is we have another field we wanted to disc and sow for hay but the weather got too wet . How late in the spring can we go to plant it ,to maybe get a decent cutting of hay off it ?
Walking W
Well-known member
I broadcast Ryegrass the past three years with good results some areas are under trees with little permanent grass and others are good bermuda. Ryegrass planted in the winter allows me to utilize in areas where I have many trees in my pasture. This year I planted back in October but rains here didn't cooperate as previous years. It takes about six weeks before you can safely turn cattle out on it without having the grass pulled up by the roots. The grass still won't be worth much at that point. It takes at least 60 days for much real grazing to be available, depending on temperature and rainfall. I have been rotational grazing my ryegrass using electric fence for about a month while using hay for the balance of the feed. Annual Ryegrass is high in protein and TDN and cattle will eat more than they can utilize efficiently. Limiting grazing and pasture rotation as suggested by everyone here is a good idea.
coachg":j9pxab2w said:
I think it is too late now because the ryegrass wont have enough time to establish an adequate root system to get much out of it before day time temps reach the mid nineties and the ryegrass turns brown.
crop hail
Member
Speaking of rye grass, I am considering planting some rye grass next fall for sheep and cattle grazing. I have been planting oats or wheat over the top of Klien grass and have had descent luck but the problem is that I am really packing my fields by just scratching the surface with a finish disc and then slinging wheat or oats and scratching it in it is creating a "hard Pan". I have tried annual gulf rye in the past with little success. I am in west central Texas and the climate is DRY with low humidity and cold nights and mornings in the winter. I know that there are several different varieties available and I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with some of them. I have to have a variety that will make it with cold nights, low humidity and little rainfall. Or should I just stick with wheat or oats like everyone else around here?
gizmom
Well-known member
crop hail
Our son Jacob handles all the seed ordering for both winter and summer pastures. He works closely with Ann Blount from UF to make planting decisions. Most Land Grant universities do studies on what species of grass work in your area. I would contact them and start building a relationship with those folks. They spend a bunch of money testing different species of grass to enable them to advise producers on what is working and what isn't. We are getting ready to start spraying weeds, smut grass is the bane of our existence at the moment. The problem with smut grass is the only thing we know of that works is Velpro. Has anyone found anything else that works on that beast? We will start planting our pearl millet for summer rotation in the next few weeks.
gizmom
Our son Jacob handles all the seed ordering for both winter and summer pastures. He works closely with Ann Blount from UF to make planting decisions. Most Land Grant universities do studies on what species of grass work in your area. I would contact them and start building a relationship with those folks. They spend a bunch of money testing different species of grass to enable them to advise producers on what is working and what isn't. We are getting ready to start spraying weeds, smut grass is the bane of our existence at the moment. The problem with smut grass is the only thing we know of that works is Velpro. Has anyone found anything else that works on that beast? We will start planting our pearl millet for summer rotation in the next few weeks.
gizmom
1982vett
Well-known member
If you tend to be dry, ryegrass doesn't tolerate starting out that wayvery well. Better chance with oats or wheat in my opinion.crop hail":1fbxtmut said:
