cowsrus
What legume plants do you have that contribute nutrients to the grasses? At one time I was on a self imposed plan to invest 25% of the gross income from the sale of my feeder calves in fertilizer that would be applied to the paddocks that produced the calves. As fertilizer prices continued upward and I keep getting less and less fertilizer for the money spent I got annoyed and said to heck with this and I stopped using commercial fertilizer. My plan was to reduce the head count of the brood cows if I could not provide adequate forage without commercial fertilizer. I managed to arrange to get the litter from a single poultry house. This litter was only enough to apply to 20% of the pasture per year. With me doing rotational grazing I was getting the manure from the herd well distributed and I was dragging a harrow following the cattle. I was planting clover all along also. Well, believe it or not, the grass did not die off nor did the cattle go hungry. I live in zone 7 and I manage to do the rotational grazing year round and by stockpiling grass I manage to get through the entire year, barring a major drought, without feeding any hay. I have not bought any commercial fertilizer now for 3 years and I do not intend to buy any. I had the farm soil tested for inputs needed to grow grass and done was required. This change has saved me thousands of dollars with no known negative consequences. PS....I never turn the soil as I feel the carbon layer on top is where the nutrients are and I do not want to dilute those with the underlying soil. My rolling hills farm was a worn out farm from years past when lack of care and erosion took its toll.