Stock piled fescue/snow

[Bigfoot]

I have always stockpiled as much fescue, as I can. Last year, I stockpiled enough to last until Christmas. The problem was, once it got some severe weather on it, the cows wouldn't eat it. I had to start feeding hay. I had never had that happen before. I have also never seen a winter like last year before either though. Once again, I'm pretty sure I have enough stockpiled to last well in to the first of the year. Once again, I think we're going to have a bad winter. Do yaw think it will shorten my grazing period on my stockpiled fescue?

 

[dun]

I think a lot depends on the cows and the weather. When we start getting ice/snow we put hay out but as long as there is something peaking through the grass the hay doesn;t get eaten much. As sson as it nmelts they go back to the stockpiled stuff rather then the hay.

 

[AllForage]

What ruins it for us are a few things. Keeping distant water unfrozen, ice, and snow/sleet without the ground being frozen. I just can't let the cows pug up and ruin pastures.those areas always get thistles the next year. I am on heavy clay.

I think if you have light snow without the heavy stuff/ice you can push em to graze longer.

I'm sure some Canadians will laugh at this post since I've read some bulldoze the snow to open up stockpiled grass.

 

[Bigfoot]

I had never seen my cows refuse to eat it before last year. Last year was a strange combination though. Wettest spring, summer and fall ever, followed by harshest winter I can remember.

 

[inyati13]

I had never seen my cows refuse to eat it before last year. Last year was a strange combination though. Wettest spring, summer and fall ever, followed by harshest winter I can remember.

Same here. My stockpile experiment provided no results last year. Nevertheless, in my short life as a cowboy, I have never fed hay before the first of the year. I have more grass on my 80 acres right now than I have ever had. The back 20 acres have hardly been used all year. The south 20 acres have not had cows on it for 2 months. Then I have my 20 acre hay area on top that could be fall forage if I needed it. I have some confounding managaement issues to deal with.

Example:
Currently, I have my small herd on the north 20 acres. It put them there about 2 weeks ago. The cows are LAZY. All they do is eat on the first 5 acres of the pasture close to the water and minerals. They lay in the sunshine and are content to be close to ole Ron. I got those girls spoiled. I know the response I will get: Use temporary fence to force them back. But the only water is the automatic Richie near the shop. So it would involve a lot of work. I need to manage better!

 

[dun]

I had never seen my cows refuse to eat it before last year. Last year was a strange combination though. Wettest spring, summer and fall ever, followed by harshest winter I can remember.

Same here. My stockpile experiment provided no results last year. Nevertheless, in my short life as a cowboy, I have never fed hay before the first of the year. I have more grass on my 80 acres right now than I have ever had. The back 20 acres have hardly been used all year. The south 20 acres have not had cows on it for 2 months. Then I have my 20 acre hay area on top that could be fall forage if I needed it. I have some confounding managaement issues to deal with.

Example:
Currently, I have my small herd on the north 20 acres. It put them there about 2 weeks ago. The cows are LAZY. All they do is eat on the first 5 acres of the pasture close to the water and minerals. They lay in the sunshine and are content to be close to ole Ron. I got those girls spoiled. I know the response I will get: Use temporary fence to force them back. But the only water is the automatic Richie near the shop. So it would involve a lot of work. I need to manage better!

I had a similar deal at our old farm. I made an alleyway across all of the pasture that fed to the water point. Thne I made individual paddocks that lead to the alleyway. The alleyway got pounded pretty hard but it got the rest of the pasture grazed evenly.