I forgot about this post and am just getting back to it. Thanks for the compliments. This should respond to most of the comments and questions. I started about 4 years ago with a 2005 Cat D3G low ground pressure dozer (wide track). The farm was grown up with trees and bushes. In the course of pushing them off, I regraded the surface. The farm is steep so to pull a rotary cutter over it, the danger is significantly reduced by having an even solid surface. A D3G may be the best machine in existence for that type of grade work. The D3G is hydrostatic and with two joysticks and your foot on the decellerator, anyone can become skilled in about 50 hours. I would bet I can roll a hardboiled egg with the corner of the blade and not crack it. They are fine operating machines.
When I got an area graded, if it was a while before seeding, I cut numerous erosion breaks with a berm to break down run-off. I seeded in the fall. I would go back, break down the berms, fresh grade the surface, put down the seed and then track the seed in with the dozer. Those words in bold are the secret to my success. That gets the seed in contact with the ground. The seed I used was a pre-mix beef pasture including ryegrass, orchard grass, ladino clover, red clover, endophyte free fescue, and there was a low percentage of alfalfa.
The first year following seeding, the clovers dominated. The next year, the orchard grass dominated. Now there is a mixed stand. I mow my pastures early June and Early August. Some areas needed a third mowing. There are no stumps or rocks. It is steep but I can mow all day and never hit an object.
I have not used any amendments. I think when land is disturbed, a lot of tied-up nutrients are released due to oxidation and aeriation. I do use rotational grazing but not in an intense fashion.
