Where to start

[SF]

I am not sure but one of my neighbors had cattle on their until last Jan and it was only a few inches high when the cattle came off in mid Jan, by April it was 3 to 4 feet again (was hard to see the turkeys shot 3 toms) it was green and growing all winter. Other ranches in the area, the grass was brown and looked dormant, the previous owner told me it was year round grass and from what I saw this winter it looked like it too me. I bought the place for an investment and some hunting but would like to try some steers mainly for the experience and when I retire hopefully soon, it might even supplement my military retirement check and give me something to do!

I would certainly like to know what variety of grass grows year around. If you are able to find out, share the info with me. My grass turns brown in the winter.

 

[Bama]

Sounds like you have some type of fescue. I have fescue for winter grazing myself. I have bermuda for summer. In the summer months mine don't get nothing but grass and minerals. In winter I generally start feeding some hay around the first of January. Usually by the first of march they no longer require hay. I normally give them some cattle pellets along with the hay.

 

[PapaFat]

What type of equipment will I need pens, shoots, trailer?????

 

[Bama]

Assuming you are only gonna run 15 you could probally get by with having someone else do the bushhogging for you. If you feed hay you could get it delivered to you and set it in a way that you could move a electric fence and give them access to a roll at a time. You will still need some way of catching them. I would recommend that anything you build you look to the future. Build small to start with but look at the ease of adding on later. You will at least need a headgate. Its hard to vaccinate without one. You could use this same alley to load out into the trailer. A small pen to feed in with a gate to lock them in. A small gate to kinda sweep them into a short chute before the headgate. This is only the basics you will have to have. It could be added on later as needs arise. A tractor would sure be handy as most of the jobs you may do dictate their use. The local salebarn around me even let folks use their trailer free, this may be something you could look into in your area. That way you wouldn't even have to have that. If you looking into expanding you will have to expand your facilities as well.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Check around and see how the neighboring folks operate. You may have enough stockpiled warm season grass, plus grass that thrives in winter, to get by without any feeding. Abilene is not that awfully far north of San Saba, and each year during winter I am simply amazed at how well the rancher's cattle do on my deer lease near San Saba. In my country down along the coast, under similar conditions, they would virtually fall apart. It always seems to me that our rancher (who feeds absolutely no hay) way overstocks and by December and January the stockpiled grass is awfully short (really just nubs), but the ranch has some sort of native grass that, with a little moisture, grows pretty well and stays green even when temperatures often dip into the teens and twenties. Don't know what it is called, but it is definitely not ryegrass or fescue. The cattle stay in remarkably good condition; really strong grass out there.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

I sure would like to know what this magic grass is. :cboy:

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

You and me both MPR! But I know I couldn't get similar results with that grass in my black gumbo area, and you probably couldn't around Corsicana. But what the heck, now that you've got some Longhorns all your cattle need are some weeds and mesquite leaves & small branches, maybe a little actual grass and finally throw in a few prickly pear cactus for desert --- they'll eat just about anything, right? :lol:

Been pretty damn hot in Arizona lately hasn't it, even if it is a dry heat. I bet you're glad to not be stuck over there these days.

 

[certherfbeef]

My sister lives in Wilcox. She said even the locals are complaining about the heat in Ariziona.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

You and me both MPR! But I know I couldn't get similar results with that grass in my black gumbo area, and you probably couldn't around Corsicana. But what the heck, now that you've got some Longhorns all your cattle need are some weeds and mesquite leaves & small branches, maybe a little actual grass and finally throw in a few prickly pear cactus for desert --- they'll eat just about anything, right? :lol:

Been pretty damn hot in Arizona lately hasn't it, even if it is a dry heat. I bet you're glad to not be stuck over there these days.

Not been exactly cold here. Came in to get a gatorade about noon today and it was 103. Them gals of mine are munchin on some good summer grass and really like the cubes they get everySaturday. :lol: Gave me 2 minature charolais bull calfs last week too. ;-)

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

My sister lives in Wilcox. She said even the locals are complaining about the heat in Ariziona.

118 degrees :lol: But it's a dry heat :roll: (My ---) a dry heat.

 

[certherfbeef]

My sister lives in Wilcox. She said even the locals are complaining about the heat in Ariziona.

118 degrees :lol: But it's a dry heat :roll: (My ---) a dry heat.

Boy, I don't know...that Texas heat was rough on me...in may even :roll:

 

[bigbull338]

oh come on cert . i can grow my beard in 110 heat. an not flinch doing it lolol. scott

 

[PapaFat]

I might be new and as dumb as a cow but I know when grass is green

:shock: Fescue- A cool-loving Kentucky bluegrass, there are blends that claim to make it here in our Texas heat. Best planted in a little shade for this reason. Some hybridized forms will grow in as little as two to four hours of filtered sun. Recent hybrids will also stay green most of the year, though you may see some browning in our summers. Green all winter. Drought resistant and doesn't creep. You will probably need to overseed once or twice to get full coverage, as it is one seed, one blade. Be sure you get the tall type and not the fine type Fescue. Is not available on pallets.

:shock: Grasslands Flecha tall fescue and Maru harding grass, in 2000. They yielded well in clipping trials and survived severe summer drought in 2001.
In 2002, other types of summer-dormant tall fescues, harding grass and orchardgrass developed in Australia and New Zealand were added to the trials.
All of these grasses survived drought conditions in 2002 and a severe summer drought in 2003.
"These grasses go dormant beginning in late-May or early June, and then break dormancy in September. They put on good growth and managed to survive dry winter conditions," Malinowski said. "They obtain their peak growth from January through March, and produce nutritious forage during that time.
"After four years of severe clipping trials, their persistence is good; they are still holding their own. They can withstand severe defoliation, persist and re-grow in this climate."


:shock: Tall fescue is a hardy, long-lived perennial bunchgrass. It can adapt to almost any soil type. It is one of the first grasses to grow in the spring, and it can be stockpiled to graze all winter long. It is our only grass that is truly adapted to a 12-month grazing system. The endophyte in K-31 and other tall fescues is what makes it resistant to drought, insects, disease, flooding or management abuse. The entophyte also makes some tall fescues unpalatable and in some cases toxic. Pregnant mares are particularly sensitive although I have seen beef herds lose over 50 pounds in calf weaning weight due to fescue pasture. But today, low-endophyte or no-endophyte fescue varieties provide producers some excellent alternatives that persist well, produce well, and are still adapted to almost any soil. There is even a new "animal-friendly" endophyte infected fescue on the market that promises all of the resistance of K-31 with the palatability of the best endophyte free fescue.

 

[SF]

What's with the lesson on Fescue grass? Do you know what kind of grass you have that grows year around with natural rainfall or not? Are you saying your year around grass is Fescue?

 

[PapaFat]

Not positive but based on what I seen and what I read I would say that long fescue would be a good bet,

Grass still needs rain it was very wet last winter, The point was that fescue grows in cool weather and does not need a lot of sun light, It is browning right now, and its very long as you know its been hot and dry!!!!