questions for grass farmers, ie grassfarmer

[tman]

I would like to hear some things that you guys are doing to graze as much as possible. I've read grassfarmer's post under rural issues, sounds like you accomplish it through rotation, etc. I'm from south central Manitoba where the fields during the winter are covered with a few feet of hard, crusted snow, cows aren't let out to pasture until May long weekend, and are fed starting in October, give or take. Some old timers, my dad included, always put down new ideas, such as bale grazing. Last year, our first cut was garbage after several rains, but the second cut was ideal. I thought it would have been ideal for the cows to "graze" the bales right where the baler left them. I'm sure the cows would have battle through the snow to get to that great tasting hay, much better than cereal straw. I've noticed that by letting the cows out in May, the grass gets away and heads out. I don't consider that wasted grass, but not the most effecient use of it. I think we could easily graze sooner and go with smaller pastures and rotate them more often.

[grassfarmer]

tman, You have got to work with what's right for your area and climate. One opportunity that most producers out here miss is the potential to spring graze cattle. In their enthusiasm to extend fall grazing by swath grazing oats or grazing corn they are devoting time to growing alternative feeds to use at a time of year when a cows needs should be at their least. I would rather save grass by banking it for April use and feed straw in November or December if I had to. I don't know when you normally get snow cover for the winter but I'll bet it is usually gone before the May long weekend. Banking grass for use in April/May gives you a feed source at a time of year when nutritional needs are highest. For us it is the ideal system as it allows our cows to calf out on a dry bed away from the corrals without the daily disturbance of feeding them with a tractor. This year we grazed old grass from April 3rd on, May 18th was the first day they grazed all new grass although from about May 5th there was a good percentage of fresh green in their banked grass. This seemless transition from old forage to new is supposed to cause less stress on the rumen and prevents sandcracks on their feet.
I agree you aren't wasting your grass that heads out early - as Don Cambell says once you've grown grass it's impossible to waste it. You are wasting potential for more growth though. This is our cows only job between May 18th and July 10th - cover as much land as possible and crop it before it heads out. Once it has this setback the plants next attempt at forming seedheads takes a while and usually results in a good leafy regrowth right into fall. We do let one block a year go to seed by grazing it first and then leaving it to grow for the rest of the season - this allows some natural reseeding and a thickening of the stand.

[gaucho]

There seems to be this thought that the only grass cows can eat has to be green and when its stopped growing its done. I agree with grassfarmer work on getting your cows out as early as you can. First of all its better for the animal adjusting from dry old grass to new stuff and it makes life a lot simpler when you are spring calving....If you are spring calving you better not be feeding... talk about way to screw up mothering and adding headaches to your life.

[Cedar]

tman: "I've noticed that by letting the cows out in May, the grass gets away and heads out. I don't consider that wasted grass, but not the most effecient use of it."

How is that not the most efficient use of it? Is grass use more efficient with regards to animal performance, or with regards to pasture performance, if not allowed to go to head?

[Cedar]

tman: "I think we could easily graze sooner and go with smaller pastures and rotate them more often."

Are you suggesting that the more frequent rotations would be the most benefit? How so? Is there a difference with regards to time of turnout if you're grazing native grasses or tame pasture stands? How does heading out affect each type of stand?

[Cedar]

grassfarmer: "I agree you aren't wasting your grass that heads out early - as Don Cambell says once you've grown grass it's impossible to waste it. You are wasting potential for more growth though."

How is this wasting potential for more growth?

[Cedar]

grassfarmer: "Banking grass for use in April/May gives you a feed source at a time of year when nutritional needs are highest. "

How do you go about "banking" grass?

[Cedar]

gaucho: "If you are spring calving you better not be feeding... talk about way to screw up mothering and adding headaches to your life."

How so?

[smcgrath76]

Interesting thread.
We do not turn cows onto native range until post June 30th at the earliest (usually much later). These rangelands are much more productive when grazed later in the season, and in most of the prairies should only be grazed once per year.
We dormant season graze a lot of our native stuff (November and later). While we prefer not to feed at all, if forced to make a choice I would actually prefer to feed in April/early May to get the grass off to a good start.
The idea of small paddocks is to evenly graze the stand and then move the cattle off completely to let it fully recover. This is no different than the concept of taking two or three cuts off of a hayfield, just using cows to do it. The wetter it is the faster you need to rotate.

[cswilson]

Cedar I think the point he was making is that by feeding you bunch cows up and might cause some mothering mixups.The best calving fields are usually leftover grass from the year previous-grass that cows break out of in the fall they graze with relish in the spring.