Fall rye grazing

[WiltonRanch]

Rye is a tough plant. Word of caution grazing in the spring on high clay soils. Your ground can get real hard. Done it once and worked well for early grazing but was a nightmare to deal with after. Joys of clay loam soil

[Sheepwheat]

Rye is a tough plant. Word of caution grazing in the spring on high clay soils. Your ground can get real hard. Done it once and worked well for early grazing but was a nightmare to deal with after. Joys of clay loam soil

Loam/clay loam soil here. Bad compaction? What happened?

[woodland]

Loam/clay loam soil here. Bad compaction? What happened?

I know if it’s muddy while they are grazing it our heavy clay becomes concrete if it bakes and dries out later. If you leave it over the next winter it mellows out nicely. It can be tricky/ impossible to only graze when the ground is dry-ish. It doesn’t seem to bother the rye much as it stools out more and the clover just comes in naturally here.

Curious how compaction compares between a cow and a ewe?

[Sheepwheat]

I know if it’s muddy while they are grazing it our heavy clay becomes concrete if it bakes and dries out later. If you leave it over the next winter it mellows out nicely. It can be tricky/ impossible to only graze when the ground is dry-ish. It doesn’t seem to bother the rye much as it stools out more and the clover just comes in naturally here.

Curious how compaction compares between a cow and a ewe?

I’m going to guess ewes compact a lot less. A tenth the weight, but not a tenth the hoof size? Never seen a cow with a 20 inch wide hoof! Lol

[GDR]

I’m going to guess ewes compact a lot less. A tenth the weight, but not a tenth the hoof size? Never seen a cow with a 20 inch wide hoof! Lol

So then why don't they call Sheeps foot packers cow hoof packers? 😁