Not doing too well at planning ahead....

Jackie · #21 05/15/09, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RosewoodfarmVA

You would have far more grass and better utilization of said grass with crossfencing and rotational grazing. Are all 160 acres to be pasture/riding area? How would you cut your hay without being able to keep the animals off of the hayland? It seems to me to be best if you design the land with a few lanes, with pastures/hayfields off the sides, where you can rotate which pasture the animals are in, which pasture gets cut for hay, and still have the lane available for riding. Sure it wouldn't be the same as taking off full speed across a 160 acre field, but 160 acres of open pasture seems an open invitation to overgrazing, underutilization, etc. Be aware horses are notorious for spot grazing. They will have to be confined to a small area and rotated to force them to eat everything within that area before moving on, or else the pasture will have places eaten to the ground and other places head high with weeds and tall grass. This problem alone necessitates rotational grazing (and pasture crossfencing). Just my opinion, but you will get 4x the production on that 160 acres with a good system of crossfencing and lanes, and watering systems.

Thank you for your input!

I am not cutting hay. I don't think I could on my land and I don't have the equipment. I could probably buy hay for cheaper than renting the equipment. If you look the pictures I posted you will see it's far from just a wide open field. Right now a creek runs right through the middle of it with no way to get across with a vehicle. You have to drive around on the road to get to the other side. Horses and cattle could cross no problem though. There is lots of bush, hills etc. We don't have ANY idea why kind of grass we are going to get. We never saw the place with grass. I will have a better idea after the first year I guess. For now I guess I am mainly worried about my corral/holding pasture system up near the house. I KNOW that I will have enough grass to feed my animals for 6 months and that's about all I am worried about right now. I have a truck load of hay coming late summer.

sammyd · #22 05/15/09, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Why so long? I am only going to have 10 cows at the most. Wouldn't they all calve at the same time

LOL...
Maybe in the movies.
reality is that they cycle every month and some settle easy and some don't.
Beef people will run a bull in the herd for a specific time so that the calves will come when the farmer wants them to. Usually calving early spring but I have noticed some interest in fall calving.

kclementsdvm · #23 05/16/09, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackie

Why so long? I am only going to have 10 cows at the most. Wouldn't they all calve at the same time?

Odds are that they won't all be cycling totally in sync, and they may not all settle on the first cycle, either. There are things you can do to try to synchronize their cycling, but then you're still left wondering if they'll all settle on the first or second cycle.

Karin L · #24 05/16/09, 10:21 PM

Jackie, I recommend AI as well if you only got 10 cows to look after. A bull has a tendancy to ruin fences and induce complaints from your neighbors if he don't have other females to service after the 10 have been done. Because the only way you'll keep a bull happy is if he's got a bunch of ladies to service and food to eat.

Heifers and cows come into heat at different times. They won't necessarily by cycling en snyc, so will be needed to be adjusted by a short of PGF2alpha (something like that) in order to come into heat at the same time to make for more efficient servicing via AI. Naturally servicing heifers or cows need to have a breeding time frame of 45 to 60 days for the bulls to cover all of them. Those that don't get covered should/will be sold at the auction.

DO NOT, on all conditions, wean calves with the horses! You will really be asking for a train wreck and some very hungry, stressed out calves that have been terrorized by the more aggressive horses. Cattle and horses do not mix, thus should be kept separate, except if the cattle outnumber the horses by 5:1 or greater on occasion.

So with that, you'll need to really think out a fencing plan to keep the horses and cattle separate. A drylot for the horses is good for when they are not needed out on pasture, and cattle can have access to pasture 24/7. I do agree with the rotational grazing idea, especially if you are only using the land for trail rides and grazing.