grazing question

[grimm_mojo]

ok a friend of mine offered to let me put some cattle on his land an i was wondering now how much space does a cow need to graze an the grass be the main diet ? in this deal he will be getting some meat when i butcher one but he wants grass eaised an no corn feed out cows or growth hormemones which i perfectly fine with that myself . so how much room would i need per cow ?
an thanks folks
jeremy

[agmantoo]

You need enough acreage to grow 3% of the total animal weight per day. In some areas that may be as little as 1 acre or less per animal and in other places it could be a 100 acres or more. The 3% will be constant.

[ksfarmer]

Agmantoo is correct. Without knowing where you are, there is no way to advise you on acerage needed. Check with your local ag extension office, or a knowledgable local cattleman. Here at the north end of the flint hills pastures, we figure around 4 acres for a steer, or 7 acres for a cow and spring calf.

[bricned]

There are many things that need to be considered. Here on my place I can
run one cow and her calf on two acres with an average rain fall for this area.
Ten miles down the road where the soil is better they can do better than that.
So there is no pat answer that would apply every where.

[whinnyninny]

I would also depend on weather. Two summers ago we had bad drought and ranchers were selling off their herds (hay was nearing $100 per 5x5 round bale, and some catle were being fed corn stalks because there was nothing else), and last summer we had a huge abundance of grass thanks to lots of rain. Some years, ranchers can graze twice as many cattle on their acreage than they can in some other years.

[grimm_mojo]

were they well be at has pretty good ground so i guess i find out as i go an thanks for the answers . i am in southern ohio

[homefarm]

Hello it does depend where you are .what kind of grass their is.. you can use tempory electric fence to give them fresh grass daily in different spots.but if you keep them over winter you will need about 3 tons of hay each...homefarm

[grimm_mojo]

i am not sure what type of grass it is but have considered sewing some form of grass to whats already there that may be good for them as well an i am considering electric fence