How much acreage to sustain a Dexter or Highland?

[HOTW]

We may have found a place to buy but hubby is now asking how much land you need to keep 2-3 cattle. Since dexters and highlands are the breeds I am thinking about, how much acreage do you need to have to grow hay,grain to feed them thru the winter-on average? I told him you have to work the land and find out but he wants a rough figure before he will even think about buying. We will be going back to walk the property better , it is bisected by a small ravine with a stream going thru it, we have to see if there is crossing ability for cattle.

So approx how much acreage can produce what is needed to winter these breeds between Oct-April? Any ideas?

[holleegee]

If you contact the extension office in the area they will be able to help you. Our extension agent even came out to look over the land with us.

[darbyfamily]

We're in Kansas, but we have two dexters.. a mama and her calf (6mths old) on one acre of pasture. We're looking to buy an acre from our neighbor who does nothing with their back acre, but for now, 1 acre is all we've got to spare for the cows. The rest is garden/play area/fruit trees.

The cows share that back acre, oh, maybe 1 1/3 actually, with chickens, dogs, pigs, and a goat.

[mistletoad]

If it's any help a 1000lb round bale lasts our 2 dexters 5 weeks, so it would take 6 round bales to get them through winter. We buy ours so I have no idea what kind of acreage you would need to grow it yourself.

[Christiaan]

No idea how much acreage to produce hay. I have 2 1/4 acres, so just shy of 2 acres that I keep 3 Highlands on. Cow, yearling, calf most of the time. This year the three of them have been consuming on average 50 lbs of hay per day. That is 2/3 to 3/4 of a bale of local hay. The rest goes to the goats.

[genebo]

In a normal year, here in Virginia, you can keep a Dexter eating your pasture grass all year round on just 2 acres. However, in a bad year, such as we had last year, the drought ruins the pastures and it would take twice that amount. Double the amounts I said for large breed cattle.

Common practice lets you keep a Dexter on one acre here, by feeding hay during the cold months. However, you indicated you don't want to do that, so you'll need the larger acreage. If you're in a place where the grass is poor or the snow cover keeps the cows from getting to the grass, you'll have to feed hay during the winter.

Don't forget to allow for increase. A bred cow becomes a cow/calf pair. If the calf is to go to the freezer, it will have to stay for up to two years. By the end of the second year, you'll have two adult cattle, her second calf, which by now is a yearling and be right on the verge of having a new calf. So a single bred cow becomes three head to feed. As soon as you put the first calf in the freezer, she should be having her third calf, so you'll always have three mouths to feed, not one.

You'll need enough grass to feed that many if you intend to use the Dexter as dual purpose.

I like to tell people I raise Dexters, but the truth is that I raise grass. The Dexters eat the grass and pretty much take care of themselves.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[GANGGREEN]

I'm probably not far from you in northern PA. If you don't mind me asking, what area are you looking to purchase in?

As for the animals, I have 3 adult Highland cows, 3 yearling bulls and one new calf. I have a 5.5-6 acre pasture split into two paddocks and they aren't even making a dent in the new growth. I can easily handle this number of cows for about 8 months of the year without any supplemental feed. In the winter, I feed about 3 small bales per day for that number of cattle, or roughly 100 bales per month, 400-450 per year.

Admittedly, I have a very high quality pasture but I'd think 1 animal per acre in our area is a safe rule of thumb. I feel certain that I could pasture a few more head during the 8 months or so of green grass. As for hay, I purchase mine but I can't imagine that it would take a very large field to put up 400-500 small bales in two cuttings.

Just my two cents, hope it helps.