Overseeding natural grassland for pasture

[Azrael]

I am looking into the possibilty of buying some acreage in southwestern Kansas that I would like to run some cows and/or sheep on. Currently all the ground is in natural grassland state.

I plan on doing rotational grazing, when I put livestock on it to graze and then move them to the next paddock, should I overseed the previous pasture with a pasture mix, or should I just let it come back naturally?

If I let it come back naturally, how long should I let it sit idle before putting livestock back on? (I know time of year will have an effect on this)

If I overseed, should I use some time of native cover mix, or a regular pasture mix?

Also, we are not talking about paddocks of a couple acres, they would be more around 100-200 acres. Ideally I would like to have large enough paddocks that livestock would only have to be moved every 1-2 months (depending on stocking rate) and rotate through 4-6 paddocks. I was figuring on chain harrowing each paddock after livestock was moved off to break up manure and any other clumps but was unsure whether it should be overseeded as well.

[agmantoo]

If you do not removed the animals after they have eaten the forage to give the forage an opportunity to regrow you are negating the whole purpose of rotational grazing.

[Allen W]

A basic overview of native warm season grass growth cycle would be green up in the spring with good growth coming late April early May. Growth will slow and quality starts dropping in July, by August recovery is slow to almost non existent depending on moisture and continuing until total dormancy after frost. Cows will need some protein supplement going into fall and on through winter, possibly hay or grain depending on calving time and pasture condition. Native grass will take care of itself very well with proper management.


Some of the area you are talking about has been under a severe drought for several years.

How much livestock experience do you have?

[wstevenl]

Waiting 1-2 months to move the cows from the paddock will allow them to eat regrowth and therefore damage the grasses. It would be much better to move them much more often with portable electric fencing. Is this a possibility? Here, I move our small herd everyday when there is pasture. Right now they are on hay even though there is a little grass left, I'll let them eat that in early spring. I'd never leave them on one paddock for more than 3 days.
How many head of cattle are you talking about?

[Azrael]

No, I do not have much experience with livestock, I guess that is pretty obvious! Looks like the idea I had isn't going to work as planned, oh well, back to the drawing board!

[Allen W]

There is a lot of good advise here and people willing to help. Keep asking questions.