Prepping a Pasture Tips

[DenMacII]

Hello All,

We are seriously looking to add a cow or two to our farm later this year. We plan to use 2+ acres of existing pasture that are cross fenced into two pastures and both are irrigated. (we have a bit over 5 acres total).

We've owned this property for 2 1/2 years now and have not prepared the pastures for livestock - nor did the previous owner for likely decades. We want to seed the pastures this spring, but my wife is on complete overload regarding what to seed the pastures with. She goes from "We have to use the 'Organic Dairy Seed Mix' at $5.50lb to rye grass and fescues at $1.75lb. Assuming about 50lbs per acre - that's a huge swing in seed costs. She's pretty much spinning in circles at this point, and if I chime in with an idea, I am promptly told that I have not been doing the reading that she has been doing.

So...those of you with 'hoofs on the ground', what have you done on your small farms to prepare pastures for new livestock? We anticipate having one or two cows rotating on two acres later this year. We may get one cow for milking and raise another for beef.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Dennis

Oh, yeah - any tips on which breed to start with would be great too. I am leaning towards a jersey or maybe a dexter - and she wants a Dutch Belted cause they're unique and lower on the milk production scale.

[Cotton Picker]

Hi Dennis,

I don't know how you are planning to incorporate your seed into the soil, i.e. broadcasting, drilling, etc.

This seed sounds like a good compromise:
http://www.sucraseed.com/products.html

I don't know what it costs, or local availability in your area. It does come out of Oregon so it's not produced too far away.

I would avoid Fescue. It has a bad reputation for getting endophyte fungus in it.
http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/fescue.htm

If your land is irrigated, IMHO you could set it up for intensive grazing and achieve good results with it.

As for what type of breed to start with. That would depend on what your priorities are for having cattle in the first place..... Milk or dairy....

If you are a bovine neophyte, you might want to start with beef type cattle, to get your feet wet, as they do not require the intense hands on and time commitment of dairy animals.

It would also be dependent upon how much you want to spend on stock, as well as, what is locally available to you.

Hope this helps

[Up North]

DenMacII - Localized applications achieve the best results with localized solutions. Start by visiting with your local county extension agent, ask what species of plants grow well given the soils, climate for your area. Ask if there are any operating farms with irrigated grazing within 150 miles. Then contact them and request their advice on what to plant, when to plant it, and how long you need to keep cattle off the new seeding to let it become established.
Ask if you should use a cover crop to help establish your new pasture seeding.
As to breed selection, you may want to research what is available to you within a reasonable distance. If you set your heart on a specific breed that is not available in your area, you may be faced with additional costs for testing to bring an animal across state lines, or higher transportation costs, or both.
A dairy cow that is healthy, bright eyed, with strong healthy feet& legs, a shiny haircoat, either pregnant or able to be so, with 4 hooves and 4 teats(or even 3 teats, LOL) will do the job.

[bigmudder77]

make sure you check your fences if you get a jersey (well do it to any thing you get but a jersey will find the weak or open spots)

as far as what type of stuff to plant we just used grass seed in the spring put it over top the old grass and then they had a mix of old and new grass and they ate it all cows eat some weird stuff i was use to horses and goats and they didnt eat unless it was nice and green and grass they didnt eat weeds these cows eat any thing