Hay vs pasture

[Callieslamb]

Do you use the same grass mix for pasture that you do for hay? I am asking about cattle pasture specifically.

We tried to get our hay fields re-planted this year. It was too wet this fall. Now we have to wait for spring, though we are considering frost seeding. Would there be a reason to put a different grass mix in the pastures than in the hay fields?

I sell half of my hay. Are pasture and hay requirements different for cows compared to horses? Everyone here knows horses. All hay is advertized as 'great for horses'. Is there a significant difference in the nutrition needs in horses and cattle that would make cattle hay less valuable to horse people and vice versa?

[travlnusa]

I seeded my pastures with the same mix as the hay fields. In the spring, when the growth is more than what the cows can keep up with, I cut and bale.

This also keeps their diet the same year round.

[Chixarecute]

From what I have picked up on the horse forum, many tend to shy away from alfalfa due to the high sugar content, and clover can cause frothing at the mouth, tho I'm not sure if sugar is an issue with it or not. So a good horse hay is mostly grass hay, cut before going to seed.

Talk to your feed mill, co-op, or extension agent about good grazing mixes. DH's family is a retired dairy family, they were always partial to timothy and brome in their hay mixes, orchard grass so-so, (along with the alfalfa).

[Callieslamb]

Thanks. That is that they told me. However, they left the alfalfa out of it since I woudl want to sell to horse people. As long as my cows have the right stuff, I don't mind planting it, but I don't want to plant to satisfy horses only.

I am thinking the brome, orchard grass, tall rye? maybe timothy- I hear it isn't as long lived?

[Karin L]

For our beef cattle we usually use the same areas for hay as for pasture, only difference in our hay fields is we got more alfalfa than there is out in the pasture.

Timothy never lasts long in the pasture, one because it doesn't seem to be suited to grazing, and two because it has specific times which allow for it to be able to be harvested without harming the storage base of the grass called the "corm". According to an Agriculture Canada info pamphlet on Timothy, the grass cannot be cut or grazed before it heads out (2 weeks prior to head emergence) because this is when the "joining stage" occurs, when the corms and the buds are in the middle of forming to full maturity. "Removing top growth at this time greatly weakens the original plants, and the cycle of regeneration is interupted because the corms and buds for the second shoots are not adequately formed." Timothy only lasts for a year or two, then declines in production. Timothy can withstand grazing in its vegetative stage, but it's not possible to limit grazing to this stage, unless you are following a strict MIG system that takes into account the growth stages of timothy.

Orchard grass doesn't last long either, only for a couple years before it dies off and is replaced by the more dominant grasses that do better in your area. Brome for one (smooth and meadow) are excellent pasture grasses, as well as kentucky bluegrass, fescue (there are other species of fescue besides tall, such as creeping red and meadow), wheatgrass, and others that you will find. A local extension office of yours might be able to pinpoint the specific grasses that will grow best in SW Michigan.

[Callieslamb]

Originally Posted by Karin L

.......
Orchard grass doesn't last long either, only for a couple years before it dies off and is replaced by the more dominant grasses that do better in your area. Brome for one (smooth and meadow) are excellent pasture grasses, as well as kentucky bluegrass, fescue (there are other species of fescue besides tall, such as creeping red and meadow), wheatgrass, and others that you will find. A local extension office of yours might be able to pinpoint the specific grasses that will grow best in SW Michigan.

Thanks, Karin

Tall fescue is what I meant. The extension people don't seem to answer calls. I think I trust the feed store guy more. the farmer UI had out today said my hay fiekd was in better grass than his - and he is the one selling me thae hay....

I think we will do 2 cuttings of hay, then leave the 3rd cutting to just 1/2 of the field - leaving the rest for grazing. My fields are currently sudan grass, brome, alfalfa ( little and getting less) and tall fescue - and a few others of lesser quantity.