What does your pasture look like today??

[SteveO]

With weather being so strange to say the least i thought it might be interesting to see what yours look s like and if this is "normal" what ever that might be.
I will add mine from NW TN tommorow
Steve
Another 1.25 inches of rain for us tommorow I hate to say it but enough already!!!!!!!!!!

[Jackie]

Mine should be under two feet of snow but we are having a very very weird year complete with rain in December. Not much rain, but enough to make the highways very scary. We only have a bit of snow out there...some has stuck in frozen clumps and the rest blew away. I think its only snowed once this year...we normally start getting snow end of October and it just piles up till April.

So so far this winter has been very warm and dry. Very strange.

[Dreamfarm]

Do you think it could be El Nino weather? Warm/ mild winter in North -very wet winter in the South -

[Dreamfarm]

Do you think this could be El Nino weather? Mild warmer winter in the North/ Midwest/West and very rainy winter in the South?

[goodhors]

Soft dirt, no length to the grass. Animals have eaten everything edible, so we are feeding hay outside. We were cold with hard ground last week, but temps warmed up again. Water from rain over the weekend is still draining. Supposed to rain on Tues, temps up in 40Fs. It has snowed a couple times, but didn't stay.

[Callieslamb]

My pastures are almost bare earth -with a few tufts of grass poking up here and there. We have been so warm this year that my animals think it's still fall and keep looking for something green to eat. I had to corral them to save the grass. I wish the ground would freeze and the snow fall. Grassless pasture + rain=mud and more mud.

[lakeportfarms]

It seems as though a lot of us in Michigan are struggling with the warmer temperatures and mud. It's more like April than November and December with all the rain. I usually have temporary corrals set up in a large cement paved area that I put the cows in when the snow melts and frost comes out of the ground. I would do it now, but you know as soon as I do the temperature would drop and the lake effect would kick in, and then I'd be trying to clear 2 feet of snow from the same area...with all the panels in the way. Now they're stomping up the pasture, and I'm making deep ruts taking the round bales out to them. I'll try to make lemonade though... I've been concentrating the round bales in the areas that are in need of some pasture renovation, and there isn't a square foot of those areas that isn't littered with left over hay and manure getting stomped into the ground. I hope I'll reap the rewards next summer and in future years.

[Karin L]

We have about 6 inches of hard, crusted snow cover on the little pasture we have left. If we had cows they might be able to do a bit of grazing on there, but the snow cover would be too hard-packed for them to get much from it.

[Callieslamb]

Originally Posted by lakeportfarms

.......... I would do it now, but you know as soon as I do the temperature would drop and the lake effect would kick in, and then I'd be trying to clear 2 feet of snow from the same area...with all the panels in the way. Now they're stomping up the pasture, and I'm making deep ruts taking the round bales out to them...................

I am so close to the lake and the lake is still so warm that if a cold front ever does come in, we could get some pretty good dumps of snow this year.

[genebo]

SteveO,

Here's one closer to your home. This is Paradise Farm, in central Virginia. The grass is short, but they can still find a little to eat. I've been feeding hay since about the 1st of December.

The pastures were seeded with Red River crabgrass this spring. You can still see some of the crabgrass.

[Gabriel]

Don't have any pic's, but I do still have some grass. I'm bale grazing so as to add nutrients to the worst part of the paddocks. There's more grass now than there was last year when we moved in. M.I.G. works. My goal is to feed no hay at all next winter.

[agmantoo]

I pulled the herd from this paddock near the end of November. This pic was taken a few days ago. The recovery has been exceptional for a period less than 3 weeks long.

[Brooks WV]

Our place in WV looks just like Genebos. Not complaining about the warm temps! We've had night time lows in the upper 20's with a bit of snow furries. Heck, last year we were lucky to have a DAYTIME high in the 20's!

[Gabriel]

Went out and got a pic' in between showers (rain! not bathing) yesterday.

[agmantoo]

Gabriel
The pasture looks great! The few cold spells we had back in November had a small impact and took some of the color out but I am certain the cattle eat the forage enthusiastically.
I am uncertain if you have had this level of growth this late in previous years. Just a word of caution if you have not dealt with thatch before. You cattle appear to be standing in an area where forage remains uneaten. You will want them to eat as much from each paddock as they will glean. In the wet weather they will trample the uneaten forage and the thatch along with the manure into the soil. This will not be as negative as it sounds. Instead it will cause the surplus grass and thatch to decompose more rapidly and to build up more organic matter for the future. If there are any bare spots afterward you can frost seed in late Winter. Thanks for sharing the pic.

[lakeportfarms]

How are photos inserted in the posts like that? Anyway, I'd take photos of our pasture (you folks further south would be horrified), but you can't see past your nose in the 35 degree fog and drizzle right now. When is our snow and cold going to finally arrive??? I think we've had more inches of rain than we have had snow so far!

[Brooks WV]

Rainy day today, but it's better than snow! Last year at this time, we were under snow and didnt see the ground again until February. There is new green growth, but a bit tough to see. Envious of your pasture, Gabriel

[Gabriel]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Gabriel, the pasture looks great!

Thank you! It's not up to your pasture's quality, but it's nicer than all of my neighbors and I attribute much of that to your input in the sticky thread. Thanks again for all of the advice you have given.

Originally Posted by agmantoo

I am uncertain if you have had this level of growth this late in previous years.

This is the first year that I've had the chance to put MIG into practice. So yes, I'm in uncharted waters.

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Just a word of caution if you have not dealt with thatch before. You cattle appear to be standing in an area where forage remains uneaten. You will want them to eat as much from each paddock as they will glean. In the wet weather they will trample the uneaten forage and the thatch along with the manure into the soil. This will not be as negative as it sounds. Instead it will cause the surplus grass and thatch to decompose more rapidly and to build up more organic matter for the future. If there are any bare spots afterward you can frost seed in late Winter. Thanks for sharing the pic.

If I had moved over it would show the graze line better, but that would show the ugly part as well... I wanted to show off! Behind and to the right they have a bale of hay on the worst part of the pasture, not much grew there all summer. I'm currently giving them an extra two yards every other day or so along with that hay, so as to try to balance their nutritional needs with my pasture improvement program. The hay is not the best and I don't want them losing too much BC.

I don't know what this place has looked like in years past, but according to my BIL it looks better now than ever before. For those considering MIG, keep in mind I've spread no seed and no lime on this area... it's just a management change.

How are photos inserted in the posts like that?

I host mine at www.photobucket.com and then insert the link here. See the little icon of a mountain with a yellow background at the top of your post while you're replying? Click on that and paste the link from where the photo is hosted, use the "preview post" option to make sure it worked.

Brooks, I'm sure glad I'm further south! We just moved up here from TX this year and the very thought of colder weather scares me.

[Brooks WV]

Originally Posted by Gabriel

Brooks, I'm sure glad I'm further south! We just moved up here from TX this year and the very thought of colder weather scares me.

We're trying to get an idea what an "average" winter is here! We moved here two years ago from Virginia Beach (wife is a Texan though, from Beeville). Last year was colder and snowier than average, but much less snow than the year before... which broke all records.

I should have let the pasture grow up a bit more in late summer/early fall. This was out first year with animals, so we're still on the left side of the learning curve!

[topside1]

Not even close to Gabriel's pasture, but I do live on the Cumberland Plateau at a 2000 foot elevation...I'll keep working at it though, maybe next year.