Can one raise a beef cow on a couple of acres???

[pappasmurf]

I have a couple of acres of pasture in front of my house in central GA. I am debating between a beef cow or a couple of hogs. I currently have a vinyl horse fence, but can put up mor if necessary. Any ideas or experiance would help greatly.

Thanks

[Callieslamb]

I do it. I have had to buy our hay, but hopefully, this year we will get the baler running. The answer depends on how much grass you have not on how much space. Does it stay green all summer or does it go brown due to heat and lack of rain? Does it grow tall? Do yo uknow what kind of grass is out there and if it's tasty to cows? I have spots in our pasture where they won't eat the grass. I assume they don't like it.

[lakeportfarms]

What Callieslamb said....also, you probably want to stay with one of the smaller breeds, like a Dexter. I'd find a way to put a hot wire around the vinyl fence, and you can extend your pasture considerably by keeping the cow in small sections using temporary hot fencing and moving her frequently. Sort of like mowing your lawn, it will keep the grass at the optimum height for regrowth. Look at the rotational grazing threads for more information. With just two acres you could even irrigate all or portions of it to help you out during the summer months. Buy some more hose if you have to and move the water around and use it for sprinklers.

[Mare Owner]

Yes you can, and beefer will probably be a lot less trouble than a couple hogs.

If it were me, I'd run electric inside the vinyl fence to keep the beef from leaning on it. Divide your pasture with temp electric and rotate the cow around to take full advantage of the forage you've already got.