Part 4 Implementing proper grazing rotation with water access on new farm
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- Опубликовано: 5 дек 2019
- With any grazing program it is essential to not graze plants that have not been allowed to grow back from the previous grazing. Come to our spring grazing school in May to learn more. Go to greenpasturesfarm.net to read about our upcoming school.
Greg, you are so cool! For the first time, I am starting to get a good plan for my grazing goats and pigs. I am so grateful for you. Thank you for being the amazing you! I would have spent way too much money, but now!!! Oh my :) Many prayers of blessings sent your way.
You can do it!
“You are trying to buy time”. You have said this in many of your talks :)
Hello, Greg and Judy. Thank you for all your knowledge. Thank you for inspiration.
Thank you for a great lesson again!!! It’s a pleasure to watch your videos!
Greg, this series is fantastic!
This is AWSOME INFORMATION
Best series I’ve seen. I’m buying 20 Acres!
Oh man. This land I’m getting soon has a creek and that seems even easier to be more creative with it. Straight down the middle.
This guy is cool. Great explanations
Greg, you can install a pipe into an existing pond without draining it down. It's not necessarily cheap but it can be done. I made a bullet end and a push cap for my dozer blade for the end of the pipe, using a few lengths of 2" galvanized pipe and I pushed it through the dams from the back. A little tricky to get it in the right spot but can be done. Also line borers can install it. You can also do it with a backhoe with some imagination but it's a partially wet operation and a bit of a mess.
@@tun0fun Except freezing in the winter would be an issue here with a siphon over the dam.
@@tun0fun Nah, you bury a frost free valve (in a PVC pipe sleeve for a tool to reach the valve handle) back in the dam with an outlet that goes to a frost free (partially buried) stock tank. geo-thermal warmth keeps everything thawed. Our winter temps only range from 35F to 0F normally and 0 is fairly rare. I've seen it get down in the -10's a few times here in MO, wind chills for sure that low but very rarely and buried water never freezes here if it's over 12"-14" deep minimum.
Great video. I got confused at one point, I'll re-watch and remember my question. Thanks a lot.
This is ABSOLUTELY fascinating!!!
This has only become more fascinating over the course of the last year. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on feeding my family Beyond Meat and crickets.
Thank you for this series!
Another great video. Thank you so much.
Thanke you for a great series!
Thank you Greg!
Great video very well explained
We’re in the deep south and shade is a limiting factor in the success of our rotational grazing. Still, I have 3x the grass that my neighbors have. My hay is still in the barn and they are trying to figure out if they have enough to get through the winter. Thanks for the videos.
Greg great series. I was introduced to watching Justin Rhodes. My son just bought 70 acres to build a house and it came with 26 black angus cows and 6 emu that keep the coyotes from killing the cows. My question is we don’t know crap about ranching but super excited to learn. And we understand that the grass is the most important part. However this pasture looks kind of neglected. What is the first thing we should do to get the pasture set up for grassing? And which book would be most helpful for this venture? Keep up the great videos we are learning a lot.
What do you do for shelter if anything, When first starting out ? What about bad weather, winter, major windstorms , predators..etc . My question is directed to beef cows not dairy. Thanks
Greg, love the videos! We’re on fifteen, mountainous,rocky, wooded acres right now in PA with dreams of running pasture someday with cattle and chickens on more appropriate land. Can you speak more about stocking density in a future video? It’s tricky to find information about how many head of cattle can be grazed on XX acres of land and I know there is a lot of variables in it, but I’d love to hear your experiences. Thanks for the great information and showing people the opportunities out there!
Hi im new to farming. When you graze cows are you breading them for beef or milk? Or is it for both markets?
Why would you look at running cows there? We have 80 acres and I've fenced out quite a bit of the pastures to block access. Cows aren't designed for rocky pastures. I'm in NZ when they have crap pastures like that, people get sheep. Each cow is 600kg plus. I don't know what that is in pounds but what it equals in lost work for you or added health issues (broken ankles and legs, yep cows fall). It doesn't equal efficient farming practices.
I'd like to say keep up the good work, really like what I've seen with how you manage everything. One big question I have, that some people may as well. I live up in central Wisconsin, hopefully moving to northern Wisconsin next spring. For over a week now we've had over a foot of snow on the ground. Were dropping well below 0 here for a couple days now. I envy your weather down south! I like what I see with rolling out round bales, but how does a guy go about it in February when theres over two feet of snow on the ground? Is it more sensible up here to run a sacrifice pasture or try and strategically place bales for bale grazing? I've got 8 heifers and a bull, young and starting out. This winter I only have a barn to keep them in, it's what I have to work with. I will most definitely be implanting many of your techniques. I am just curious on any tips or techniques you might have for us northerners who are snow locked for 4 to 5 months. Anyway thank you for all you do, always looking forward to more! Thanks
-Seth
And to anyone who does live in my climate, any tips or real world advice is most certainly welcomed!
Hmm 5 cows an acre a day?
That's actually a rule of thumb I think most people were looking for. But I know that varies 👍
How do you go about calving or preventing calving during the winter months ? Is there any pros/cons from calves born in the winter ?
Greg,
Great series! I have exactly 20 acres in Central Florida so this information is perfect for me. One question I have that I haven’t seen anyone address is what to do about shade? When I rotate my cows I am always limited on where to place the paddocks based on where there is shade. Thanks again.
I want to know this as well. I have a mix of cattle. Regardless of color, they all seek shade.
68Tboy , plenty of videos on RUclips about making portable shade structures (wheeled or skid). Interesting stuff. Watch a few and use your imagination and what you have available to make what works for you. Also, plant trees and selectively leave those that volunteer. I’ve got four acres with shade only around the edges, but I’ve been leaving trees that come up in a good location and planting some in other locations. It’ll be a few years, but worth it.
So you would want to sacrificially over-graze some in the dryer times of summer in order to buy time for your other paddocks and then give that one more of a break as rain comes and pressure eases up? By the way, I know they aren't good but I fondly remember barefoot walking miles of cow trail when our area was free range! Miss those days.
You are correct on the grazing question
Love all your videos. In this scenario, I assume you'd actually only buy 3 so that you can breed two. Am I correct?
Greg, great information, as always. Is it advisable to irrigate grazing land if you have wells, and there's no rain? Perhaps it's just not practical, but maybe for a small operation, it could speed up growth.
Do not irrigate, you will go broke.
What if you had a spring fed creek running through your property?...nice cool fresh water not a brackish stream
fence out the creek with poly - use syphon/waterwheel/battery powered pump to elevate to an IBC on the bank and then pipe out from there.
Hey Greg - How many gallons per cow of water will they drink during spring & hot summer (I'm in middle TN if it makes a difference) we get 54"/year on average. Might not have a pond available
Greg, say you have excellent forage and do a daily move. How many cows can I run in that 20 acres? Just an estimate. Say half acre a day? Perfect world that would be a 40 day rest per paddock.
My problem is the incline. I have 7 cows on pastures that go from 30º to 45º. How much do the dynamic change? Wouldn't you say it's good to have cows make trails somewhat on contour to retain water in the summer or prevent erosion? I live in Costa Rica with a rainy season and a dry season. Thanks.
I know this is three years ago but how would you use this method with springs after you identify them
If i don't let them eat more than half the height of the grass it grows a thick stem that cows don't want to eat anymore. I do run out of grass every year doing this though. It seems like there is no god option. I've been thinking about getting a grass mulcher.
I would like live videos on how to actually hook the temporay wire TO the permanent fence.
I'm in the process of doing this. You buy outriggers. The poly line is not HT line. if your HT is live then hook the poly to it. You use gate hooks eg isolated handles so you don't buzz yourself
You can just hook the reel to the hot wire on the permanent fence, or use a wire with insulated clips to join the fences.
Hi Greg, with heavy thunder and lightning is it best to turn off electric fences and move cattle under the shelter of trees?
you can get lightning breakers for your fences -
If you get the Cyclops charger Greg recommended it is protected from lightening by easily changeable glass fuses. In fact it comes with extra fuses. If you do want to disconnect a charger the most important thing to disconnect is the ground side/wire connection. Lightening strike electricity mostly comes through the ground side. Trees can get struck by lightning so in my opinion cows under trees in a lightening storm might not be such a good idea.
Hey Greg, my name is Tony im a farmer in New Mexico. I have some questions if you have time. Im trying to convince my parents to let me rotationaly graze our cow/sheep herd. Its a 20 acre irrigated brutus field that they wear down in one quarter and end up destroying the field in three years and it needs to be tilled every four years because they will never switch to notill. My questions are, is there a way to provide them water without permanent structures, we only have the ability to put water in one spot in the corner. And is there an electric fence setting for a three wire fiberglass pole fence that will work for cows but not be too harsh on the sheep? If you have time to talk please let me know. Id love to find a way to email you if that is possible. Thank you!
How do you keep the bull separate from heifers?
How do you figure how many animal units water in a natural pond can support?
😁👍👌✌🖖😎
Hi Greg and viewers, I've got a small field that I'm going to graze for the first time next year for the first time that has reverted to Indiangrass. Do you have any tips for preserving this forage? The land owner says it's rank worthless stuff, but my sheep just go nuts for it. It grows 4-6 feet tall, and I've seen spots on the roadside where it grew knee high and lush green after a mowing in the hottest part of the summer and the grasses around it still look mowed. I've never encountered a grass plant that grows new leaves from a central stalk before, and I'm not sure how to judge recovery. This field has more wild life than anywhere I've ever been, and I don't want to ruin it.
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=g780
Seed costs over $25/lb for Sorghastrum nutans, commonly called Indian grass.
Just for seed $ales, that might be a productive acre! I want to cut some into a paper sack just so I can have some more growing elsewhere. It'll grow well under black walnut trees too, according to MO botanical gardens.
I'm learning so much here - so thanks Greg Judy & your students too.
Joe, btw - For Indian grass: now's the time apparently.
" ...Propagation Material: Seeds
Description: Propagate by sowing unstratified seed in fall or stratified seed in spring. Sow 1/4 deep. Division of older plants is difficult because of a dense, tangled root system.
Seed Collection: Collect seed in fall.
Seed Treatment: Seeds require dry stratification.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Indian grass tolerates imperfectly drained soil. It is a good accent plant, however it needs tall companions to remain upright. ..."
npn.rngr.net/renderNPNProtocolDetails?selectedProtocolIds=poaceae-sorghastrum-288&referer=wildflower
Yeah, I know this might seem extreme but the Native Plant Network ( NPN ) actually has this above propagation protocol for Sorghastrum (nutans).
@@roberthayes2027I'm glad I'm not trying to buy any. The majority of it got plowed and planted to squash. I guess a hired combine could probably have tripped what the landowner paid got without silting in the stream in the bottom.
Greg, I have 8 grazable acres on my property. Access to water and power.
It’s probably 50 percent or more weeds right now. How many cows can I rotate on that property? I currently have one milk cow and her calf but would like at least one more beef cow calf pair, but what’s doable? I also have two horses... should I keep the horses off of the pastures and only let the cows have it?
You definitely need to keep the horses off your pasture. Dry lot them and feed them hay, they will absolutely rob your pasture of grass that could be feeding a cow. Horses bite the grass off flush with the ground. Your whole pasture is toast. What is your annual rainfall? How deep is your top soil?
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher We just bought this property and it hasn't been kept up. Our soil is a lot of clay. Not sure how to answer about how deep the topsoil is. We get about 17.5 inches of rain annually and about 110 inches of snow, if that factors in.
I’m in a similar situation. I’ve got 5 acres for grazing. Lots of weeds. Clay soil for the most part. Been out here 2 years, had 3 horses but down to one horse and he has a muscle disease that means he can’t be stalled or confined to a small lot. He does best out moving. So dry lot isn’t really an option but there has to be a way to do this with a horse. Right now I’m feeding hay and he’s grazing whatever winter native grasses are growing. My barn is in the middle of the pasture and has a permanent corral attached. Hoping to have a plan by spring when the grass I do have takes off.
@@nancyspringer9797If you could use some temporary step in posts and polybraid or poly tape might be better for visibility, then rotate your horse while feeding hay around your farm, that would pay huge dividends in the spring!!
I am located in central Missouri also and was wondering what your stocking rate is with your properly managed farms or do you stick with the 4 acres per cow? thank you!
Ethan McCormick your farm can be different. I live about 200 miles west of Greg. I burned my pasture this spring. It killed a lot of weeds. It also reduced my grass yield all over the farm. I burned in late March. It is December and I still have Bare patches of ground. I started the year with 3 cows. Now have a mix sized herd of 6. All the land I burned is short ( had hayed end of June- not to be done again). My cows barely touch the grass that has grown back despite excellent rainfall this year. Wish I had seen Greg’s series much earlier. Based on what I see I should have enough. Unfortunately having burned, and hayed I am left with a very poor quality of winter grazing land. I am feeding back what I took off earlier. They love my summer growth but pretty much ignoring 69 to 70 percent of what is left out there. I spent half the summer fixing my perimeter fence, trimming brush and replacing barb wire. About two months ago I finally got my new Staflix Fencer and started strip grazing. Seasonally not that it matters but getting my cows acclimated to poly wire and pasture move. Two of my cows were problem children until a smack from my charger at 92 to 9600 volts. I have a lot of work cutting lanes through the woods strip that cuts my property in half. But by spring I hope to be caught up and have water access and fence lanes to open up all my property. From what I see, similar climate, I think that 4 acres here in eastern Kansas and central Missouri is doable.
We average around 2.5 acres per animal unit for the year.
I’m confused as to arranging the divisions on the quarter section in regards to water access..... would you leave a narrow lane for them to get to the pond from each “slice” section within the quarter?
Same question from me
Leslie Gray
No, he’s saying just take up your back fence and let them have a bigger area each day. They’ll eat the fresh forage, but be able to walk back across the already grazed area to get to water.
fomoco300k : ok, that’s what i THOUGHT i heard him say, but i didn’t see how you could prevent cows from re-grazing an area, especially a pasture with grass kept as long as his is.
@@ldg2655 If they have pooped and trampled all over the pasture they are not going to eat it again any time soon. You only need a backfence if your pasture is regrowing fast enough that you are worried the cows might come back and graze it. In that case you could make a laneway back to the water.
I think I am blond, but how will the fence around the pound keep cattle to go into the pond?, would they just go IN when you open the section up, what keeps them to only stay on the edge of the pond?
There is a hot electric temporary fence around the pond excluding them them
How do you bring in power for the fencing?
We use high voltage plug in chargers to distribute the electric power around our farms.
If you slow down to buy time are you then grazing more than the top 1/3?
Great question I was wondering the same thing
Yes, he said he knows they’ll overgraze it. He’s just buying time for the rain and for the other paddocks to grow.
in a way you are sacrficing that paddock and the animals in order to grow their future food. works well with planned animal nutrition - ie dont be having calfs milking on mums when theres no/little grass growth.
In reality, animals dont just graze the top third of plants anyway. If they like a plant they eat it right down to the ground. So long as you let that plant fully recover before you let it get grazed again then you are not overgrazing. If you see that they are eating plants right down to the ground you need to give them a smaller area and make them eat EVERYTHING right down to the ground. That way you are grazing evenly and not penalising the more palatable plants. Then let it recover fully. This is certainly the case here in Victoria Australia. It might depend on the climate, time of the year, the plant species and the animals concerned as to how the grazing happens.
Are you still having your grazing classes in May with this Corona virus?
Having both classes in September
I think one of the biggest concerns for me is knowing when to slow down the path moves. Would you start slowing them down when you haven't had rain in your area for 10 days? 20 days? What is your rule of thumb?
Go back and look at your recovery on existing paddocks that you have grazed is where I start.
watch your recovery rates - the 3 leaf grass growth is what i use - if its not there in your older paddocks youll need to slow down - its all about measuring the rest/recovery of the previous paddocks.
You might have to provide hay in a drought situation. We had a moderate drought this summer and into early fall here in SW Ohio. Almost no rain for 3 month and an 18 acre pasture planted a few months earlier in April followed by that horrendously wet period. (2019 weather has not been helpful for starting a grazing operation from scratch.) Thankfully, I had a 7 acre silvopasture area I could let them overgraze. But, even with that, I was only a few days away from starting hay in September when we began getting some rain. I started hay two weeks ago.
I'm not sure to understand one part. If the grass grows slower in the middle of summer, you leave them longer in smaller areas? But they will overgraze, no? Then you messed up your grass recovery time?
When you tighten them up in smaller paddocks in the summer slump hot weather period, you are buying more time before you get around your whole farm. You are trying to but time for a rain and increase your rest periods between grazings. Yes, you may overgraze a few paddocks, but it is better than just continuing to graze like you did in the spring. Your whole farm gets grazed into the dirt that way. Also you should be reducing your stocking rate in the summer slump, this preserves your pastures for your best cows.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Ah I understand better now, thx you very much!
Waka hadalku
Uh Greg? Your rhyme didn't rhyme...
Lol Appreciate ya... Keep it up!
Which he is speaking. it is free now
I just learned that cattle won’t eat grass after they poop 4 days