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Post by hamonsdexter on Jan 17, 2013 10:11:25 GMT -5
Is this guy ready for the freezer? He will be 24 months in March. Completely Grass feed and finished. I am moving cows to some Milo stalks and may keep him back for the freezer. Attachments:
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Post by hamonsdexter on Jan 17, 2013 10:11:59 GMT -5
another pic of him Attachments:
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Post by dexterfarm on Jan 17, 2013 10:30:23 GMT -5
I dont like to butcher this time of year. I butcher in late spring early summer after they have had some time to be gaining on good green grass but before the summer heat gets to bad.
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jan 17, 2013 11:30:59 GMT -5
agree with dexterfarm. That green grass will really finish him off nice for you. Let the grass be at least 6" long, if not longer, then turn him out into that. I like it to get to 12".
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Post by hamonsdexter on Jan 17, 2013 12:22:42 GMT -5
I hate to say it but grass in westerrn Kansas hardly ever gets to 12"
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Post by dexterfarm on Jan 17, 2013 12:41:26 GMT -5
Do you do rotational grazing? what kind of grass do you have some types of grass just don't get very tall. we have seen incredible improvement with rotational grazing.
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Post by hamonsdexter on Jan 17, 2013 14:17:28 GMT -5
i have rotational grazed for about a year now. My pasture was enrolled in CRP before that. It is mostly brome grass with some native pairie grass mixed in
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Post by dexterfarm on Jan 17, 2013 15:00:37 GMT -5
Brome doesnt get all that tall here. I have been doing rotational grazing for several years and it does get better every year. Last year we had decent spring rain before the drought hit. I had one area that was chest high by May and so thick a person could barley move. What a site watching your dexters disappear as they walk out into the field.
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jan 17, 2013 15:41:22 GMT -5
I with Dexterfarm. Every year the pastures will look better and better with proper management. Last year was a wash because of the drought. We barely got growth to 12". I feel like we'll be starting all over from scratch this year. I even planted rye in order to get some more forage growing for the cows to eat before winter hit. Our pastures were a farm field, stripped of it's nutrients and in bad shape drainage wise. We had to fix field tiles, create waterways, and replant with grasses and pasture mixes. We have bees right by the pastures and I stem alot of the forage health to them. After 7 years of brush hog rotations after the cows were done in it, digging up by hand thistle and other broad leaf nasties, we finally have some decent pastures. Not perfect by far, but alot better and healthier. It takes time and polination from bees and you'll see yours improving. But the bad news is a drought will ruin what you have worked so hard for. Look at the thread Kirk put on with the updated drought map. Not good.
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Post by dexterfarm on Jan 17, 2013 17:09:49 GMT -5
I dont think the drought will ruin what you have worked for. Did you pull the cows off or leave them on during the drought? We pulled everything off of the pastures when it got real bad. we had good lush regrowth even with a month of no rain. I was running 10 on about 3 acres of pasture. at that point there was regrowth but not good enough I moved some down to my other farm and pulled the rest back on hay. I was able to get one more rotation in before fall. I expect there will be rain in the spring and good pastures but still a hot dry summer hopefully not as bad as the last one.
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Post by Maple View Farm on Jan 17, 2013 18:03:58 GMT -5
Yes we pulled the off during the drought, kind of. We have 9 rotations and the "usual" spring, summer, fall, they eat,let's say in rotation #1, and then we move them to the next once it's down to 5-6". So the next time they get back into #1 it will have been 8 weeks or more. The growth "should " be to that 12" or more mark. Last year the rotations never really grew to that desired length.
you are doing really good with 10 head on 3 acres. If you don't mind, can you give me details of your layout? Thanks. what about PM so we don't hijack Hammons thread. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you
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Post by ssrdex on Jan 17, 2013 18:37:58 GMT -5
I've got 1 the same age that I'm going to wait on until after the spring grasses. May beef what will be about a 15 month old bull @ the same time.
Joel
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Post by Cascade Meadows Farm - Kirk on Jan 17, 2013 22:35:43 GMT -5
Can you grow white clover in your region? I shoot for 60% white clover in my pastures and it makes a HUGE difference in animal growth. Never had any bloat problems in 10 years with a pretty good-sized herd. Cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens LOVE white clover and it's loaded with protein. Durana is a very good, named variety of white clover. If pastures are VERY short and beaten up just a bit, you can just over-seed in February or March and it will take. Freeze-thaw cycles will help plant it. www.penningtonusa.com/pc-_15-pd-_421 |
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Post by hamonsdexter on Jan 18, 2013 10:00:51 GMT -5
I do not know if Clover will Grow out here I will have to do some checking. I am area with a lot of what I would Call trational cattleman. Big open pasture with large herd. I am taking the rotational Grazing approach. thanks for the tip on Clover
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Post by laughingllama75 on Jan 18, 2013 10:39:29 GMT -5
In answer to your question, I would tape weigh him with a beef tape. I will butcher any time over 750#, as long as they are 20+ months old. You get the hang of it after a while, as to what they look and feel like when they are ready. Good luck, he looks good to me!
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