New Pasture

[Honeycreek Dexters]

Well the hay thread went well so I thought I might ask, "we are getting ready to plant a new pasture it is coming out of beans, any thoughts on what would be best pasture for a grass fed operation" Maybe even taking a cutting of hay from it then pasturing it the rest of the year in a rotational system. In Indiana.
HCD

[Honeycreek Dexters]

Thanks Gene. Talk to the guy a lot, sometimes I think I bug him a little to much. I've got the soil test done the fert will be here this week. Extension fellow gives the tried and true advice. Cant go wrong with him. Purdue Ag all the way. But I was hoping to hear someone say ' try some of these new wonder grasses' you know 17 tons to the acre in the first year, stuff like that..... I know what I'm going to do, guess I just wanted to hear some one talk me out of it. You read the adds and see the pictures and you think "boy I wish my pastures looked like that" and the claim of 17 tons is just to much to imagine but that is what it says. The hay thread did so well I thought I might stir up a little excitement about the subject. Thanks for the response it's good advice.
HCD

[Honeycreek Dexters]

Yes this stuff is pricey, I seeded a 3 acre pasture last year with a grass clover mix this will be the first year to graze it. I'm a little worried about bloat on the clover. I'll start them slowly. My animals are used to my alfalfa grass mix hay and their regular pasture is a fescue mix pasture grass. I plan to use a 3 pasture rotation 3 weeks on and rest for 3 weeks and I'm looking for somthing to extend the grazing season so I dont have to start feeding hay so soon in the fall. Also the surplus can be marketed of course, and around here with the drought conditions close by that is some real income.

[Steven]

I'm planting some new pasture soon and will be doing oats along with orchard grass, alfalfa, and ladino clover. The oats will come up fast so that we have something to graze soon, and they will protect the young grasses from washing away.

I really wanted to have Pennington's MaxQ fescue in there too, but I was told that it doesn't seed well in the spring AT ALL! The salesmen have it a 10% chance.. so we're going to try to seed it in the fall after grazing most of the pasture down low.
MaxQ is a fescue that horses and cows can eat without problems and it is just as hardy as regular tall fescue (unlike endo-free fescues).

[Honeycreek Dexters]

Gene, I've heard of the brand name sweetlix do you know if they have that bloat stuff in a loose mineral form?

[Honeycreek Dexters]

Guest Steve, oats are a great cover crop, will keep the weeds from getting a foot hold. if you let them head out and bail as hay the cows will go crazy for them. Not as good nutrition as when in the milk stage but cows still love em. I dont know where you are located so dont feel comfortable saying any thing about max-q. Why not join the group and become a regular lots of good folks and becoming more each day. COME ON IN THE WATERS FINE.
HCD

[wstevenl]

Thanks for the invite... I tried joining the homesteading forum and still couldn't leave a post but I just hadn't tried this one yet.

Seems to have worked...

[copperhead]

I"m going to check out that fesque Steven was talking about, I have a small pasture that I'd like to put into Fesque, and that sounds like it just might be the ticket.
P.J.