Uneven grazing

[kozzy]

I have a mixed grass pasture and the brat is focusing on one or two types of grass and ignoring the others. The ultimate result will be that the grasses she ignores will (are...by a mile) outperform the others and eventually take over. She's effectively turned the pasture into 1/3 it's effective eating-size by focusing only on a couple of the grasses.

Right now, the ones she likes are keeping up. Can I expect her to move on to the less desirable (to her...looks like great greenery to me) stuff eventually as the better stuff has a harder time keeping up when the rains back off? Any suggestions to keep the less desirable stuff from outcompeting or just ignore the issue? To the best of my knowledge, the stuff she is avoiding is a brome grass--does well in the heat of summer.

2nd pasture won't have the fencing finished for another couple of months and it appears to be mostly the stuff she is avoiding anyway.

Any suggestions would help. SOP in this area is just to let cattle graze the wild-land into oblivion so there is not much help regarding developing quality cattle pasture. I top-seeded this pasture with a pasture blend recommended (and blended) for the area by a local seed-grower but can't find the list of what was in it. They probably don't remember either as they focus on bulk Kentucky bluegrass seed as their main business.

Nothing pressing. Just decided to ask BEFORE I ended up with an unexpected problem.

Oh..on a side note: I have some cheatgrass. Around here it is virtually impossible to get rid of. Anyone had problems with it or warnings? suggestions or solutions? For those who don't know what that is, I'll attach a photo of how big a problem it can be for some animals.

[lakeportfarms]

That's a pretty innovative idea for the tall grasses that aren't eaten. And clearly different areas of the country have some conditions and grasses that we don't have to deal with further North.

Our approach has been the rotational grazing. I'm sure it would help, but if you don't have the ability (or time) to do it right it can be a frustrating experience. But our grazing season is so short I don't think I could afford to kill off grass they could eat but just choose not to.
I woke up to 4" of snow this morning after about 6" of rain the past week and a half, so at least we'll have good soil moisture this year when the grass finally starts growing!

[lakeportfarms]

I forgot to add, that the good grasses grazed down to the ground repeatedly without a chance to recover will result in those types being much more susceptible to drought, heavy foot traffic, etc..., and they will gradually die out and be replaced by the less desirable grasses, so it is important to do something to encourage the good grass growth. The ONLY way to do that is enable it to rest between grazing periods and not let it be grazed too short.

Some types of grass (fescue), can cause problems if it is allowed to go to seed. However, if it is managed well it can be an excellent cool season grass. We have heavy fescue/clover pastures and if the fescue goes to seed they won't touch it.

[karenp]

Would your fence hold in a goat? They prefer the tall stuff and help manage the pasture.

[rezzfullacres]

Apr 19, 2013 21:40:30 GMT -5 @genebo said:

I had success with this rig. Let your girl graze until the undesirable weeds are taller than the grass she likes. Then fill the wicked applicator with Roundup and drive over the pasture. Adjust the height of the wicks so that Roundup gets on the tall stuff only.



Do NOT use roundup in your pasture that holds cows, there is a withholding period that needs to be met This chart will show the withholding days for most chemicals, not brand names just the base chemicals, that are available to the average farmer
thestrongroup.org/media/2-4DandHorses.pdf

Manage your pastures well, keep them clipped and dragged, do soil test and see what the ground needs and than manage manage manage

[rezzfullacres]

I want to clarify.........OP states grasses of 1 type are out performing others that his cow seems to prefer. In this case roundup is NOT desirable...If it were weeds that the cows would not eat the wicking idea would be OK, however some weeds become tasty as they wilt and die and than the cows will eat them and roundup is not good for a cow to ingest......Management of the stand without the use of herbicides is the prefered method when the animals have to stay on it....It is more work but your livestock will remain healthy with no chance of ingestion of a very nasty chemical......

[kozzy]

Thanks for the suggestions. My intention was to better rotate between fenced pastures--the fences on the back pasture were down due to being poorly built in the first place as well as the farmer on the exterior having bumped them a thousand times over the years. I had the place re-surveyed since I knew I had to redo the fence and found it out 40 feet in places so basically had to start from scratch. A wet spring has put me behind.

Goats were mentioned---I'll try that again but my few goats are spoiled brats and not fans of grass. Never hurts to give it another shot though.

No one mentioned problems with cheat grass. I have only seen one vague reference to cattle in literature regarding possibly having the seeds drill into their mouth. I had one seed dig all the way into the bone on the dog's leg a while back and it required surgery to remove so I am a bit paranoid. If you've had any problems, I'd still like to know as well as get a better handle on any early signs of a problem.

The best solution is likely the temporary movable fences. I'll look into that more zealously rather than my initial "but it won't work for me" attitude.

Temporarily, I'll be doing some picketing on the back pasture and hopefully relieve at least a little pressure on the main pasture.

[lavacaw]

Gee, its been a long time since we had grass over 4" long. Feels like I have been feeding hay forever. I think my cows have forgotten how to forage for grass! Yaupon and oak they go for but even when some of the grass gets longer they don't even look for! Bahia grass seed is now $180 for a 50 lbs sack but I shelled out for it in an attempt to get some grasses growing back after two years of drought. Pray for a little more rain this year.