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Acerage question

I'm not sure about what a savannah climate is? But, if you're talking about the piedmont of NC then your going to need at least 2 acres for a cow/calf pair, 3-4 would be better. I know alot of guys that run a cow per acre but their pastures look like deserts and they feed hay year round. We try to stay under a cow every 2 acres, plus 1/2 acre/cow in hay. We can play with that hay acre and graze it, or cut it for hay. Depends on the year. Grass is alot cheaper standing than in a bale. We feed hay ususally about 45-60 days per year not including if we get a drought in late summer. Grass, hay, water, salt, and good minerals. No other supplements.

All these figures also depend on good management. Rotational grazing (we aren't extreme like some but we do move cows quite often) weed management, and FERTILIZER (commercial or manure, I prefer manure) and overseeding as needed.

So to answer your question, 500-750. And be prepared to sell cows if a drought hits.

There is another guy from NC on here, maybe he will tell you what he does.
 
Here is a response from a similar question I asked a friend in MO.

The easy answer is, "that's a good question". We went through last winter and into this spring stocked at 1 au to 2.2 acres. With the dry fall, which followed the dry summer this was too heavy for getting through the winter without hay feeding. The standard for this area is 1-5. However, Bernie Van Dalsen, a very, very good grazing dairyman on the western part of the state stocks at 1-1. However, he uses some irrigation, N fertilizer and doesn't mind feeding when he runs out of grass.

we feel most comfortable with a 1-2.5 or 3 ratio most years. Always better to have more grass and not feed through the winter. However this year we felt prices were going to rise and hay was cheap so we gambled and it seemed to have worked out though we haven't sold anything yet. Also, as the stockers grow, we will get close to a 1-1 during July/August before selling both the stockers and the bred for fall calving cows we usually keep to clean up the old pastures. This way we get cut back on AU's and go to long rotations to build up grass reserves during the fall growing season which often extends all the way into December if temps stay high enough.

Hope this made sense. No editing!!

SF
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In the old days to figure carry capacity-- number if inches rais yearly-- that is the number of cows to a section with no supplementary feed- old timer who worked for ascs as it was called way back then taught range management used it on his country-- cattle looked good and he fed nothing
 
Good luck getting enough land in the Charlotte area LOL You will have to get way out of the city to do that. Even then you will be paying a pretty penny for land.

You might be able to get enough in the NE of SC ....

What part of Charlotte are you in now? I use to live in the Oakdale area. Miss the green and trees and water and rain and LOL NOT all the people.
 
cowman52 said:
In the old days to figure carry capacity-- number if inches rais yearly-- that is the number of cows to a section with no supplementary feed- old timer who worked for ascs as it was called way back then taught range management used it on his country-- cattle looked good and he fed nothing
Click to expand...

Just did the math, we get about 45" a year of rain. That would only be 45 cows for 640 acres which is 14 acres per cow. That model must be for arid climates, we only need about 2.5 acres per cow here.
 
You and 2.5 cows per acre-- go through a drought like we have been through the past 2 years and 2500 acre per cow aint enough- add on 4.oo diesel and 500 a ton fertilizer and 2 more years of washington and see if you can afford all the input it takes to run cows at that rate. the formula works especially in the economic times we are facing now :???:
 
Are drought years are probably wetter then your wet years, but it still hurts. I was told that way way back there was a big drought somewhere in the country, they shipped loads and loads of cattle up here by rail to graze for the summer.
 

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