DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
In another thread, there was a comment posted from a trade magazine about how stocking rates couldn't be improved on in North America, so I figured I'd post my results from some changes I'd made around here.
One of the more "controversial" things I've done is I've quit taking my second cut of alfalfa. Our area historically takes 2 cuts per season, with the second being in late August/early September, which doesn't give the alfalfa much time to come back.
I had a 110 acre hay field that I split in half, taking second cuts on 1/2, and single cutting the other half. The single cut side has generally yielded less over the years and I'd planned on taking it out of production when my father sowed down some of his grain land to hay. The first year of the experiment, I left a 1/2 ton/acre second cut in the field. In the following year, you could see the line in the hay field where I hadn't taken my second cut. The hay was standing about 6 inches taller and was a healthier green on the single cut side. It also, for the first time since I owned the land, out-yielded the double cut side by 1/2 ton/acre on first cut. Since it generally worked the other way around, I'd say that leaving my 1/2 ton second cut behind boosted my next years yield by 1 ton/acre. And my second cut only yielded about 1/2 to 1 ton/acre, so my total first cut yields were equal to (or slightly less than) the total yields on the double cut side, with less effort, less diesel fuel, and less wear and tear on the machinery. Overall, my cost per ton of feed decreased.
Now this year has not been a friendly year for hay production in my area. Cold nights in the spring really set back the alfalfa growth, and rain has been feast/famine type stuff. On the single cut side, the hay was later maturing so it made better use of the rains, and the single cut side is now outpacing the double cut side by 1 - 1 1/2 tons/acre. In places, I have grass and alfalfa standing above the hood of my truck and I can barely get through it with my mower/conditioner. The double cut side is poor in places, standing 6 - 12 inches in some places.
And, more importantly I think, I'm out-yielding the traditional hay crops in the area that were fertilized. This gives me the added bonus of qualifying for organic production. My organic calves last year only netted me 2 - 3 cents/lb extra, but every little bit counts.
The other thing I've been doing is bale grazing. I always thought this was a waste of feed and was just for lazy folks who didn't want to use their tractors.
Boy was I wrong.
I started my bale grazing experiment on some light land I had that really needed some extra nutrient and fibre. Some of the land was blow sand that hadn't grown anything in decades. This was 3 years ago. In the first year, I really didn't see much of a difference, but I did see some nice ground cover in both wasted hay and manure. Its important to note that the wasted hay wasn't any more than you would see with a cheap round bale feeder. It was more waste than you'd see with my hay saver feeders, but not a whole bunch more. In the second year, we had good moisture and I really started seeing some results. The grass in the marginal areas was standing about as high as the grass in the good sections, and even the blow sand was growing grass. But only around where I set the bales. The cattle however, wouldn't touch the grass until it froze off. It was possibly too nitrogen rich. Now this year where I've been bale grazing, the grass is rich, thick and lush, sometimes standing 2 feet higher than the non-bale grazed grasses. The cattle are happily munching on the grass and the grass cover is fairly consistent around the pasture, not just collected in the bale placement areas.
I also bale grazed a wore out pasture last year that was polluted with red top. Wherever I placed a bale, the quack grass has easily choked out the red-top, and is standing four and five feet tall. I never realized my land was capable of grass production like that.
I figure another 2 or 3 years of bale grazing and I'll be able to easily increase my stocking rates by 20%, if not more. I have better grass, I've spent less diesel fuel getting the feed to the cattle, and I don't have to fire up my tractors in -40F. I haven't needed any fertilizer, and I believe that the healthier stands are more resilient to in-climate weather patterns.
Just a little food for thought...
Rod
One of the more "controversial" things I've done is I've quit taking my second cut of alfalfa. Our area historically takes 2 cuts per season, with the second being in late August/early September, which doesn't give the alfalfa much time to come back.
I had a 110 acre hay field that I split in half, taking second cuts on 1/2, and single cutting the other half. The single cut side has generally yielded less over the years and I'd planned on taking it out of production when my father sowed down some of his grain land to hay. The first year of the experiment, I left a 1/2 ton/acre second cut in the field. In the following year, you could see the line in the hay field where I hadn't taken my second cut. The hay was standing about 6 inches taller and was a healthier green on the single cut side. It also, for the first time since I owned the land, out-yielded the double cut side by 1/2 ton/acre on first cut. Since it generally worked the other way around, I'd say that leaving my 1/2 ton second cut behind boosted my next years yield by 1 ton/acre. And my second cut only yielded about 1/2 to 1 ton/acre, so my total first cut yields were equal to (or slightly less than) the total yields on the double cut side, with less effort, less diesel fuel, and less wear and tear on the machinery. Overall, my cost per ton of feed decreased.
Now this year has not been a friendly year for hay production in my area. Cold nights in the spring really set back the alfalfa growth, and rain has been feast/famine type stuff. On the single cut side, the hay was later maturing so it made better use of the rains, and the single cut side is now outpacing the double cut side by 1 - 1 1/2 tons/acre. In places, I have grass and alfalfa standing above the hood of my truck and I can barely get through it with my mower/conditioner. The double cut side is poor in places, standing 6 - 12 inches in some places.
And, more importantly I think, I'm out-yielding the traditional hay crops in the area that were fertilized. This gives me the added bonus of qualifying for organic production. My organic calves last year only netted me 2 - 3 cents/lb extra, but every little bit counts.
The other thing I've been doing is bale grazing. I always thought this was a waste of feed and was just for lazy folks who didn't want to use their tractors.
Boy was I wrong.
I started my bale grazing experiment on some light land I had that really needed some extra nutrient and fibre. Some of the land was blow sand that hadn't grown anything in decades. This was 3 years ago. In the first year, I really didn't see much of a difference, but I did see some nice ground cover in both wasted hay and manure. Its important to note that the wasted hay wasn't any more than you would see with a cheap round bale feeder. It was more waste than you'd see with my hay saver feeders, but not a whole bunch more. In the second year, we had good moisture and I really started seeing some results. The grass in the marginal areas was standing about as high as the grass in the good sections, and even the blow sand was growing grass. But only around where I set the bales. The cattle however, wouldn't touch the grass until it froze off. It was possibly too nitrogen rich. Now this year where I've been bale grazing, the grass is rich, thick and lush, sometimes standing 2 feet higher than the non-bale grazed grasses. The cattle are happily munching on the grass and the grass cover is fairly consistent around the pasture, not just collected in the bale placement areas.
I also bale grazed a wore out pasture last year that was polluted with red top. Wherever I placed a bale, the quack grass has easily choked out the red-top, and is standing four and five feet tall. I never realized my land was capable of grass production like that.
I figure another 2 or 3 years of bale grazing and I'll be able to easily increase my stocking rates by 20%, if not more. I have better grass, I've spent less diesel fuel getting the feed to the cattle, and I don't have to fire up my tractors in -40F. I haven't needed any fertilizer, and I believe that the healthier stands are more resilient to in-climate weather patterns.
Just a little food for thought...
Rod
