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Grazing frost killed alfalfa

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DiamondSCattleCo

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I was feeding today, and since we had all the rain this fall, I've been feeding out of the hay fields as I wasn't able to haul anything home. I realized that I was running through alot of frost killed alfalfa, all standing about 6 inches tall. Since a couple of my hay fields border my pastures, it would be a snap to toss a fence around the hay fields, and get some use out of that stuff that was too short to cut again. With the average amount of snowfall we get up here, I really don't need any kind of snow trap, so it wouldn't kill me to see the alfalfa grazed right down before the snows came. Even if I did need a trap, it would be cheap to roll out with the blade and blade a couple traps throughout the winter.

Just curious if anyone has had any success fall grazing frost killed alfalfa? I know alfalfa is susceptible to nitrate poisoning after frost, so how long after a frost do I need to wait to put the critters out on it? How heavy a frost do I need before I need to worry about nitrate poisoning? We've had several hard frosts now, but we still have some green undergrowth that I would _guess_ is still susceptible to nitrates.

Rod
 
Rod- my cows/calves having been grazing the hay meadows for a month now....Several of the fields are afalfa/grass and some are straight alfalfa...I usually turn them in as soon as the frost is heavy enough to turn the leaves a little color- this year we had a couple nights get down into the low 20's, which nipped the alfalfa good- but in the grass fields, the fescue, orchard grass and wheat grass were still growing- cows went after that green grass first ...Been grazing the hayfields for years and never had any nitrate poisoning problem...Only problem I ever had was when I tryed to sneak them in a little too early and the alfalfa was still green and growing- had a couple start bloating....Problem with alfalfa is once they tromp around in it and knock off the leaves- they don't care too much for the stems, altho they eat them when they get hungry enough....

Really puts a bloom on those calves if you can get them on stubble fields and/or hayfields for a month or so after they've been eating that dry old grass- especially as short as grass was this year...
 
New to me that frosted alfalfa was full of nitrates.
Nitrates usually show up in something that has been stressed.

You can cut grain hay that is high in nitrates on a sunny day and
get less nitrates than on a cloudy day. Nitrates are funny stuff,
but I think the danger in the alfalfa is from bloat, not nitrates.

Not saying for absolute certain, though.

Our experience with alfalfa is if there is any grass in the field too,
the cattle will eat the grass first and pass the alfalfa. Kinda like
OT said.
 
I don't think that alfalfa does get nitrates,but i could be wrong.The only time i have had problems with nitrates was in greenfeed,but never had any alfalfa test positive for nitrates.
 
Perhaps its just our environment, and while alfalfa is not as susceptible to nitrate poisoning as some greenfeed or other grasses, it can get nitrate poisoning. Fresh alfalfa hay has an average NO3-N content of 400 ppm and an average N03 count of 1760 ppm. It only takes roughly twice those numbers to _possibly_ abort a pregnant animal, so I'm going to err on the safe side.

As far as bloat goes, there are guys in the area who often graze their second cut alfalfa in the dead of August with no issues. Simply make sure the critters are full of grass, toss a few straw bales or stemmy hay out for them to snack on, and everything is fine.

Rod
 
I know one thing, nitrates or no Diamond S, you are a smart cookie to put out some hay or straw for the cows on alfalfa. It takes care of the dry
matter requirement for cattle. So many folks don't understand dry matter. The last meeting we had was spent talking about dry matter.
In the spring when you think your cattle are 'chasing grass' they are
chasing dry matter. Set out a bale of something, can be junk even
and watch what happens.

We do that every spring now. They won't eat it like in the winter time
but I can guarantee you the cattle will be more content and we have
customers who swear they get a better conception rate from doing
this one little thing. Dry matter is very interesting and it is a nutrition
requirement.

In our area, the fresh green grass in the spring has everything a cow needs EXCEPT dry matter.

Have a great day!!!!!!!
 
Faster horses said:
I know one thing, nitrates or no Diamond S, you are a smart cookie to put out some hay or straw for the cows on alfalfa. It takes care of the dry
matter requirement for cattle. So many folks don't understand dry matter. The last meeting we had was spent talking about dry matter.
In the spring when you think your cattle are 'chasing grass' they are
chasing dry matter. Set out a bale of something, can be junk even
and watch what happens.

We do that every spring now. They won't eat it like in the winter time
but I can guarantee you the cattle will be more content and we have
customers who swear they get a better conception rate from doing
this one little thing. Dry matter is very interesting and it is a nutrition
requirement.
Good post F.H.

In our area, the fresh green grass in the spring has everything a cow needs EXCEPT dry matter.

Have a great day!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Good post F.H.
 
Faster horses said:
I know one thing, nitrates or no Diamond S, you are a smart cookie to put out some hay or straw for the cows on alfalfa. It takes care of the dry matter requirement for cattle.
Click to expand...

I keep hay/straw out year round. Even our lush grass in the dead of summer doesn't have enough DM in it. Its not until late August/early September that the grass begins to dry up enough to satisfy DM requirements. I'm not sure why more people in my area don't realize this, as its easy to see in the cattle herd. During June/July/August you can see animals on the prowl, and as the grass begins dry down, the animals will start laying more, even though they have higher nutritional requirements due to larger calves on them. My cattle are specifically selected for easy keeping, but 50 pairs will burn through 2 or 3 straw/hay bales in a week during the summer, and leave them virtually untouched as the grass dries down.

I suspect that frost killed alfalfa will be plenty dry, but I'd want to have some safe hay or straw on hand, just in case they run into some nitrates. Better to be safe than sorry.

Rod
 
Alfalfa will have nitrates on certain years :!: Our nieghbor lost 20 cattle to alfalfa kill a few years ago. A hard killing frost and about a week should make it safe for your cattle. Greg and I never graze our cattle onto the alfalfa until after a hard frost. Another show of different areas bring different problams.
 
Thanks Juan.

So many well-meaning folks will put out molasses tubs in the spring
when actually more protein is the LAST thing they need at that time.
Not at all necessary to spend the money then. We have tested the
grass in this whole area in June and it runs 18% protein. I would
imagine your grass is about the same.
 
One of the ranches I was involved with grazed alfalfa after the frost. Hay bale rings were usually set out also offering prarie hay as another choice.
 
DiamondSCattleCo said:
I was feeding today, and since we had all the rain this fall, I've been feeding out of the hay fields as I wasn't able to haul anything home. I realized that I was running through alot of frost killed alfalfa, all standing about 6 inches tall. Since a couple of my hay fields border my pastures, it would be a snap to toss a fence around the hay fields, and get some use out of that stuff that was too short to cut again. With the average amount of snowfall we get up here, I really don't need any kind of snow trap, so it wouldn't kill me to see the alfalfa grazed right down before the snows came. Even if I did need a trap, it would be cheap to roll out with the blade and blade a couple traps throughout the winter.

Just curious if anyone has had any success fall grazing frost killed alfalfa? I know alfalfa is susceptible to nitrate poisoning after frost, so how long after a frost do I need to wait to put the critters out on it? How heavy a frost do I need before I need to worry about nitrate poisoning? We've had several hard frosts now, but we still have some green undergrowth that I would _guess_ is still susceptible to nitrates.

Rod
Click to expand...

Rod I have heard of nitrate poisoning here due to frost on alfalfa but it is more common on grasses rather than legumes. I have turned cows in on straight alfalfa stands and not had any bloat problems. Somehow I think genetics play a major role in bloating.
BTW Rod I have three choices here locally for oil for my Cummings diesel. They are Castrol Synthetic, Valvoline non-syn (with the Cummings stamp of approval on the container) and Rotella non -syn. Which would you choose??
 
We let the third cut alfalfa get a good freeze(-5). And then cut it with a haybine and swath graze. Cutting the hay prevents the leaves from falling off. Cutting after a frost allows the plant to enter natural dormancy, preventing winter kill.
 
TSR said:
BTW Rod I have three choices here locally for oil for my Cummings diesel. They are Castrol Synthetic, Valvoline non-syn (with the Cummings stamp of approval on the container) and Rotella non -syn. Which would you choose??
Click to expand...

The full synthetic for sure, as long as it meets the minimum API standard for the Cummins (which it should). I've seen synthetic using 300,000 mile 5.9 Cummins whose guts looked like new when they were pulled down, but never once saw a non-synthetic 5.9 without at least some wear at those kind of miles.

Caveat: If your engine is using oil, don't switch to synthetic. The added detergent may increase oil consumption. Use the cheaper Valvoline, as Rotella is also a fairly high detergent oil.

Rod
 

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