Every year here is different. This year the weather was good and I had amazing stubble residue after good crops.

I usually get the cows to stubble Oct 1 and they stay with no suppliment till Jan 1 when they start calving. Some years the stubble is pastured early because of drought, that means no crop and no fall pasture.

In the spring we usually have to hold off grass until almost June 1.

If I were to use a year round grazing system, I would need 160 acres of native grass for each 10 cows, or the right number of tame forage acres and then enough native grass acres to make up the difference.

Currently it is better for me to run some acres as crop land and grow extra feed. If I were to plant more acres to tame forage I would run into a case of too much grass early in the season, but losing it by July/Aug when it is usually very dry here. Native grass here doesn't lose it's value when it browns off, but it only grows a few inches tall. Tame forage will dry off until it is worthless.

Those adding land here are the big outfits or Hutterites or acreages. If I was willing to move to Saskatchewan I could expand but the drawbacks are enough for me to stay put.

There is no way to add land on an agricultural only basis. Those large enough to subsidize land purchases because of enough other income are looking long term land values increasing, or setting up their kids. It just doesn't pay for itself, but land isn't being made anymore, so if you want it you have to buy what is here.