Sorghum harvest at the ranch; pics added Nov 8
- Thread starter Whitewing
- Start date
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Interesting. 
I have never seen that make of combine.
I have never seen that make of combine.
hypocritexposer
Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:Interesting.
I have never seen that make of combine.
You could say that WW is Going Rogue? :lol: :lol:
although his name is not Don.
Hayguy
Well-known member
were not the belarus combines of the late 70's a don combine?
I asked the owner of that combine if it was Brazilian and he told me they're built in Venezuela! That's amazing to me because there's not much built here. The machine appeared to work flawlessly and the crew/operator was really good.
Cost me about $200 to harvest about 30 acres. A bargain in my book.
Cost me about $200 to harvest about 30 acres. A bargain in my book.
Dylan Biggs
Well-known member
Whitewing things are looking nice and green down there.
I am assuming the sorghum will be used as a feed supplement for your cattle.
Is that right, if so to whom and when and how much?
How did you get it off the truck and into storage?
I am assuming the sorghum will be used as a feed supplement for your cattle.
Is that right, if so to whom and when and how much?
How did you get it off the truck and into storage?
Dylan Biggs said:
Right now I've got about 40,000 lbs of sorghum on hand. There's more coming but it won't be ready for about 45 days or so. I'm planning to grind it with a machine that works off the PTO on my tractor and add minerals as well.
I've got a group of about 100 "mautes" or young bulls that I'm fattening to sell over the next 5 to 6 months so they'll be the primary recipients of this grain. I've also got a few other animals that for various reasons look a bit thinner than I want so they'll get some sorghum as well.
As for your question re 'how much', that's a good one. If any of you guys can provide some guidance, I'd appreciate it. I will be talking to one fellow I've met who seems to be something of an expert in cattle feeds. He's told me that I can save a bundle buying minerals in bulk as opposed to buying pre-mixed packages.
Again, any guidance on volumes to feed/animal/day would be greatly appreciated.
balestabber
Well-known member
i can't help u much on volumes and numbers.alot of hay is ground in my part of the country.i think you're on a right track.seems if you could grind a little of that bermuda with the sorgum to add with your molasses,you might have a good meal.even those stalks!!alot of poor quality roughage is camouflaged in pellets and cubes with molasses and a scent of alfalfa.
wishing you luck on your bulls.
wishing you luck on your bulls.
Dakota Plainsman
Active member
That sorgum looks like that it is the same as I call grain sorgum or
milo in this erea. I have backgrounded calves feeding milo and
seems to work well if it is good quality. Light test weight milo/grain sorgum sometimes doesn't have good feed value. It does have to be ground or cracked and a good rule of thumb is grain sorgum/milo
is usually about 90% feed value of corn.
milo in this erea. I have backgrounded calves feeding milo and
seems to work well if it is good quality. Light test weight milo/grain sorgum sometimes doesn't have good feed value. It does have to be ground or cracked and a good rule of thumb is grain sorgum/milo
is usually about 90% feed value of corn.
Mike
Well-known member
Jonny said:
Just be careful of Prussic Acid. Drop a couple of old no-good cows in there and watch them for a day or so.
Faster horses
Well-known member
Mike is right, IMO.
Also, when you start feeding them sorghum (or any kind of grain)
start them lightly and increase slowly to let the cattle get adjusted
to it. Remember, we aren't in the cattle feeding business, we
are in the RUMEN feeding business...
When cattle get loose behind, they have an upset rumen...
and you don't want that, so GO SLOW...
I think you are having a lot of fun! Good for you!
Also, when you start feeding them sorghum (or any kind of grain)
start them lightly and increase slowly to let the cattle get adjusted
to it. Remember, we aren't in the cattle feeding business, we
are in the RUMEN feeding business...
When cattle get loose behind, they have an upset rumen...
and you don't want that, so GO SLOW...
I think you are having a lot of fun! Good for you!
Thanks everyone for the helpful comments.
I spoke to my vet yesterday and he too recommended grinding either bermuda or the sorghum stalks with the seeds. I'll give it a shot and see how it works. He also recommended a dash of salt, a dash of urea, and molasses/water.
I'm not really worried about prussic acid as my sorghum this year was not drought-stressed and I used very moderate fertilizer early-on. Having said that, I was considering baling the material that's left in the field. However, we had a good rain yesterday and I'm thinking of giving the plants another opportunity. There's already green shoots 6 inches in length and we harvested just last Tueday.
This afternoon we gave a taste of sorghum meal to a small group of animals that were recently weaned. As you guys have suggested, I'm going to start slowly and work my way up.
I spoke to my vet yesterday and he too recommended grinding either bermuda or the sorghum stalks with the seeds. I'll give it a shot and see how it works. He also recommended a dash of salt, a dash of urea, and molasses/water.
I'm not really worried about prussic acid as my sorghum this year was not drought-stressed and I used very moderate fertilizer early-on. Having said that, I was considering baling the material that's left in the field. However, we had a good rain yesterday and I'm thinking of giving the plants another opportunity. There's already green shoots 6 inches in length and we harvested just last Tueday.
This afternoon we gave a taste of sorghum meal to a small group of animals that were recently weaned. As you guys have suggested, I'm going to start slowly and work my way up.
Faster horses
Well-known member
Sounds like you have your bases covered.
You just keep on having fun! Good luck and keep us posted.
You just keep on having fun! Good luck and keep us posted.
Faster horses said:
Thanks FH. I've already got my work schedule figured out for the first 6 months of next year. I won't make the same mistakes we made this year (not that there were many) and will be better prepared than I've ever been.
The ranch is really taking shape, producing solid income, and gaining the respect of the locals.
Honestly, I'm having the time of my life seeing it all come together.
Faster horses
Well-known member
I can imagine. What a great feeling. Good for you!
I did a sorghum-corn swap over the weekend for about 4500 lbs of corn and have now begun grinding the two together. The corn, of course, is mixed in a relatively small proportion.
I'm also now adding a mineral mix with the feed. I'm up to a feeding rate of approximately 3.5 pounds per animal per day and so far so good. Haven't seen any problems cropping up and the animals are readily accepting the mix.
Here's a few pics of the process. We've found it's easiest to move this volume (about 350 lbs) using the front end loader.
I'm also now adding a mineral mix with the feed. I'm up to a feeding rate of approximately 3.5 pounds per animal per day and so far so good. Haven't seen any problems cropping up and the animals are readily accepting the mix.
Here's a few pics of the process. We've found it's easiest to move this volume (about 350 lbs) using the front end loader.
John SD
Well-known member
WW, that looks like a sticky mess pouring the molasses on in the loader bucket and mixing by hand! 
If'n I were doing it I think I would just pour it over the top of the feed mix after it is in the bunk. Preferably before the cattle are turned to it, if you have a way of shutting them away from the bunks.
BTW, that looks like an innovative use for old steel drums. I am normally not a fan of any sort of round bottom feed bunk but this looks like a good practical use for old barrels.
If'n I were doing it I think I would just pour it over the top of the feed mix after it is in the bunk. Preferably before the cattle are turned to it, if you have a way of shutting them away from the bunks.BTW, that looks like an innovative use for old steel drums. I am normally not a fan of any sort of round bottom feed bunk but this looks like a good practical use for old barrels.
John SD said:WW, that looks like a sticky mess pouring the molasses on in the loader bucket and mixing by hand!
BTW, that looks like an innovative use for old steel drums. I am normally not a fan of any sort of round bottom feed bunk but this looks like a good practical use for old barrels.
:lol: It's really not that bad a mess as the molasses is cut heavily with water. We're using the water as well moisten the dry "four" we get from the grinder.
These cattle, for the most part, live in that corral though there are times (like today) where we'll have them grazing elsewhere. When they return to the corral, this mix will be waiting for them.
As for those barrels, they've worked reasonably well for us. Metal, all metal, down here is expensive so I've tried to save costs where I could. There's also a flexible plastic trough product that's available that I'll probably go to one of these days when I finally construct my corrals out of metal pipe.
per
Well-known member
I would be concerned about bloat and overloading with a fine grind like that. Do you need to grind it that fine? With barley cracked is over 90% efficient and whole is close to 85%. If your not having any problem of course don't worry about my concern. Just curious.