WHO'S AFRAID of Winter Grazing??
- Thread starter DOC HARRIS
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Faster horses
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Gosh, he's a guy and I agree.
What's wrong with me? :wink:
And what is wrong with you, Mrs. Greg?
Argeeing with a guy and all? :wink: :lol2: :lol2: :nod: :gag:
What's wrong with me? :wink:
And what is wrong with you, Mrs. Greg?
Argeeing with a guy and all? :wink: :lol2: :lol2: :nod: :gag:
Badlands
Well-known member
Tap:
I can sell pasture for $25/month in the Summer.
Why would I sell it for $15 in the Winter?
I wouldn't. I would just sell it in the Summer instead.
Now, it takes more ground to feed a cow in the Winter due to snow cover, forage quality, etc. About 2X as much as in the Summer as during the couple months of deep Winter in my area.
So, the Summer value of that grazing would have been $50. That is the way I pencil it-what I could have sold it for at the highest price-opportunity cost.
Now, some guys say they get cheap Winter lease because the quality is lower. But why would I sell something for $15 that I could sell for $25?
Badlands
I can sell pasture for $25/month in the Summer.
Why would I sell it for $15 in the Winter?
I wouldn't. I would just sell it in the Summer instead.
Now, it takes more ground to feed a cow in the Winter due to snow cover, forage quality, etc. About 2X as much as in the Summer as during the couple months of deep Winter in my area.
So, the Summer value of that grazing would have been $50. That is the way I pencil it-what I could have sold it for at the highest price-opportunity cost.
Now, some guys say they get cheap Winter lease because the quality is lower. But why would I sell something for $15 that I could sell for $25?
Badlands
Tap
Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
As with most things in life, we seem to be able to justify our own biases.
To each his own I guess.
Badlands
Well-known member
Tap:
Are you telling us you get some cheap Winter grazing? :wink:
Badlands
Are you telling us you get some cheap Winter grazing? :wink:
Badlands
Tap
Well-known member
Badlands said:
Well, I don't exactly figure it the same as you do.
We have not fed anything but our young cattle so far. We are ahead of the game for now.I only remember a few years when we could not utilize our winter pastures much. We actually got some use out of them every year.
John SD
Well-known member
Tap said:
Tap, your post reminds me in the winter of '85 I had gone around the winter pasture fence and threw out some new salt blocks. Seems the cattle got moved to the pasture but had to come home closer to hay right away. I never did get back to pick up those salt blocks. By the time I thought of them in the spring and went to look they had completely disappeared! :shock: :wink: :lol:
I haven't fed any hay this winter except for the calves when I had them shut in the lot to wean them.
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
One man's bias might be another man's geographical reality.
Badlands
Well-known member
We don't have good shelter in our Winter pastures, Tap, so that is what makes a big difference for us.
All of our rough pastures are the farthest away from the house, so we never have Wintered them out that far.
Up close to the house, we are pretty flat.
Our neighbors can do it differently since they have good rough pastures for Winter up close to the house.
Badlands
All of our rough pastures are the farthest away from the house, so we never have Wintered them out that far.
Up close to the house, we are pretty flat.
Our neighbors can do it differently since they have good rough pastures for Winter up close to the house.
Badlands
Lonecowboy
Well-known member
Doc's original question was whose afraid to winter graze?
it was a challenge to think about what we do and why we do it that way.
we all have different resources available, are we using those to our greatest advantage?
We will all come up with diffrent answers, because all of our situations are diffrent. We are not just managing a business, but our lives as well.
Just don't be stuck in a rut, don't be afraid to look at all the possibilities.
As for me,my cows are out on grass and loomix, 30 degrees yesterday
1 inch of snow, I went sledding with my kids! Didn't work very well but we had fun anyway and I'm sure that they will remember the day way more than they would have feeding cows with me.
it was a challenge to think about what we do and why we do it that way.
we all have different resources available, are we using those to our greatest advantage?
We will all come up with diffrent answers, because all of our situations are diffrent. We are not just managing a business, but our lives as well.
Just don't be stuck in a rut, don't be afraid to look at all the possibilities.
As for me,my cows are out on grass and loomix, 30 degrees yesterday
1 inch of snow, I went sledding with my kids! Didn't work very well but we had fun anyway and I'm sure that they will remember the day way more than they would have feeding cows with me.
PureCountry
Well-known member
For us, our 'geographical reality', as NR so eloquently put it, includes deep canyons, wide valleys, lots of bush, and lots of native grass. We have an ideal situation for winter grazing. And no, we are not afraid to do it.
One big thing I would like to mention, is that when you calve in sync with nature, winter grazing stands a much better chance of working. You can't winter graze when you're cows are heavy in calf and needing more energy and protein. We calve from mid-May to mid-July, so in the coldest part of our winters, our cows only need 8-10% protein to maintain themselves. They get 2-3 weeks of stockpiled grass, then 2 weeks of green grass, before they calve.
One big thing I would like to mention, is that when you calve in sync with nature, winter grazing stands a much better chance of working. You can't winter graze when you're cows are heavy in calf and needing more energy and protein. We calve from mid-May to mid-July, so in the coldest part of our winters, our cows only need 8-10% protein to maintain themselves. They get 2-3 weeks of stockpiled grass, then 2 weeks of green grass, before they calve.
AX-
Well-known member
Even if you plan on grazing all winter, you better have a good supply of hay on hand for a potential blizzard where the grass doesn't come through the snow for 2 weeks. Even the most high profiled grazer in the state has a big hay pile for that reason.
Badlands
Well-known member
AX-,
Does he just burn it if he doesn't use it?
Where does the hay pile go?
It surely doesn't sit more than 20 months or so before being used.
Badlands
Does he just burn it if he doesn't use it?
Where does the hay pile go?
It surely doesn't sit more than 20 months or so before being used.
Badlands
AX-
Well-known member
I'm sure it is going into his cows belly right now due to the two blizzards.
AX-
Well-known member
I hadn't fed much before the blizzards and wouldn't have needed to feed until Feb. because I had them out on pasture. It is foolish to not have a hay supply if you are in an area that can have a bad winter or drought.
lazy ace
Well-known member
Badlands said:
In our area hay lasts along time. We are feeding hay now that is at least 3 or 4 years old. When we had the whopper in 96 and 97 we fed hay that was stockpiled from 5 and 6 years. I remember the teachers in Ag school tell us that you are better off selling your surplus hay and buy it back when you need it. Well it sounds good but you are better off keeping it in this country.
We have grazed close to 27 or 28 months in a row before, but we have had to start feeding in Oct and quit in May. It just depends on the winter.
Have a cold one
Thanks Doc for bringing this up I have learned a lot.
lazy ace
AX-
Well-known member
I sold some surplus hay in 2000. I got $50/Ton for Millet Hay and it never rained the next summer and couldn't grow any hay that year. There wasn't any dryland hay, so I had to buy back $110/Ton Alfalfa. Lesson Learned.
Lazy Ace - Hay will last a lot longer than 20 Months here also. They actually eat the Wheat and Haygrazer better if it is old.
Lazy Ace - Hay will last a lot longer than 20 Months here also. They actually eat the Wheat and Haygrazer better if it is old.
IL Rancher
Well-known member
Hay will last a long time around here... If you store it inside, lol.. Outisde with ouir 38 inches of rain a year, not so good. We have feed Hay after it was out for two winters. Cows didn't do great on it but they were in first trimester basically so with some mienral and some protein or energy supplement they did fine. The middle was still nice and green, the outtside was a bit rought..
We have also had hay stored ins smal squares in a barn for that long and it look almost as good the day we feed it as the day we put it up there.. Smelled fine too... Now the straw from 20 years ago was a bit stinky.
We have also had hay stored ins smal squares in a barn for that long and it look almost as good the day we feed it as the day we put it up there.. Smelled fine too... Now the straw from 20 years ago was a bit stinky.