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WHO'S AFRAID of Winter Grazing??

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Doc is making everyone think again! Where we are, we are in the pine needles, so to graze during the winter, you have to have an open winter and you better have your cattle close by if it looks like it is going to storm. If we get a storm and your cows are out, I have seen people lose 1/3 of their calf crop from pine needle abortions. About the only way around that is to bring your cows in and feed them. That is one of the main reasons why we started fall calving. If your cows are either just starting the breeding season or in first trimester, the pines can be used to our advantage for shelter during storms. I use the same amount of feed now as we did when calving in Feb/Mar. We wean the calves in February and then the cows can be shorted some because they don't need much. If we can leave alot of old grass, we can stop feeding the cows late March if it is open so they can go out and graze.
When we were doing winter grazing supplementation studies at Red Bluff, we had cows that grazed out all winter and never got any supplement at all until after they calved in March. They were the control group so you could the the effects of the supplements that the other groups got. Some years those cows would actually gain weight and condition scores with absolutely nothing but white salt and range grass. Cows are amazing when people leave them alone to do what they were designed to do, graze grass.
This does show you how adaptable ranchers are and the different conditions you can see, all in the same business.
 
I was guessing on how long it would last for you, AX-.

I figured most guys would have any hay fed up after two winters, ie about 20 months.

We've kept it longer, too, but even with 12" precip, you lose a lot to rot, even if they lick their lips when they see you coming.
:lol:
Badlands
 
We have been winter grazing now for a few years and the cows seem to be happier/more content and in better shape that when we were feeding them hay every day. They are in really good condition right now, even the younger cows. By doing this we have cheapened up our wintering costs by 50% or more. The downside to it is that we don't get to see the cows like we used to. They are up in the breaks 6 miles from home, and they are usually where we can't get to by pickup. But I don't think we would change and go back. It works great for us, the toughest part about the whole thing is keeping one of the family members out of the tractor when their is a snow cover. As long as it isn't iced over to frozen hard, the cows will dig through the snow and get that grass.
 
Both, reservation lease and deeded land. The better winter protection is in the lease ground and that is where the cows that are 3 and older will be after this pasture is done.
 
Badlands said:
I was guessing on how long it would last for you, AX-.

I figured most guys would have any hay fed up after two winters, ie about 20 months.

We've kept it longer, too, but even with 12" precip, you lose a lot to rot, even if they lick their lips when they see you coming.
:lol:
Badlands
Click to expand...

Do you have to tarp it if you keep it around a long time?

have a cold one

lazy ace
 
As a kid, I remember that we used to run a layer of plastic over the top of the stack, then throw loose hay on top.

After the oldest kids left, we didn't do that anymore. :wink:

No, we don't tarp it.

Badlands
 

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