# Early Spring Grazing



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Here is Hay & Forage on early Spring grazing.....

Regards, Mike

http://hayandforage.com/grazing/spring-grass-not-ideal-cows-or-pasture


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

We never have that problem here at my place, but all my neighbors do. I stockpile my cool season grass in late summer and fall for late winter and early spring use. Sometimes it may be almost knee high, but usually mid calf high, when it goes dormant for the winter. In a normal year we graze corn residues until late winter, usually until about March 1st, then start grazing old dead grass supplemented with a little hay if needed. As the new grass starts to come on underneath in late March or early April, they have to eat the old mixed in with the new, and they transition over with no problems. Regrowth is not a problem as the cattle are moved almost daily. No expensive minerals are needed to avoid grass tetany. Any hay supplementation has usually ended by about the middle of April, and the cows are on all grass when they start calving about the 1st of May.
The drought has changed things this year, and i am currently feeding grainless corn silage and ground triticale hay. Will switch to alflalfa and mixed hay this week, and probably have nothing on grass until early May. I still have a little less than normal stockpiled grass, as I have not had a hoof on pasture since last July 20th when we started grazing our droughted out corn. Bought the corn silage from a neighbor.
Feeding hay and silage starting in mid to late winter through turn out on grass about May 1st, and March calving, is what almost everyone does in this area. I don't know how they can afford to stay in the business.


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Thanks for the article Mike. I found it very interesting. I decided to turn all my livestock into one lot this winter once I began feeding hay. I thought this would allow the pastures to rest and recover a bit. I just turned my two heifers back onto one of the pastures yesterday as one of them is getting ready to calve and I didn't want to take a chance on the horses upsetting her. I plan to leave the horses (the hardest on the pastures) off till at least May so the fields can grow in well and hopefully will have my other fields fenced by then so I can start my rotational grazing plan.

--Kyle


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

I had some nice water grass this spring. Rye, cheet, fescue, and other things, some butter cups in the making. I had fertilized the pastures last fall moderately (200-300# per acre balanced with trace min and sulphur) but it just sat there waiting for rain which occurred over the winter and I did rip it up with the Hay King ripper/subsoiler. They came and the grass is rich even though it's water grass. Everybody has a dirty rump.

I finished out my calves on it, got a great price as I mentioned, and cows are still on it. All fleshed out nicely; cows and calves before they left. I have a roll of hay out that they haven't touched in several weeks. I went out a few days ago and attempted to give them some cubes so that I could spray them and they turned their noses up at that. Ha!

Calves have been off since mid march (at 201 days) and cows have already hidden what little pin bone bulge they had. So, on the nutritional value of spring grasses, seems to me it depends. Course I'm a seat of the pants retired guy. What do I know?

Mark


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## Richardin52 (Aug 14, 2011)

Article says wait till you have at least 5 inches of growth. Five inches is not enough imo.


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