# Planting annuals for grazing, will this work?



## bja105 (Jun 20, 2016)

I have 4 acres next to my subdivided permanent pasture that I planted oats and timothy last year, then grazed a couple times. Fertility is OK per the soil test. I just had lime spread at the recommended rate.

My plan this year is to first graze off what timothy comes back, in May, then plant a warm season crop for mid summer grazing. In September I will re-plant a winter crop for grazing in early spring.

I am limited by equipment, money, and free time. My only equipment is a tractor, a light disc, and a broadcast spreader.

My plan is to disc the ground, then heavily broadcast Sorghum-Sudan and peas or soy. I might turn loose my little boys with the fleet of garden tractors to pack it in.

This method worked well enough in the past to grow sunflowers, oats, and a 7 acre hay field. I have never tried it with Sorghum-Sudan or soy. I don't even know how big Sorghum Sudan seed is.

I will probably spread Urea when I plant, maybe again after the first grazing. I do know Nitrate poisoning is a concern if I over do it, but I don't have a grasp of what over doing it means.

Is there a different crop I should try instead of Sorghum-Sudan? Pearl Millet and Sudangrass are the ones I see mentioned often. I want one crop going to give me two grazings by Labor Day, planted late May. BMR Sorgham Sudan should be ready to graze in 30 days, and regrow in 30 days. I also don't want to kill my herd.

I am in Western PA (near Punxsutawney) and my little herd is one milk cow, 12 total beef cows and calves, and three horses. I will keep the horses off of the annual pastures. The animals are used to rotational grazing.

Summary: can I get an acceptable stand of Sorghun-Sudan by broadcasting and discing lightly?


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

I'll take a stab at a couple of your questions:

Seed size when I planted was like a small BB.

Light disking, IDK, I planted at 1" to 1 1/2" inches, so if light disking is at that depth maybe OK (I'd probably drag a piece of old woven wire fence behind the disk though), with a big BUT and that is moisture availability after you are done planting.

Nitrate poisoning, has to do with how quick the crop is growing I do believe. Eg. lots of fertilizer and moisture at same time, causing quick plant growth = excessive nitrates in plant material. I never grazed sorghum/sudan, so I don't know how you would prevent critters from eating the new quickly growing parts (I green chopped).

Is there any other choices you have looked at to add to your fields for longer term establishment (fescue, OG, etc.) verses short-term fixes. Not that I want to take away your garden tractor culipacking method .

IDK how well Timothy got established or how well it maintains in YOUR area, but you could be doing major damage to it also, by disking IMHO. With a limited budget, re-seeding each year seems counter productive, then again I could be completely wrong on some or all points.

My less than a penny thoughts and it's early.

Larry


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## bja105 (Jun 20, 2016)

r82230 said:


> Is there any other choices you have looked at to add to your fields for longer term establishment (fescue, OG, etc.) verses short-term fixes. Not that I want to take away your garden tractor culipacking method .
> 
> IDK how well Timothy got established or how well it maintains in YOUR area, but you could be doing major damage to it also, by disking IMHO. With a limited budget, re-seeding each year seems counter productive, then again I could be completely wrong on some or all points.


I am not too worried about the Timothy, and I plan to tear it up. My goal is to have something producing during my mid-Summer slump, then again in the early Spring. I typically feed hay from December 1 until May 1. If I can get the cows off of the cool season pasture for a bit in summer will let the cool season grasses last longer into winter. If I can then graze winter annuals in April, I can shave off another month of hay.

When I had a smaller herd, the cool season grasses stayed palatable enough all year. I have grazed with no hay until Christmas. lately, I have run out of pasture and had to feed hay in November.


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## siscofarms (Nov 23, 2010)

is there not a no-till drill you could rent at your conservation office or something ? put your cattle on it and let them stay on it a extra day or 2 . eat it right to the ground . spread your fert and drill it . no spraying , no disking , no packing . and ive had better stands and no worry of the acid by using hy bred pearl millet instead of sudan .


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## bja105 (Jun 20, 2016)

Siscofarms, did you graze the millet cut is? Did it give you multiple harvest, or one?


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## siscofarms (Nov 23, 2010)

I grazed it . Could have cut it but I let it get max , chest high and let them graze it for about a week . 25 cows on 10 acres . After that I would let them on it about every 2 weeks for a week at a time . regrowth was great . was a source of pasture till oct frost .


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## Draft Horse Hay (May 15, 2014)

siscofarms said:


> I grazed it . Could have cut it but I let it get max , chest high and let them graze it for about a week . 25 cows on 10 acres . After that I would let them on it about every 2 weeks for a week at a time . regrowth was great . was a source of pasture till oct frost .


SO hybrid pearl millet doesn't have the prussic acid concerns? That's great to know.

When you let your forage grow chest high before turning out, how much do they actually consume vs trample? Seems like it would be worth getting on it sooner and more often?

I like the idea of having a warm season paddock/area as well as the cool season grasses but my issue is hot dry summers. Hot enough for warm seasons but not enough water.

We have some volunteer millet (wife's bird feeders) and that stuff grows like mad in pretty crappy ground.


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## bja105 (Jun 20, 2016)

I planted yesterday. 3 bags of Sorghum-Sudan and one bag of peas. We got a thunderstorm a few hours later, with more rain coming today.

I also went through my huge stash of garden seeds,and sorted out the old seeds. The cows might be grazing green beans, pumpkins, turnips, radish, and eggplant.

I saved a handfull of peas and Sorghum-Sudan to plant in rows in my garden. It will be something to keep the weeds down in the half I won't use this year.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

bja105: cows like all kind of food. Peanuts, peas being two they really like. Many people do not realize the full plant taste like the seed or nut the plant produces. Reason you use pecan or hickory wood to cook meat over.

They also like greesn such as collard and no doubt cabbage. You may want to look into vegetables for options . I would not suggest a plant such as that produces a head such as most cabbage does. Not sure have even known of a cow eating tomatoes, fruit or bush or cucumber vines.

Then cows will eat certain kinds of hardwood leaves, learned that 55 years ago when we cut trees for firewood.


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