New grass for hay or pasture.

kutzy23 · May 20, 2013

I got roughly 2 acres I wanna plant to grass and I was looking for some variety ideas. I hope to cut and bale this grass and maybe eventually put a couple of cows on it in a year or two. So what would work best?

gene bender · May 20, 2013

mFirst and most important move you can make is go to your local seed dealer and follow his advice not someone who doesent know about your soil and climate. You will need first a soil test then go from there and two acres isnt very much pasture for even two cows. Do yourself a favor and go see him first.

kutzy23 · May 20, 2013

I talked to my seed dealer today and he didn't know what to tell me. He's fresh out of school and has no experience with range land crops.

chevytaHOE5674 · May 20, 2013

Location?

LAA · May 20, 2013

Depends on your location, if I was trying to get maximum output from 2 acres I would be planting annuals, sudan grass with cow peas or forage soy beans in the summer, rye grass and clover in the fall, maybe over seed with a few oats - and lime and fertilize heavy and test the soil for the specific crops - all depends on your climate.

kutzy23 · May 20, 2013

Sorry I should of said the location. But I live in south west Minnesota. I have good black soil where the grass is to be planted.

RayP(MI) · May 20, 2013

Check with your local state university extension office.

RalphWD45 · May 21, 2013

The only thing wrong with 2 cows on 2 acres is, that cows have a tendency to have calves once a year, and pasture doesn't multiply. I started out with 3 cows, on 8 acres, of improved pasture. Till the first 3 calves got big enough to start grazing, everything was great. Also if you don't go AI then you are feeding a bull for a month, once a year. Bulls and calves eat grass. I am in washington state, on the west side, and am blessed with plenty of rain, to push my grass along. I have found it necesisary to rent 7 more adjoining acres, to handle my small herd. It's true that the bull (steer) calves go to the feeder sale every fall, and quit eating my graze at that time, however the cooler weather isn't very conducive to fast grass growth, and the hay comes out of the barn a lot earlier, than I would like for it to.

gene bender · May 21, 2013

Sounds like you need another seed dealer one who has been around and not fresh out of school even a neighbor who has cattle two acres isnt verry big for many animals to graze and the big problem how good is the fence and are you going to be there every day to check them water and shelter is also important. Is it well drained that small area will get tramped down pretty good killing any thing you have planted.

kutzy23 · May 21, 2013

I'm familiar with all the stuff that goes with cattle such as fences housing and feeding. My dad milked 30 cows for many years and I worked on the family operation for over 20yrs. He finally sold them about 5 years ago when he sort of retired. I took out all the fences leveled all the lots out and planted oats and beans on there for a couple of years, which did very well. Now I would like to get a cow or two to raise for butchering. So I don't plan on having calves or expanding the herd size. My problem is around here everything is row crop. And people that do raise cattle are fairly good size and don't mess with pastures. Most people that do haying cut alfalfa or road ditches. This is why I can't get much input from people around here. I was curious if there was anything better for my application that had good output and was durable.

randallinMo · May 21, 2013

Plant it to brome, orchardgrass and alfalfa. Use 10-15 pounds per acre of each. Mix in 3 bushels of oats on the initial seeding for a quick cover crop. THis should last in your area and provide really good grazing or hay.

showcrop · May 21, 2013

2X Randalls recommendation. Those grasses will produce well and the alfalfa will fix nitrogen and help the grass to grow.

Paul from MN · May 21, 2013

Kutzy,

Your new best friend is your county agent. In the
rare event that your county does not have a county
agent, you have access to the University of
Minnesota Ag Extension Office.

ChasK · May 21, 2013

Try here for ideas.

http://welterseed.com/productItems.aspx?id=13&org=0

GeneMO · May 21, 2013

It all depends on where ya are at.

Gene

New grass for hay or pasture.

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