When to clean up pasture.

Mtjohnso · Jun 19, 2020

The cows are trying to keep up with the grass in the pasture. There is also nettles and weeds growing as well. So I was wondering what criteria do you use for mowing the pasture down?
I am in Western Washington where we tend to get a lot of rain until July.
Do you always mow with brush hog or hay mower?
Do you go in periodically and spray for weeds?
If you know a dry spell us coming do you just leave the pasture as is so the cows can get as much as possible out of it?

JMOR · Jun 19, 2020

I run brush hog high so as to top off weeds & leave the grass. When? Whenever weeds making headway or I have time or .................
I only spray if I have a concentration of weed in some area. Almost never the whole pasture.

David G · Jun 19, 2020

I do not think it hurts anything to mow a grazed down pasture, I also like to drag it and knock down the cow pies. Pastures need maintenance just like any other crop, I would take soils samples to coop and find out how it looks. P&K fertilizers should be applied in fall, and N in spring. Check the pH to see if lime or sulfur is needed.

Cowboy2005 · Jun 19, 2020

We rotate our cows thru several pastures, so as soon I move them out of a pasture I mow it, and if I have time I like to drag them too. I have noticed a huge difference in the pastures I mow and drag v.s the ones I dont mow or drag.
One other thing is if I notice weeds starting to go to seed I will run my brush mower higher upto mow just weeds before they have a chance to produce more weeds.
I have never sprayed weeds so I dont know anything about that.

-Garrett

fixerupper · Jun 19, 2020

Here in Iowa spraying 2-4D 32 oz per acre in mid-september cleans up pastures for the next summer. We are in a different climate than you are so a fall spray may or may not work the same for you as it does for us.

David G · Jun 19, 2020

Might want to put some goats in with the cows, they will eat the weeds before the grass.

JMOR · Jun 19, 2020

(quoted from post at 14:39:24 06/19/20) Might want to put some goats in with the cows, they will eat the weeds before the grass.

y experience with goats is that if you expect to keep them in, you need such good fences that I might as well hire a full time pasture keeper!

RBnWA · Jun 19, 2020

John i'm on the westside to. Been mowing pasture. If cows have mowed of good i cut low. If not ate low then i leave 8 inches give or take. Mow with a 10 foot rotary mower. RB

dzc3 · Jun 19, 2020

What David G said. I found if you heavy graze a pasture early cattle will eat weeds if their still tender and lush. Too many people forget that for every pound of beef taken off you lose some of the nutrients in the soil.

David G · Jun 19, 2020

It is important to also remember a correctly fertilized and pH pasture will encourage grass more than weeds.

fixerupper · Jun 19, 2020

I was told by an agronomist weeds thrive in ph conditions that do not favor anything else. He claims that is why we have more weeds in hign ph soils where soybeans don't do as well. The beans are smaller and don't shade the rows and the weeds like the high ph. It's a double whammy.

Dopp Creek · Jun 19, 2020

I expect you have tall stems remaining after the cattle have grazed the leaves. You’ll also have thistle, tansy, blackberries, pigweed standing as well. I would clip high to two reasons; preserve whatever leaf remains to promote regrowth and clip off the seed head of the weeds. After you clip, run over it with a harrow to spread out the poo. I second the notion of using a broadleaf spray in September- you will really happy you did next spring. I’m in NW Oregon so I know the battle.

Traditional Farmer · Jun 19, 2020

With the way goats are selling now they'll pay for the fence upgrade and keep your cattle operation in the black.Figure what people spend on sprays,brush hogging etc their pastures and some decent fencing won't seem so expensive.Big plus is calves can't get thru goat proof fencing,nice feeling when you put livestock in a field not having to worry about them getting out.

john in la · Jun 19, 2020

We cut our pastures every time we rotate the cows to a new pasture. Keeps some of the weeds from going to seed.

If you are not using pasture rotation you should look into it.

DoubleO7 · Jun 19, 2020

(quoted from post at 15:39:24 06/19/20) Might want to put some goats in with the cows, they will eat the weeds before the grass.

We must have first generation goats from Nigeria because first they browse off the trees.
Then they eat all the best grasses.
Then thay start stripping the bark from the trees they have browsed.
Then maybe they eat some weeds, starting with the ones that are the most tender and slow growing.

showcrop · Jun 20, 2020

"Topping" your pasture is, after fertility, the most important part of pasture maintenance. It keeps the weeds from going to seed and encourages the good grasses to grow more leaves instead of just stem.

Traditional Farmer · Jun 20, 2020

What 'weeds' are you talking about? Pretty poor pasture that does not have a diversity of plants,even a patch of thistles has its place all sorts of birds and insects thrive there,when cut off and dry out cattle will eat up the thistles.Unless the minerals in your soil are totally out of whack no one plant will take over.

SVcummins · Jun 22, 2020

I spray to get rid of brush and weeds If you don’t get control of them they’ll take over also don’t overgraze and don’t graze at all until the plant is ready so it has enough strength that the cows or horses especially weaken the plant enough it’s hard for the plant to recover

Grass regrowth after killing brush

showcrop · Jun 22, 2020

(quoted from post at 03:45:33 06/20/20) What 'weeds' are you talking about? Pretty poor pasture that does not have a diversity of plants,even a patch of thistles has its place all sorts of birds and insects thrive there,when cut off and dry out cattle will eat up the thistles.Unless the minerals in your soil are totally out of whack no one plant will take over.

TF, up here in the Northeast we like our cool weather grasses and clovers for pasture. Given adequate moisture and feeding they will crowd the weeds out. Now animals on pasture also like their cool weather grasses to the point that that they will of course eat them down to nothing leaving the weeds to flourish if you let them. Feeding, topping, and rotational grazing is what the cooperative extension services push around here. You can keep your weeds.

When to clean up pasture.

Mtjohnso

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JMOR

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David G

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Cowboy2005

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fixerupper

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David G

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JMOR

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RBnWA

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dzc3

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David G

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fixerupper

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