EMERALD GREEN sorry JD and rrlund

No I am not referring to either paint color!My 8 acre pasture is what is turning me on! Last summer I badly overgrazed my 8 acre pasture, and had no help from the rain,By Oct I was able to rent the neighbor ladies 5 acres, and barn, so I moved the cows over there. It hadn't been grazed or mowed all year, so I wintered the cows over there. A local egg farm was offering free chicken poo, so I had a local trucker haul 500 yd's out to the middle of the pasture, and dump it. I spent most of Nov. loading and spreading the manure on the 8 acres. Between raining, and spreading with my little IH manure spreader, it took all month to put it on. I just spent the last two days, pulling a spike harrow ( laid down flat), with a 12ft railroad rail towed behind, to drag the pasture, and shave off the mole hills, and break up the big chunks left by the spreader, and old cow pies. Just letting the manure lay out there thru the last 2 mos. has turned the grass a beautiful emerald green. It is only about 4-6 inches tall, but used to be a yellowish green. We have been blessed with adequate rain this winter, but there is a remarkable difference in the color of my pasture, and the surounding neighbors places! I actually had a co. guy show up, because one of the neighbour's complained that I was appling sewage sludge. That 1st 2 weeks it sure did smell bad, but we are zoned agricultural, and the new comers forget that smll detail, till the Co. fails to make them feel better!Well I had best get off here, and go to bed! I got to get up and leave here by 6:00 am, and drive up to Omak, in the Okanogin, to pick up a butchered lamb. that my daughter is holding for me in her freezer. The Boeing traffic will be thick, at that time of morning, but when I get to rt18 it should clear up some.

Ralph.......congratulation, you have found the effect of NITROGEN on grass. Turns it green and rain water makes it grow. CAUTION: don't turn cows out on FRESH green grass, it makes them SQUIRT. Feed some DRY HAY first. .......cowboy Dell, retired Boeing Flt Test Engr

Geez,I was expecting a picture af a Duetz Allis.

Along with the dry hay, make sure you have magnesium by some means, mineral or lick tub a couple weeks ahead to prevent grass tetany.

The grass is starting to green up around here, but have recieved very little rain and the pond are receeding yet(the ones that still have water in them). Lot of pastures will not have water at turn out time, unless it starts to raining soon.

Glad to here of your success, I too was expecting a picture of a tractor or something. I am curious though where you are located where the grass has grown already. I look out my window and see about a 1/2 foot of snow on the ground here in Mi.

magpiene
What is " grass tetany " I tried to look it up in the dictionary but could not find it. I remember my father would not let the cows have apples as it would make them bloat and kill them. It was my job to graze the cows and sheep as we had no fences back in the early days. Sorry don't mean to hijack the post but my curiosity got me as it often did as a child.. LOL.
Jo

Check on a government agricultural website for grass tetany. I don't remember exactly what happens because I have never seen it, but a lot of nitrogen does something to the grass and makes it so rich that it kills the cattle or whatever is grazing it. I think if you let the grass get old it helps.

Grass tetany is actually caused by a lot of protein and potassium in new and green growing grass. It ties up the availability to the animal of calcium and magnesium. Milk fever is a first cousin, and can also be caused by too much green grass too suddenly. Usually a good supplement will boost the mag and calcium enough to get the animal through the problem easily, and the results are rather dramatic in both.

He's in western Washington, near Tacoma. I'm about 50 miles south of him.

Green grass through the winter is fairly common here- unless we get an arctic cold spell (can get in single digits for several days, but we skip all that most winters), it seldom gets below 20 here, and grass keeps growing. I mowed the lawn at my office 2 weeks ago, will have to do it again soon.

Doesn't grow enough to pasture it during winter, and ground is soft enough that you don't want stock on it anyhow, but sure gives it a head start in the spring. And the chicken manure really makes it "get up and dangle", as my dad used to say.

donjr / Old Harv
Thanks for the replies, I know dad used to say some of the cows had milk fever at one time or another. But I do not remember what he did to cure the problem. Thanks again.
Jo