mob stocking

[mikep]

I hate sheep and there is a generally held belief that sheep do best on very short grass. Probably not true but I wouldn't know.

On a traditional grazing system sheep do better playing i spy for grass but if turned into long grass are ok for a short while as they can pick the good young stuff at the bottom. Most sheep would rather die than eat long grass and it plays merry hell with their feet. The inclusion of other plants is a good idea for sheep as they love a bit of variety and are even relatively ragwort proof.
Would like to try mob grazing but tied into HLS for a while longer, i would think the best breed would be a dorset as in my experience they are too lazy to escape. Our fencing has degenerated to almost cattle level and yet they stay put.

 

[Dan Powell]

i would think the best breed would be a dorset as in my experience they are too lazy to escape. Our fencing has degenerated to almost cattle level and yet they stay put.

Good to know. If someone could breed one that doesn't view death with contempt I'd almost be tempted! Especially if they can work out that being stuck on one's back in a shallow tramline isn't reason enough to forsake the world and give up.

 

[mikep]

Good to know. If someone could breed one that doesn't view death with contempt I'd almost be tempted! Especially if they can work out that being stuck on one's back in a shallow tramline isn't reason enough to forsake the world and give up.

At least finding a stiff first thing in the morning gives you a good reason to be in a foul mood all day.

 

[cows250]

What sort of DM intake yields do you all think are possible. We get ~34" of rail annually in my part of the country; alfalfa hay fields will make 4-5 tons of DM, corn (maize) silage will be ~18 tons, so 6 tons of DM. Last year I figure I put 2.5 ton of DM per acre though the cows, this year I hope to hit 3.5 tons. Obviously more grass grows than is eaten with higher grazing densities, but what is a reasonable goal for consumed forage? No inputs except for additional manure from a neighboring dairy and 15 year old pastures that I have no intention of reseeding. All on very sandy ground.

 

[The Ruminant]

Dairy cows mob-grazing some really rough land. The "sward" is a mixture of common hogweed, creeping thistle, stinging nettle, elder, poplar shrubs, blackthorn, wild rose, docks and, occasionally, some coarse cocksfoot.

Not an ideal diet but I'm already seeing an improvement in the sward in the regrowth - more grass, fewer weeds

Milk yield decidedly average though....

 

[Dan Powell]

Milk yield decidedly average though....

I think you should put this is the dairy section...

It's all very interesting, but I kind of want to know WHY you're doing it!? It's pretty masochistic. Is it making you money?

 

[Baling Hay]

Dairy cows mob-grazing some really rough land. The "sward" is a mixture of common hogweed, creeping thistle, stinging nettle, elder, poplar shrubs, blackthorn, wild rose, docks and, occasionally, some coarse cocksfoot.View attachment 382126View attachment 382128View attachment 382130 View attachment 382132

Not an ideal diet but I'm already seeing an improvement in the sward in the regrowth - more grass, fewer weeds

Milk yield decidedly average though....

WHat are they yielding?

 

[York]

Dairy cows mob-grazing some really rough land. The "sward" is a mixture of common hogweed, creeping thistle, stinging nettle, elder, poplar shrubs, blackthorn, wild rose, docks and, occasionally, some coarse cocksfoot.View attachment 382126View attachment 382128View attachment 382130 View attachment 382132

Not an ideal diet but I'm already seeing an improvement in the sward in the regrowth - more grass, fewer weeds

Milk yield decidedly average though....

when I 1st looked the density I though: will they trample enough down but when i saw the next pictures I though: wow, good job.
How long did they stay in the paddock / section?
York-Th.

 

[The Ruminant]

I think you should put this is the dairy section...

It's all very interesting, but I kind of want to know WHY you're doing it!? It's pretty masochistic. Is it making you money?

Because I was offered some rough ground and when you're trying to make a go of farming in your own right you take any opportunity, regardless of how much hassle and work is involved, to try to make it work.

I've only got a small dairy herd, a mobile milking parlour and sell direct to the consumer.

 

[The Ruminant]

WHat are they yielding?

Not a lot! They are "Grass"-fed only (or should that be weeds.... )

 

[The Ruminant]

when I 1st looked the density I though: will they trample enough down but when i saw the next pictures I though: wow, good job.
How long did they stay in the paddock / section?
York-Th.

New strip every day, no back fence though so they did go back and trample / graze whilst in there. Probably took 4 weeks to chew their way through the field.

 

[York]

Because I was offered some rough ground and when you're trying to make a go of farming in your own right you take any opportunity, regardless of how much hassle and work is involved, to try to make it work.

I've only got a small dairy herd, a mobile milking parlour and sell direct to the consumer.

Great!
very encouraging. Any pictures of your mobile milking parlor & how are you selling it? Automatic unit, like a petrol filling station or bottling up?
york-Th.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

You must be doing okay, it looks like there are a few more cows than when I saw you in March?

 

[The Ruminant]

You must be doing okay, it looks like there are a few more cows than when I saw you in March?

You only saw the dry cows! The milkers were away on another farm where I'd rented a yard for the winter

 

[martian]

It's surprising what they'll eat. Got some bracken around one of our headlands. Some cows head straight for it when let in. Before:

and after:

We have hardly had any rain here for weeks, which has made harvesting a joy, but has slowed grass growth. We have a nice stockpile ahead of the mobs though and are finding that the trampled after-mob forage grows back quicker than grass grazed down to the ground. It feels like you're wasting a lot of potential cow food, but this litter protects the soil and holds what little moisture there is, really well.

Although here they seem to have eaten this cocksfoot practically to the root.
When they are like this I could happily watch them all day

 

[The Ruminant]

It's surprising what they'll eat. Got some bracken around one of our headlands. Some cows head straight for it when let in.

It s very interesting isn't it. I remember visiting Blain Hjertaas in Saskatchewan and he had some rough woodland surrounding the grazing and that he wanted to reclaim. Every time he moved the cattle he would channel them through the very roughest bits of the wood - over fallen trees, through overgrown shrubs and bushes etc. A herd of cattle going through smashed rotting wood, fetched down branches and clears scrub, letting in light and allowing grass to start growing.

I'd love to go back and see how improved the area is now

 

[cows250]

Reading, grazing, thinking....how long can a grass plant stay in a vegetative state after being grazed at least once for the year?

I count 7 leaves that would be decent grazing and there were another 4 dead ones.

This will be my grazing project for next year and a true joy to fence this fall.

Back on the home farm....why do they graze like this? Don't get me wrong, I like having clean fence rows, but they will mow a 2' swath around the paddock when there is still a substantial amount of grass in the middle. Does anyone else see this pattern?

 

[Louis Mc]

Reading, grazing, thinking....how long can a grass plant stay in a vegetative state after being grazed at least once for the year?View attachment 392682
I count 7 leaves that would be decent grazing and there were another 4 dead ones.


View attachment 392686
This will be my grazing project for next year and a true joy to fence this fall.
View attachment 392688 View attachment 392690
Back on the home farm....why do they graze like this? Don't get me wrong, I like having clean fence rows, but they will mow a 2' swath around the paddock when there is still a substantial amount of grass in the middle. Does anyone else see this pattern?

Yes always

 

[The Ruminant]

Back on the home farm....why do they graze like this? Don't get me wrong, I like having clean fence rows, but they will mow a 2' swath around the paddock when there is still a substantial amount of grass in the middle. Does anyone else see this pattern?

Has that field been reseeded? It looks to me like it has, and that they much prefer the older grass left on the edge of the field to your new, expensive ley in the middle of the field, but I could be wrong

 

[Dan Powell]

Has that field been reseeded? It looks to me like it has, and that they much prefer the older grass left on the edge of the field to your new, expensive ley in the middle of the field, but I could be wrong

I've seen this too but after three years they prefer the reseeded areas to the old grass. I put it down to root depth increasing over time but I could be wrong.