cows on dried out pasture

Discussion in 'Designing, building, making and powering your life' started by IntensiveGardener, Feb 15, 2009.

  1. IntensiveGardener

    IntensiveGardener Junior Member

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    Hi all,
    I'v been trying to think of ways to minimize the damage to my pasture by grazing cows.
    The pasture is about 10 acres divided into 6 equal parts so i can rotate the cows and give areas a rest.
    At the moment due to our very dry and hot conditions most of the pasture is dryed out and there is very little (if any) grazeable areas left. Most of it has already been grazed to the ground and the ground is so dry that nothing will grow again until rain.
    I have plenty of fodder trees and stored hay to handfeed my cows (2 of them) for as long as necesary.
    Do i leave my cows on one area of pasture and hand feed them or do i keep moveing them around to spread out the compaction and damage?
    I'm worried about turning areas to dust which might blow/wash away. when it finally rains they will likely turn whatever area they're in into mud.
    I could make them a small "sacrifice" area on my very worst land and hand feed them there but they may not be happy in such a small area, although it would make the manure collection very easy.
    it may be 6 months before any grazeable pasture is available.
    any thoughts?
    ig
     
  2. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: cows on dried out pasture

    g'day ig,

    i'd be tempted to leave them in the one paddock to minimise the damage overall, as i see it the grazing rate for the land is the telling story, without your infrastructure the grazing rate of that land may only have been one full sized animal to 8 to 10 acres, naturally with rainfall on a regular basis the grazing rate can improve but then sooner or later it will return to what is sustainable. by the sounds of it there is going to be some sort of errosion issues either with wind or rain. is there any chance you could agist the cows on someone elses land for a while?

    len
     
  3. IntensiveGardener

    IntensiveGardener Junior Member

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    Re: cows on dried out pasture

    Hi Len,
    Thanks for the advise. Unfortunately (for my cows and pasture) most of the adjistable land around here is already being used for the livestock of bushfire effected farmers.
    This has also driven the price of hay up dramatically..
    Fortunately i have a huge stockpile of hay and lots of cuttable fodder trees.
    I'm thinking along the same lines and trying to minimize the damage overall,
    The problem with this option is that it would almost certainly cause some soil loss, whereas if i spread it out over the whole pasture i might avoid erosion (but still have some serious and more wide spread compaction issues).
    The other option is to put them on a cleared area (building site) with some kind of bedding, i have plenty of straw.
    ig
     
  4. janahn

    janahn Junior Member

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    Re: cows on dried out pasture

    many variables to consider, but perhaps the most naturally logical one is to eat/sell one cow. leo mahon
     
  5. openeyes

    openeyes Junior Member

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    Re: cows on dried out pasture

    Hi,

    I guess you have no water. But if you had some I would consider irrigating a small area and leaving the rest to lie fallow until the next rain comes. Do you have any swales on the land or a dam? Could you havest water run off from a road or any other hill side when any rain does arrive.

    Have you seen greening the desert? Sounds like you land could use similar methods.

    Just some thoughts
     
  6. IntensiveGardener

    IntensiveGardener Junior Member

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    Re: cows on dried out pasture

    Well,
    I managed to swap one cow for a signifigant amount of hay with a local farmer. Sad to see her go but she'll have a good life over there :)
    Now just 1 cow and more feed for her. It has also rained a little here so the pasture is begining to green up again.
    I do have a dam, but cannot spare the water for pasture irrigation due to my vegie and fruit water needs.
    I have taken your advise len and left the remaining cow in the 1 paddock to minimize the overall damage.
     
  7. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: cows on dried out pasture

    g'dau ig,

    good luck and keep us informed we hope things get easier for you.

    len
     

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