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| All our grazing is done rotationally in the west. Be a rest rotation or deferred rotation system. Big pastures and big groups of cattle, non-irrigation on those rangeland acres. My opinion of irrigated pasture in my local area is a flop. We are too hot in growing season; I feel my farm is better suited to run majority of it in alfalfa/cereal forage hay production. Irrigation as early as we can in spring to beat demand electrical cost increases in April/May. Then pay for premium power June-August to grow two crops to baled. Then third crop is watered up and stockpiled for grazing those acres in October-January. Saves us cutting and baling costs, spreads manure on those acres free. By doing my grazing on these crop grounds I can stock at close to a cow per acre late in the year and mob graze down to bottom of the plant.
Down fall of my system is freezing in October can degrade my alfalfa and cause leaf loss. However, no risk of bloating at that time. I watched some neighbors that tried to rotationally irrigate start of spring and stock at 1 cow per acre. It didn't take them long 3-4 years they had to quit it. Soiled turned hard packed, had to farm it still.
However, per thoughts of sdnotill1983 on here of the A C Saltlander grass, sons and I are thinking of taking some acres and turning into an irrigated grass pasture and trying to plant trees for wind/shelter break. Then use this land for calving 1st calf heifers on. It's some of our poor irrigated lands because of lack of water in system. I've got a friend that has just planted this grass on pivot ground last year in desert land worse than ours on the Nevada/Utah border, will see how its working for him. I'm crossing my fingers it will work for us if we try it.
Bottom line it's just dependent on your area and soil types. Our land isn't cropland, but it's all we got. We bought a farm from a neighbor we ran cows with 9 years ago. He stated it well; my family was travelling through the area looking for a place to homestead. Said their wagon broke down and they weren't mechanic enough to fix it and move on. That's why family was here. | |
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Any western range operations rotationally grazing?
