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NE Iowa | I farm in an area that pasture is hard to come by. Tillable ground is hilly but sells for around $6000 per acre. Non-tillable / pasture ground sells for $5000 per acre for hunting ground. So I can't afford to have cows mucking up my pastures and ruining grass every spring. My cows graze rye on tillable ground from early April until early May and then those fields get planted to corn or beans. From May until October they are rotated through pastures. From October until rye turnout in April they are fed on crop ground if dry or froze. But if muddy I have enough concrete to confine them on concrete. Because I only allow them on the pasture when there is grass to eat I can run one large Simmental pair per 1.25 acres. But if I left them in the pasture through the mud season I would likely need twice that many acres per cow. All of the concrete cattle floors on our farm we poured ourselves over the years. Added a little at a time. We only drive on them with skid steers, tractors, and relatively small manure spreaders so only poured them 4" thick. At that thickness it only costs about $1.50 per square foot if you do it yourself. I have never regretted any concrete I have ever poured. | |
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Question for all that say pour concrete...
