7125 Old Stage Road Raleigh NC 919-322-0197
Everything green growing on the farm
Today the cows moved into the next section of paddocks. This is the area just up from the head of the upper pond. The grass on the top of the hill continues to look nice and thick while the bottom is fairly sparse. When its time to soil test again I think I will test those two areas and see if there is a difference.
The view this morning. Can you spot the cows?
Cool weather is coming. Although its going to be another 90 degree day today, lows in the 40s are coming this weekend.
The grass looks really good in the pasture where the cows are on the top of the hill. Its very thick with 0 signs of overgrazing. The paddocks are about 25 feet wide and the full length from the old fence line to the golf course.
So last year I was really frustrated by the amount of thistle in my pasture. It was taking over and driving me crazy.
I have been fighting such a battle with dog fennel this year that it didn’t even occur to me that I had way less thistle this year than in previous years. And what thistle I did have didn’t hang around long, it flowered and died pretty quickly whereas before it would be in the pasture right up till fall/winter. I did apply lime this year which raised my soil PH. Looks like there could be something to this PH thing after all.
I don’t want to pay 1000 dollars for lime every year but rotational grazing is supposed to help greatly with soil PH. Since this is our first year there isn’t supposed to be a huge turnaround but within a few years I should see my PH in a good range without the application of lime. By next year we should have double the stocking density and should really be able to start trampling some grass and building carbon. With even more fertility, maybe the thistle will be a thing of the past and even this dog fennel will go away. One can always hope.
The grass continues to be grazed well. The interns made their own decision to widen the paddocks. They didn’t consult me, the grand poobah, they just did it on their own. I couldn’t be prouder. Yesterdays paddock is on the left, todays on the right. The clover isn’t quite all eaten in yesterday’s paddock indicating the cows didn’t come back for seconds and thirds. That’s a good thing.
Moving the mineral feeder uphill this morning was a chore. It rolls nicely, better than I had hoped originally but boy is it heavy. We added two bags of phosphorous yesterday. One as a refill, and one in the empty salt slot. We did this because salt is already in their salt block on the waterer and it means they now have twice as much phosphorous. The didn’t touch the phosphorous in the new position but have already dove into the refill. Trace mineral C and silica are both getting low now and are ready for a refill. I tested the cows PH when we were without Phosphorous for a couple of weeks. It had rocketed back to 9.0. Phosphorous definitely makes a difference.
The grass in yesterday’s paddock looked a bit thin when I walked it a few days ago. Apparently the cows felt the same as there was some grazing under the fence by the waterer. I didn’t walk the whole paddock to see if the trend continued since most of the overgrazing appeared to be clover so it wasn’t a crisis. As we continue up the hill the grass thickens up nicely so we will keep the paddocks the same size going forward until we see how the cows react.
Speaking of going up hill, pulling the mineral feeder is getting interesting. The next 5 paddocks are going uphill and the mineral feeder hasn’t gotten any lighter.
Todays paddock on the right, yesterday’s on the left.
With the 90 degree days, the fescue has begun to peter out again, not a lot, just compared to how it did when it was 75 and rainy for a few months there. The good news is there is still plenty of it. Its supposed to be in the low 90s for the next 6 days so the Bermuda should have a chance for one last hurrah before fall weather sets in.
This is the last rotation in the front pasture and the last set of paddocks at 22 yards wide seems about perfect. 90% of the grass has been clipped of the first 1/3, 10% is uneaten and the best bites like certain types of grass and clover are mowed to the ground. The cows seem to be performing well and are carrying pretty good weight. There are still hints of red in some of their coats from the worms and some of them never slicked off. We aren’t in a position yet to cull again but soon it will be time to look at who hasn’t calves recently, who has a shaggy coat all year, and who can’t shake the worms even with treatment. Then it will be time to cull.
I think I am going to go ahead and now the rest of the dog fennel. The pastures look so much better with it knocked down. I will leave a small comparison area but not much of one.
Yesterday’s paddock on the left, todays on the right. The grazing looks much better today, with no signs of overgrazing. The wider paddocks certainly make the difference.
The unseasonably cool weather continues with the foggy morning temp this morning at 56. We had to get the cows out of bed to get them moving this morning. They weren’t too keen on waking up but we were earlier than usual. The high today is going to be 85 with 90s the rest of the week. However September is right around the corner and fall with it. I had to break out a cool weather shirt this morning and something tells me I’ll have it back on again shortly.
We are now into the larger paddocks in the front pasture. They look better now that they are wider and the grazing doesn’t seem to be out of line at all. A high of 83, with a steady breeze and low humidity have everything reaching for the sun, including me. Enough sitting here typing, I’m going outside!
It’s been a busy few days for me. I have been out of town and have had to rely on the interns and Miguel to handle everything for me while I was gone. I am thankful to be home and back in the swing of things.
Yesterday’s paddock on the left. Todays on the right. Thats not a bad picture, its all the fog. We have smaller paddocks in this front pasture and the cows are over grazing. It’s not bad but they are coming back for second bites on their favorite parts. After todays paddock, the paddock size increases so hopefully we will see the over grazing diminish.
The grass continues to love the weather. Lots of rain, sun, and cool weather. Not only is the fescue back in August, it already has seed heads. I guess the cows are getting their grain.
Sometimes people wonder how we move the cows. Billy Crystal in City Slickers style (for you young folks, go look it up, great movie) with horses and cowboys? The Gator? Cattle dogs?
Nope. Just open the gate, call a few of the cows who know their name and they come running. Moving today was from the lower pond which is heaven to the cows. You can see that even so they come running.
It wasn’t always like this. Switching over to daily moves has really changed the relationship we have with out cows. A few of the cows will even pay attention while they are eating when you call their name, lifting their heads and paying attention to you instead of the food at their feet. I’ve been working on Benjamin on this and he is getting closer every day. He already eats out of my hand, just not always on command.