[AT] Cattle farmers

Mon Aug 30 16:13:54 PDT 2021

Cecil:

There is a chance that Johnsongrass that has gone to seed can survive a 
trip through a ruminant...which could spread the stuff to the other side 
of that pasture fence! As long as your horses keep it mowed down before 
it goes to seed you should be OK. It is one of the most 'robust' grass 
seeds in terms of its ability to lie dormant in the soil for 10 years or 
more (most grass seeds will either sprout or rot after no more than 2-3 
years), and survive animal digestive systems.

I spent a summer during my college years working for a weed science 
professor who specialized in perennial weeds, most especially 
johnsongrass. At the time, the stuff was only found about as far north 
as Indianapolis - all our research fields were in deep southern Indiana. 
These days, johnsongrass is adapting to the climate and is seen much 
further north.

Mark J

On 8/30/2021 8:07 AM, Cecil Bearden wrote:
>
> My Dad grew up working horses to farm.  He always said you did not 
> feed  alfalfa to a horse that was going to be worked.  They would get 
> too hot.  They only fed alfalfa in the winter.   I sold horse hay for 
> many years before I got cow that eat more than I can raise.  I had 
> people coming from 15 mi away to get my hay.  I baled hay for a couple 
> of "horse" people around here and they would wait until the hay was 
> dry as broom straw before baling.  Many times I baled mine the same 
> day it was cut.  I still do if I can get my old joints to keep 
> calm..!!    Nearly every buyer would remark how my hay was always so 
> green when opened up and their horses would eat it like it was candy.  
> I had one lady who called and returned 4 round bales because her 3 
> horses ate it up in 3 days.  She said she could not afford to feed 
> that much hay!!!!
>
> Horse people are a funny lot.  My 2 horses are 15 and 11 yrs old, and 
> they eat anything I drop over the fence.  I cut the weeds off their 
> field with a swather and baled it to keep the weeds from going to 
> seed.   I baled it very very green.  Big juicy weeds, 4 ft tall.  2 
> weeks later they were eating the bales where they sat!!!    Moswt 
> horse people don't want johnson grass as they say is is bad for 
> horses.  I had a vet tell me that a horse could handle more Johnson 
> grass and the prussic acid that forms during heat stress than cattle 
> could.  I noticed that my horses keep the johnson grass ate down as 
> far as they can reach over the fence...   I bale it with the TS110 and 
> now the new 504R Vermeer, then haul it in with the old 5000 Ford with 
> the hyd bale trailer behind.   The best thing I can find on the new 
> baler is it will wrap a 12in diameter bale.  I can wrap one like the 
> old Allis roto Baler.   Net wrap though...
>
>
> Cecil
>
> On 8/30/2021 6:00 AM, Indiana Robinson wrote:
>> I wouldn't know why it wouldn't be OK. As a late first cutting it 
>> will naturally be a little stemy but it will still be hay. I have 
>> seen beef cattle in particular winter through on some remarkably 
>> rough hay. Much of what is feedable is often just the perception by 
>> people of what is good hay. I've seen people that would turn up their 
>> noses at decent hay on a good hay year but in a shortage of hay year 
>> (or a tight wallet year) they would feed thistles and scrub brush and 
>> be glad to get it. Son Scott once had a girlfriend that kept her 
>> horses here. I knew money was tight so I offered to give her some 
>> fairly decent hay I still had in the loft. She turned it down saying 
>> that her primary horse was a show horse and he couldn't eat that 
>> rough hay. I pointed over to the corner of the fence line and said 
>> "He ate that damned gate"...  :-)
>> Our own little private herd of 7 useless but loved equine creatures 
>> (mostly rescues) normally winter over just running about 65 acres of 
>> corn stalks and soybean stubble and usually get fat on them. When the 
>> weather gets really bad we do usually stick in a round bale, often 
>> something son Scott didn't try to sell because it didn't tie right or 
>> was miss-shaped.
>> Most of the time if the world is encased in ice or deep snow we feed 
>> a few alfalfa cubes. About a pound per horse, hand-fed like treats 
>> late in the day seems to make a good difference in keeping them warm 
>> overnight. They have shelter but seldom use it. A couple of 
>> semi-recent old and starved rescues do get special feeding. They are 
>> getting pretty slick looking now.
>> To be on topic... Any time I take an old tractor out in the pastures 
>> they all have to gather around it and study it carefully. Not sure 
>> why, none of them know how to drive...
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 29, 2021 at 11:52 PM Mike M <meulenms at gmx.com 
>> <mailto:meulenms at gmx.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi all, I have a question. I have a guy that bales my field, for his
>>     cattle. I just give it to him, because it saves me the trouble of
>>     brush
>>     hogging it, and it doesn't go to waste. It's  been so wet in SE
>>     Michigan, he hasn't been able to get on it it yet, He's only
>>     baled 40 of
>>     the 200 acres he normally bales. At this point of the year, is
>>     the hay
>>     even any good?
>>
>>     Thanks,
>>     Mike M
>>
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>> -- 
>> -- 
>>
>> Francis Robinson
>> aka "farmer"
>> Central Indiana USA
>> robinson46176 at gmail.com <mailto:robinson46176 at gmail.com>
>>
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