My understanding of Johnsongrass is that it is good forage, except during the winter if it gets stressed due to extreme cold. Then it developes some kind of poison that can make cows sick. Don’t believe it actually kills the cow. Will see if I can find something online.<div><br></div><div>Carl<br><br>On Monday, August 30, 2021, Cecil Bearden <<a href="mailto:crbearden@copper.net">crbearden@copper.net</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<p>Mark:</p>
<p>I bale as much Johnson grass as I can get. Cut while it is less
than 2 ft tall it is one of the best forages around. 55 years ago
during a drought we put 200 acres of river bottom land that had
grown up 10 ft tall in johnson grass in the silo. It was all we
could find. We got a shower on it a week later and it re sprouted
and we baled nearly 40 bales per acre off it.</p>
<p>I know how it stays with the land, but if you keep cutting it or
just graze it it will die out.. In the mean time my cows love
it..<br>
</p>
<p>Cecil<br>
</p>
<div>On 8/30/2021 6:13 PM, Mark Johnson
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<p>Cecil:</p>
<p>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.<br>
</p>
<p>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.<br>
</p>
<p>Mark J<br>
</p>
<div>On 8/30/2021 8:07 AM, Cecil Bearden
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<p>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!!!! <br>
</p>
<p>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...</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Cecil<br>
</p>
<div>On 8/30/2021 6:00 AM, Indiana
Robinson wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>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"... :-)</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div>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...</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Aug 29, 2021 at
11:52 PM Mike M <<a href="mailto:meulenms@gmx.com" target="_blank">meulenms@gmx.com</a>> wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Hi all, I have a
question. I have a guy that bales my field, for his<br>
cattle. I just give it to him, because it saves me the
trouble of brush<br>
hogging it, and it doesn't go to waste. It's been so wet
in SE<br>
Michigan, he hasn't been able to get on it it yet, He's
only baled 40 of<br>
the 200 acres he normally bales. At this point of the
year, is the hay<br>
even any good?<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
Mike M<br>
<br>
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<div>-- <br>
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aka "farmer"<br>
Central Indiana USA<br>
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