Post by AnnB (NE) on Jul 20, 2008 11:21:12 GMT -5
About half of the clear land is in Brome, and the other half is Prairie (some of it is true virgin Prairie -- the ground has never, ever been broken and contains a mix of grasses/plants that have become somewhat rare in this area). Brome is a cool season grass, Prairie is warm season.
My hay guy tells me that around here, Brome is only cut ONCE a year! Fully mature! And that if we take a fall cut the field will act like it's been overgrazed -- I commented that maybe he needed to not cut it so short, leave it at 6" instead of 3", and he looked at me like I had 2 heads! I thought Brome responded best to grazing/cutting.
We cut the Brome, I'm not sure how many acres, about 15 (give or take a bit), and got 35 bales, weighing 1200-1400 lbs.
One 6 acre field is so sparce it's pathetic -- 4-5" between plants.
Easy to tell that these fields have been in CRP for a LONG time.
I need to revitalize these Brome fields, but not quite sure how to do it. I want to leave the Prairie as it is -- not only is it beautiful, but it contains a vast assortment of beneficial/nutritious plants.
What I find surprising is that the areas that I put the cows on (with electric), and let them basically overgraze it, they took it down to no more than 2", new growth sprouted out of the bare ground, and it's doing MUCH better than the actual hay fields! It's never stopped growing. Even now that we're into the heat, it's still growing -- and it's brome.
Could it be that simple? To have him take a first cutting much earlier in spring? From what the "cow area" is showing me, it might just be the thing to enable a second cut.
Or do I just need to reseed with a mix?
The Extension office says that a mixture of Orchard, Brome, Red Clover, and Grazing Alfalfa will work well in any of the Northern States for grazing and hay.
Ann B
My hay guy tells me that around here, Brome is only cut ONCE a year! Fully mature! And that if we take a fall cut the field will act like it's been overgrazed -- I commented that maybe he needed to not cut it so short, leave it at 6" instead of 3", and he looked at me like I had 2 heads! I thought Brome responded best to grazing/cutting.
We cut the Brome, I'm not sure how many acres, about 15 (give or take a bit), and got 35 bales, weighing 1200-1400 lbs.
One 6 acre field is so sparce it's pathetic -- 4-5" between plants.
Easy to tell that these fields have been in CRP for a LONG time.
I need to revitalize these Brome fields, but not quite sure how to do it. I want to leave the Prairie as it is -- not only is it beautiful, but it contains a vast assortment of beneficial/nutritious plants.
What I find surprising is that the areas that I put the cows on (with electric), and let them basically overgraze it, they took it down to no more than 2", new growth sprouted out of the bare ground, and it's doing MUCH better than the actual hay fields! It's never stopped growing. Even now that we're into the heat, it's still growing -- and it's brome.
Could it be that simple? To have him take a first cutting much earlier in spring? From what the "cow area" is showing me, it might just be the thing to enable a second cut.
Or do I just need to reseed with a mix?
The Extension office says that a mixture of Orchard, Brome, Red Clover, and Grazing Alfalfa will work well in any of the Northern States for grazing and hay.
Ann B
He put his dry cows on there in the fall and grazed it to nothing. Said there wasn't a spot that wasn't slathered in manure. He was trying to kill it because it wasn't working out like he thought. The next spring the grass came back with a vengeance. He did it again in the spring and it rebounded fantastically. Now, he says it's his favorite field. (His was EGG & fescue.)
