I've heard it said, more than once, that in order to become a farmer of any animal you must first become a farmer of grass.
Now a days, with modern feedlot operations and such, this isn't really the case – after all, what good is grass to a cow that is being fed a 90% grain diet? (Actually, grass would be quite good for the cow, but that's not the point).
My point is that as I continue to prepare for the arrival of our dairy cow in two weeks, I am facing a very challenging and new obstacle: growing pasture.
The house is situated on five acres, most of which is available for grazing. In particular, down by the shop (where the milking parlor will be), there is a few acres of flat land. Perfect for pasture.
It's kind of difficult to tell from the pictures, but you can see there is growth of sorts on the land already, and this photo is from almost six weeks ago. A LOT of growth has taken place since then! Bits of grasses and weeds scatter the landscape. The climate of Wenatchee is dessert – hot summers, cool nights, cold winters. So while the grass is currently green and luscious, come July, it will be brown. That is, unless someone (ahem, me) goes to the effort of irrigating it.
There is irrigation water on the property, which is a huge bonus.
The question now is seed.
What varieties of grass? How much do I water it? When do I plant it?
We don't own any sort of heavy farm equipment for planting the seed – all of it will be done by hand-scattering. Easy enough, considering it's not a HUGE amount of land we have to cover. I think I'll invest in one of these cool things to make the job easier:
Actually… maybe my Dad has one. Hey Dad, do you have one of these I can borrow?
I love that I'll be close enough to borrow stuff from him again.
Point being, from what I've read, hand scattering is an easy enough method for planting the seeds. Which is good, because heavy equipment isn't on the To-Buy list for awhile. It's recommended, if hand scatterring, to broadcast approximately 40 pounds of seed per acre (which should then be stomped on or driven over to help squish the seed down into the soil, followed by a good watering to aid in germination). Watering the seeds will be critical in our area, as the hot summers will surely dry up any fragile, exposed sprouts.
I know alfalfa (a legume) does considerably well in our area, so I know that will be some of what I plant. Unlike grasses which pull nitrogen from the soil, alfalfa (and other legumes) actually fix nitrogen back into the soil. This makes it a wonderful companion to grow with other grasses as it helps to keep the soil fertile. Plus, it's no secret that dairy cows love them some alfalfa. I think Kula would be quite happy to graze an alfalfa pasture. We'll also have a little calf (Lord willing) that will be grazing along with her. If it's a bull calf, we will keep it and raise it for meat, so we'd really be hoping for some nutrient-dense pasture.
Bluegrass is another great grass, as is brome. Clover is another favorite of almost all animals! Mmm! Clover candy. Orchardgrass. Canarygrass. Timothy.
Man. I really should have paid closer attention in my Feeds and Feeding class in college. I sure which I had that text book right about now.
Thankfully, I have a wonderful contact at the local Feed Store who is happy to help in supplying a pasture mix of such grasses.
Eek! Isn't this exciting? To learn about different grasses and their affect on the soil? And nutritional value as feed?
Anyone? Anyone?
Am I the only one who gets excited about stuff like this?
I've been thankful, as I learn how to be a grass farmer, that I've got my trusty book The Family Cow by my side. It delves quite heavily into growing grasses and preparing pasture land for grazing. I'm thankful for other's expertise where I am, quite obviously, lacking greatly in knowledge.
If I'm understanding what I've read correctly, the new seed should be planted in the late fall. This will allow it to lay dormate over the winter and then sprout fresh, new, lush growth (hopefully!) in the spring. Pasture experts, is that correct? Or would it still be possible to plant the pasture in June for perhaps some fall grazing?
Point being, it doesn't look like we'll be doing too much grazing this summer. Bummer. It's no doubt cheaper to have the cow on grass than it is to buy and haul in bales of alfalfa. Especially since we'll have to purchase enough alfalfa this summer to last us through the long, cold, and snowy winter.
But, as in life, good things take time. And lush, green pasture is a very good thing.
On the plus side, this will give us the summer and fall to fence in the entire pasture area that we'd like to plant. Instead of randomly grazing her all over the property, it'd be nice to have a very large (2 acres?) fenced area for her to graze in. Getting up proper fencing and seeding it for pasture will help to keep the grazing schedule organized, clean, and efficient.
Though, let's be honest, real farms (and homesteads) are anything but clean.
I've looked into a few resources about pasture land to help build up my knowledge:
Books like this.
And this.
I'm sure they'd be very helpful to have in my ever-growing homesteading library. Sometimes, it's so much nicer to have tangible paper to refer to (sorry, Google).
I will continue to research until planting time, this fall. Ideally, we'd like to also pasture a hog (or two) next spring, so the better pasture land we can grow now the better off we'll be come next year.
It's been a lot of work, but a lot of fun, to research these off-the-wall topics. Especially when you realize that this used to be common knowledge for so many people – which grasses to grow, which supplied specific nutrients to the livestock, when and how fast they would grow, etc. I eager look forward to reviving and remembering this knowledge on our homestead.
I can't help it if I find legumes exciting.
It's a sickness.
Barbara Johnson Hoover
What a beautiful piece of property! The view is amazing.
Heather Kallimani
Good luck! I can’t wait to hear about your experiences with your cow! I’ve thought about getting one but not sure if I’m ready for that much responsibility.
Noël McNeil
I wouldn’t worry about improving the pasture your hog(s) are going to be in too much. I grew up raising pigs and they will root and destroy any ground they are livin’ on. That is the nature of the pig, to root and to dig up tasty morsels.
brittany
this is exciting! i cant wait to learn from you.
Susan
Consider planting native plant species in your pasture. Not only will native grasses and legumes thrive during your hot summers with less water, but your ruminants (and other homestead animals) will be healthier and happier with fresh, always-growing, pasture. Plus, for some grasses (like Teff or Sudangrass), it’s not always necessary to plant the autumn before. (We live in north central Ohio so your plant species and planting schedule will probably differ.) Also, don’t be afraid to start your own hay production. You don’t need fancy expensive equipment. For a small herd of animals, you can cut the grass/alfalfa with a string trimmer, let it dry in the field, gather it with a wheelbarrow or hand-pulled wagon, and put it up loose. Finally, consider rotational grazing. It allows you to control the growth and destruction of your pastures and keeps your animals eating the best parts of the plants. Contact your local agriculture university’s extension office or check the ‘Net for prairie restoration, native pasture species, and rotational grazing sites specific to your locale. Hope this helps!
OBPI Mama
I have to agree about real farms not being clean… we have a 465 acre farm and I always envisioned a picturesque artsy area around my farm house… turns out farmers aren’t into beautiful as much as they are into functional! And they don’t like to work on a yard when they come in tired from the fields…
Oh, we raise hay and it’s a mixture of alfalfa, clover, and timothy. Some good eatin’s for cows! Good luck to you!
homesteader wannabe
If you are planning on pasturing pigs, you need to check out Walter Jeffries and the Sugar Mountain Farm blog. They are in VT and raise pastured pork for a living. He says to keep rooting to a minimum, you need to rotate the pigs around the property in paddocks. Check it out. I could spend days reading his archives.
Emily
Wondering who the author is for The Family Cow book… Looked on amazon and there are a few. I’m looking to start growing pasture and could use all the help I can get/read!
Thank you for this post!!!!
Ali
I was wondering the same thing. We just bought a 7 1/2 acre cherry farm and I would love to start planting the area I refer to as “the pasture” for a cow in the future. Shaye, please tell us who the author of “The Family Cow” is!! By the way, I LOVE your blog!!! Especially the graphic butchering videos that prepare me for my future:)
Shaye Elliott
It’s Dirk Van Loon. 🙂
Sherice
I used to live in Wenatchee on a small tiny farmette. Some of the happiest times of my life:) love the blog and passion for homesteading!
brad
Couple things struck here – one is i love your excitement. i’m on the wife’s family ranch which went to heck after dad passed in 97 and the pasture was seeded and had hay pulled for over a dozen years after. No inputs. If you can pull up the brush (assuming you don’t want it) a small walk behind bushhog would chop that up and put it into the soil. Joel Salatin in Virginia cuts overly grown forest – culling bad trees/brush and chipping it. That gets put in as bedding for his cattle, then when it is “loaded” w/nitrogen (almost all comes from the urine) and solids he composts it and puts it on the fields. His family built 12″ of soil in less than 60 yrs.
We have tractors here, but one thing you may want to consider is a good rye for your area. Fall planted, it grows a LOT of biomass. Starts in the fall, goes dormant, and this is how it gets a kickstart on the weeds and other plants you may not want.
Susan above was right about cutting your own hay, but a good scythe is MUCH easier and more efficient than a weedeater. It is quiet, there is a rhythm about cutting for about ten minutes – then pulling out your stone and swiping it a few times, then getting back into your rhythm. You also learn about differences in your fields this way in ways you won’t on a tractor, or wearing the ear protection and getting shaken to death, lol. For less than $200 you can get a scythe and stones, etc that will last you for your childrens lives – and you don’t have to buy gas, fix the thing, replace filters and lines, etc.
In Montana, the wheat growers put lentils in their rotation. They are leguminous (they sell the lentils) and put nitrogen back as you state, but they are very drought tolerant.
As for pastures, that is a blessing and a curse, lol. Of course you MUST fence the pasture, but you can literally turn desert into arable land if you do some good rotational paddock grazing. We have goats – haven’t been able to spring for the cow yet – (thinking Dexters) and we have some heritage hogs – American Guinea. They all eat different things. The hogs will root our blackberries, the goats eat the tops and most of the weeds – but don’t like the grasses too much.
When we get a cow the theory is that the whole spectrum of plants is going to be consumed, a variety of manures will break down with differing qualities, and when the hens come in a few days later – man. They cut the fly population by about a factor of six when we let them free range in the goat pen/yard/pasture area. They eat larva and parasites – which could never be a bad thing, right?
Didn’t see the date but just glanced up at the www line and this is from 2 yrs ago, so i hope you’re going strong.
Kelly Keith
Loved your cooking video’s, made me very hungry. Where would I find a woman that can do the things that you do?