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We have been fortunate lately to have some dry, warm days. This time of the year I can become quite grouchy when the driveway and the fields turn from solid to a muddy mess. It's no fun.
Grazing this late into the fall we have to be careful to protect our pastures and ensure good growth for next year. If it gets muddy, we have to get the beef off before they wreck the grass. But on nice days like this, we want to graze. My goal is to take the forage down some to help expose the ground so we can frost-seed some clover seed this winter. It is also a last shot of good energy and feed for the cattle.
Right now, we are grazing a new seeding of mixed clover, alfalfa, and rye. This is very energy rich and high protein forage, and the beef love it. Here is a steer enjoying a fresh bite.
The beef will finish this field today, giving it time to grow just a tad before a deep freeze. If we aren't careful, the alfalfa can be cut too short and over the winter it freezes down into the crowns of the plant, killing off this valuable forage.
After the beef come off, this field will get a shot of turkey manure as the turkeys make their final rotation before Thanksgiving. Then on a cold, frozen day this winter, we'll spread manure and compost to feed the spring growth.
The beef have two more "tougher" fields waiting, hopefully enough to take them to the end of November before moving them into our winter barn.
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