Spring vs Fall Grazing - A Key to Successful Rotational Grazing System

[@littlevman2997]

You're an inspiration for those who want to work with the land under God. Thank you and God bless

[@birchfieldfarming]

Thank you, friend.

[@gardeninggalagain]

Your videos are so practical and helpful! Thank you!

[@birchfieldfarming]

Hey, thanks so much!🤠

[@intothenight9256]

Excellent video! Well said and well done! Im inspired! Thank you! I needed this! 🙏🏼

[@birchfieldfarming]

Hey, you got it🤠🌱

[@mcchupka9718]

Thanks Jason. The paddocks are looking great.

[@birchfieldfarming]

Waiting on that rain 🌧️

[@tommartin8155]

Your great to listen to. You farm beautifully.

[@birchfieldfarming]

Thanks for being here, Tom!🤠🐑🌱

[@SuperDuty23XL]

Great advice on rotational grazing. It works. Hope we all get rain soon!

[@birchfieldfarming]

Thanks for watching! We had random, light pop up moved in from southeast the other night, didn’t get much at all tho. Problem right now is we’re still hitting high 80’s during day. At least next month we should start cooling off.

[@obsidian73]

Jason, love the videos your putting out, keep up the good work. A simple tip I just learned from Tim over at Linessa farms is to put a PVC pipe on your T-Post for your corner bracing on your electric fence.

[@birchfieldfarming]

@@obsidian73 great advice! If I did it again, I’d go Timeless corners

[@LC_Farm_OH]

Broke 8k, steady channel growth going! Farm looks great! It amazes me every time you show the direct comparison with you lease land.

[@birchfieldfarming]

Thank you, Sir…gives me hope there are likeminded folks out there moving toward simplicity.

[@godricfamilyfarm]

Good points as always. Thanks for the video. God bless

[@birchfieldfarming]

God bless, Stuart

[@JS-ss6fr]

It would be interesting to see if you took over another quarter acer how long it would take to get it back to what you have on the rest of your fields

[@birchfieldfarming]

I agree. I did that a few years back and the toughest part was those dang cattle paths! I eventually got seed to grow there. I’m also wondering if there are other ways I could quantify the differences (soil temp, microbe count, water infiltration)??

[@tireddad6541]

Would you have to unroll hay in the winter to help?​@@birchfieldfarming

[@birchfieldfarming]

@@tireddad6541We do feed hay in winter here, but there are strategies to minimize there too - stockpile grazing can be an option. Remember, harvested forage is roughly 4X cost of grazed forage, so it pays to think it thru.

[@nunyabidness1339]

I agree with your comments of what is wealth and the re-definition of wealth…Good luck and his bless!

[@birchfieldfarming]

Thanks for watching🤠

[@mark3r442]

Hello again! For providing rest when you’re rotating, do you just rotate less frequently (or spend more time on each paddock) or are you still rotating every day but just excluding a paddock each time? Just curious your method with rotating when removing a paddock from rotation each time. Thank you again!

[@birchfieldfarming]

So the really challenging part is not all paddocks perform equally. Some grow amazing grass really fast, some don’t, so I like to be flexible and estimate what’s there. Define what you want to leave behind and move accordingly. Generally speaking though, grass growth will be about half now as compared to Spring, which means I’m usually trying to slow down a bit if possible, take a little more, though that’s tough now with drought. My system has been cobbled together as I’ve learned. If I did it again, I’d design for the Fall, which means I’d construct about 36 quarter acre paddocks and move everyday, in Spring I could move twice a day OR harvest extra forage (hay, silage). Also, having a predefined section at the end of rotation, especially in drought, where you can pause for a few days if needed and feed hay is paramount!

[@mark3r442]

@@birchfieldfarming thank you so much!

[@birchfieldfarming]

@@mark3r442 You bet!

[@SimpleFarming05]

Can I overgraze in autumn and winter? How will it affect the spring growth?

[@birchfieldfarming]

@@SimpleFarming05 Different schools of thought on this. Here’s what I’ve seen: It’s less about the season and more about precipitation. Meaning, if I overgraze in drought, there’s a huge price to pay. If I overgraze a bit around Labor Day and we’ve got plenty of precip, it’ll still bounce back. The stunting the growth the following Spring thing is largely anecdotal, but I also have very hearty, healthy native fescue that I’m grazing.

[@RoaringRootsNursery]

Any tips for broadcasting sorghum Sudan grass seed by hand? If I live in an area that rarely gets a freeze (maybe once or twice a year if any) can I graze my cattle on Sorghum Sudan year round?

[@birchfieldfarming]

They make hand held seed broadcasters. I think Johnny’s sells them. I mean, just chucking it out by hand I guess would work. Right before rain will be best. I prefer it in a cover crop mix, but with straight sorghum sudan I would ease into it. Depends on the context I guess. Do a small patch and see how the cattle like it.

[@EricaGates0623]

How long do you feed hay for your winter paddock? I'm in MO

[@birchfieldfarming]

Typical hay season here is 120 days. We feed about 10 tons thru winter, pay about $100/ton.

[@EricaGates0623]

​@@birchfieldfarmingthank you!! I am learning and watching every video.

[@birchfieldfarming]

@@EricaGates0623Thanks for being here!🤠

[@SaaidAdi]

❤❤

[@birchfieldfarming]

Saaid, how’s the weather in Morocco today?

[@SaaidAdi]

@@birchfieldfarming If you need help I am here to work with you.

[@tlqpansy]

If your neighbor is running 2000#/acre all over but you are grazing 10k#/0.25 acre meanwhile needing 18+ other 1/4 acre plots at rest and ready for you to come back to, doesn't that mean you are 10k#/4.5acres or exactly the same 2k#/acre as your neighbor? Ill give you it looks a ton healthier and better for animals and land but Im missing the math that you are 40k#/acre since all the remaining paddocks are sitting unused while one paddock is full and with rotational grazing that will always be the case?

[@birchfieldfarming]

@@tlqpansy Neighbor was running about an animal until per acre. We ran between 2 and 3 AU’s/acre. Within that, our stock density was much higher with multiple species impact, which gave us less selective grazing and better pasture health without having to mechanically mow behind.