All your videos are full of great information that's very helpful no matter what part of this great country you may be from, Thank you Sir!!! Butch Ashland Ohio
Great video Cliff, thanks for the info. We are starting from scratch on our farm in North Central Texas turning corn fields back to grass one step at a time. It's really helpful to see other like mided people like yourself putting these methods into practice closer to home. Keep up the great content!
I very much like your thoughtful approach to ranching, hardly a surprise given your profession. A video on carcass quality from regenerative farming practices in the future would be welcome, obviously your herd genetics will affect this significantly. Not meaning to sound ghoulish but It is after all the final product.
if you like the Pensacola Bahia you will probably love the Tifton 9 Bahia, i have both and the Tifton 9 outperforms the Pensacola grass....the only thing is if the bahia gets ahead of the cows we either mow the tops out of it or cut and bale it for winter feeding....
I think the best place to start is to ask knowledgeable neighbors/ranchers what warm season grasses grow best in your area. If there is an agronomy department where you buy feed, ask them as well. Bermuda grass should do ok as will Bahia, but neighbor advice (from multiple neighbors) will likely be the best advice.
Great content! Do you have all 4 throughout your pastures for rotation or did you create specific pasture perimeters for each grass you planted and rotate your herd through each grass based on season and their preference as you explain?
I have 5 permanent pastures that are perimeter fenced. One is 100% Bahia, 2 have a combination of Bahia and Coastal Bermuda, one is predominately Jiggs Bermuda, and one pasture has the 6 acres of Tifton and the rest is Coastal and Bahia. So in most pastures, I will try and time the rotation to make the best use of palatability and plan my paddocks accordingly.
We are an hour from Brenham. My neighbor has a pet Brahma that he promised his grandson he would keep. He lets me graze his place, in exchange, I run his 4 cows with mine.
Thank you for posting. Beautiful ranch. I'm in upper part of South Georgia and learning to do regenerative ranching which so far seems pretty challenging on coastal bemuda and Pensacola bahaia...I'm trying to determine what stage/height of bahaia to leave as stockpile to graze on during winter.
what is the most cost effective way to deal with the yaupon and cedar underbrush? I've been using a skid steer with a shredder, and it works well, but it's slow. Goats are good for keeping it from coming back.
I don’t have a cost effective way. If you do it by hand, it’s exhausting and slow as you said. Goats help but have their own set of issues. We decided to save our money and hire a guy with a track hoe and dozer. We did it in small acreage amounts as we were able. Took several several years but it was worth the wait.
I'd like to chime in here on goats. Mine eat the yaupon last, sporadically and reluctantly. We're still having to hand clear after rotating them through the woodlands. I'm hoping they'll help kill it out in years to come as the new growth comes up in tender new growth.
From other videos, you broke down 24 paddocks 3 days each for a 72 day rotation. Rough estimates are that this allows for 1.4 acres per cow, moisture permitting and we did have a couple dry spells. I'm interested when we enter the cooler season as grass growth starts to slow, if the rotations will require more frequency? Also if you have already purchased rolls of hay for insurance through January / February? If so is it 20-30lbs per head or less since they still have some forage? Has the Rope seemed to hold up to the UV and last more than 1-2 years?
The poly braid is holding up well. I have limited winter pasture and it typically doesn’t add much grazing till March/April. I will supplement the standing grass with some protein till the forage runs out (typically runs out in January). I do have hay that I have brought in from outside sources. I purchased 150 rolls from a client and I baled 100 rolls on property next to my equine hospital. When feeding hay, an adult cow eats 3% of her body weight per day.
Cliff, I am new to ranching in the south (original from PA). Some of my neighbors told me that Bahia grass is bad and that I won't be able to grow other legumes or grasses because of how thick it gets. They also say it doesn't stockpile in the winter. Right now I have alfalfa in with my costal and Kline grass. There are areas that are always wet and sandy in the brazos bottom. Thats why i was gonna plant Bahia. Thoughts? I'm in Bryan, TX.
They are correct in that a thick stand of Bahia is a definite matt of grass. Less thick stands will allow other species in the mix. It does not stock pile worth a darn. I’m in Bryan as well. Come visit and we can chat.
What is your experience or opinion on native grasses? Why are these invasive grasses considered improved pasture? Growth rates, hardiness, nutrition levels? And how should I decide how long to let a pasture rest to be most ideal?
I have a lot of experience with native grasses in Southern Arizona. That’s all we have in the high grasslands at 3600 feet elevation. Mostly Gama grasses but an array of others as well. Excellent forage and what is suited for that climate. The grasses I have here won’t grow in Arizona because of inadequate rainfall. The grasses I have in the video, do very well in our soils which are mostly sandy loam. The fertility of these soils is quite poor but the grasses in the video grows quite well if fertility is enhanced (either chemical fertilizer or chicken litter or unrolling hay etc). I am unrolling hay to increase fertility. These grasses grow a lot of tonnage per acre and are therefore excellent for grazing increased numbers of animals on smaller acreage amounts. For instance, 1 animal unit in southern Arizona was 40 acres/cow per year. On my pastures here, I am at about 1.5-2 acres per year per animal unit with these grasses. How long to let a pasture rest depends on rainfall, temperature, location in the country etc. The easiest thing to look at is the tips of the grass leaves. When the tips are pointed again, the grass is fully recovered. In my location, this is typically 30-45 days.
@@cliffhonnasregenerativerancher thank you so much. That's the best answer I've been able to get so far. I'm new to the world of grass identification, and learning the nutritional values at each stage of growth. This is all very exciting to me though. I have goats for now, but as they clear and fertilize the woodlands I hope to be ready for a milk cow in a few years.
This is a fantastic video. I’m outside of college station and trying to regenerate our acreage. What are your thoughts on rye, Texas blue grass and fescue varieties as well as planting some of these with the varieties you mentioned? Also, the varieties you mentioned would be ok for sheep and other livestock too?
Thank you for watching! The only fescue that may grow here is Chisolm (a variety developed in Oklahoma). I would try a sack of that but our summers may not be hospitable for most other varieties. I don’t know anything about Texas Blue. Other commenters have said that sheep won’t eat Bahia well, so I don’t know.
Im starting a ranch in central texas and this was a great informational video. I do have a question, do you worry about one specific type of grass overtaking another? Or have you found that they co mingle well and do not compete to the point where one grass dominates?
Do you know of any sheep people near you?? Do you hear what they’re grazing their sheep on in TX? I’m trying to find people that graze Bermuda and Bahia. My sheep won’t touch either of it
This is a great video. Thank you Cliff. Greg Judy always talks about unrolling hay to get grass going. Is that an option in your area? We don't get the rain in TX like G. Judy does. Will the the sprig grasses choke out any seeding grasses and take over? Have you seen one type of runner push out the others?
I started unrolling hay this year. The result is absolutely amazing. The uneaten hay decomposes and the Bermuda grass really grows aggressively with the extra fertility. We actually get about the same amount of rain here as Greg Judy does in Missouri. I was astounded when I googled it. The sprigged grasses can choke out any seeded grasses like rye and clover but I have clover starting to explode in the spring before the Bermuda wakes up to grow. Still figuring that part out. I planted Ball clover and it does well in our soils. I have not seen one type push out the other but I will tell you that I think Tifton 85 spreads the fastest. Great questions! Thanks
Yes great video. I’m acquiring land in Hubbard Tx and looking to rebuild my pasture after it being leased to the neighbor who ran 6 cattle for the last 3 years. Would you have a recommendation on what grass to seed for future pasture raised sheep, goat, and chickens?
Those post oaks are susceptible to dying when roots ran over during dozing work. Some post oaks can take up to 7 years before they die after you have dozed. Between that stress, the drought, and the wilt you lose more trees than you want for sure.
cliff , i had a lot of Bahia grass on my place, i was told by my vet it would cut two productive years off my cows. grass so tough it would wear out their teeth earlier. i would image you know a few in college station, ask them if that is correct?
I suppose that could be true but I don’t know. I typically cull the older cows at 12-14 and they seem to hold their condition just fine which makes me assume their teeth are ok. I must admit, I haven’t looked to see. I just recently culled two cows that were 18 and their condition was still great.
Have you any paddocks with both Bermuda and bahia grasses? I am curious if a deeper rooted grass will preserve moisture in the soil for a more shallow rooted grass. Water has that molecular attraction to itself. Also does anyone ever cut in a small amount alfalfa into their pastures? I am more of an ornamental turf guy, this is new to me.
Yes, I have pastures with both. The Bermuda is much deeper rooted and definitely does better in drought conditions. I have thought about alfalfa. My next project is to get a no till drill so I can start testing some of that.
I have a pretty good stand of Ball clover that is slowly spreading and I’m planting Blackhawk Arrowleaf clover. Also broadcasting different types of rye grass.
I have Ball clover that is well established in one pasture and has a foothold in 2 more pastures. I also have Blackhawk Arrowleaf clover that is starting to make a showing. I have some ryegrass but am working on improving that.
Yes sir, I do. I have Ball clover, Blackhawk Arrowleaf clover, and added Zulu Arrowleaf clover this last Fall. All was broadcast and have a pretty good stand in the spring.
You can and we do to some extent but in this region, the weeds take over and compete for water and fertility and markedly are detrimental to the grass stand.
