how much land do you need to...

[bornthrifty]

raise one or two grass fed beef cows,

and one grass fed dairy cow? (average 3 cows at a time)



assuming the purchase of feed during the months nothing is growing?




2nd question

how much land if you wanted to grow the food for those cows also, so you wouldn't have to purchase it during the winter...
(borrowed equiptment to work the land, so no real cost there just time and some sort of trade....)

 

[Beekissed]

I would say that it is all relative and depends on the quality of the land, really.

They say on normal pasture conditions you can stock 1 cow per acre. I think you would have to ask an experienced farmer how much acres of hay you would have to grow to feed the same amount. My experience has been that one acre doesn't really fill the needs of a dairy cow and they will run out of grass in the hot seasons.

For some reason, 2 acres of hay for each cow is sticking in my head but I'm pretty sure that is relative to the type of hay/pasture also.

 

[freemotion]

Depends on where you live, how many cuttings of hay you are likely to get, and how rich your soil is to grow it. You can find averages, but there are a lot of "it depends!"

I hope to get a steer for beef one day. I have about two acres of pasture, but it was forest when I moved here and it has a long way to go before it can support an eating machine. Intensive grazing methods will make the land go further and feed more animals. They also improve the land faster with less work and equipment. Gotta be organized, though. Which I am not, yet.

 

[cmjust0]

raise one or two grass fed beef cows,

and one grass fed dairy cow? (average 3 cows at a time)



assuming the purchase of feed during the months nothing is growing?




2nd question

how much land if you wanted to grow the food for those cows also, so you wouldn't have to purchase it during the winter...
(borrowed equiptment to work the land, so no real cost there just time and some sort of trade....)

In Kentucky, the generally accepted stocking rate for cow/calf pairs on clear pasture is 2.5acres per mama cow...so, 7.5 acres of actual pasture.

As for hay, around here, the generally accepted figure is that you need one big round bale of hay per head per month...and we feed hay about five months. So, if you had three head to feed for five months...you'd need to harvest 15 roundbales.

Assuming a roundbale weighs...I dunno...1200lbs...you're looking at needing to harvest around 9 tons of hay. Last I read, the average grass hay harvest in Kentucky was just a little over 2 tons/acre/year...so, you're looking at needing another 4-5 acres for hay production.

So...12-13 acres, at a minimum, provided it's all 100% clean pasture and that at least 4-5 acres are flat and hayable..

Keep in mind, though -- that's in Kentucky! Different locations have different stocking rates, different hay yields, different durations of hay growing and hay feeding periods, etc..

 

[Ohioann]

Call your state extension service or nearest agricultural college. They will know for your location. What you need in Ohio is going to be different than Arizona, Alaska or Florida!

 

[bibliophile birds]

Call your state extension service or nearest agricultural college. They will know for your location. What you need in Ohio is going to be different than Arizona, Alaska or Florida!

and make sure you tell them what kind of system you plan on using. like free said, an intensive grazing system is going to be very different to an open pasture set-up. you will need less hay in an intensive system but you will have to factor in the fact that you won't really be setting aside a whole section just for hay either (unless you happen to have a lot of extra land).

for our 20 Longhorns and the 12 horses that are in with them, we feed 2 round bales a day (so ~60/month) in the worst of winter- and that's with them having about 50 acres to graze. those 50 acres have been pretty neglected in recent years so the grazing options aren't wonderful. that's why we are moving into intensive grazing- less hay to feed and it will improve the pasture infinitely.

 

[rty007]

In Poland we have what is called a " DJP - duża jednostka przeliczeniowa" simplifying, translating into a "big unit count" BUC in short those are numbers from 2004, and I cannot find the current one, will post those later, but the regulations said that the number of BUC should not accede 1,5BUC/1ha(1ha=2,5ac)

Male cattle over the age of 2 - 1,4 BUC [2,4 ac]
Male cattle between the age of 1 and 2 - 0,8 BUC [1,3 ac]
Male cattle between the age of 6 months and 1 year - 0,3 BUC [0,5 ac]
Female cattle over the age of 18 months - 1 BUC [1,5 ac]
Female cattle between the age of 12 and 18 months - 0,8 BUC [1,3 ac]
Female cattle between the age of 6 and 12 months - 0,3 BUC [ 0,5 ac]
Cattle under the age of 6 moths 0,15 BUC [0,25 ac]
Goats - 0,15 BUC [0,25 ac]
Sheep there are some variation but basically - 0,1 BUC [0,2 ac]

the number in [] brackets are those? is the area needed for one head, ac being a short for an acres I wasn't sure.

 

[bornthrifty]

you guys are great!

thanks so much