| 2001 Project Report Scott Grazing Demonstration Project |
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Tom Scott purchased three 150 -gallon heavy-duty plastic water tanks with floats to move as the cattle are moved through the rotation. Skids were mounted on the tanks to improve their movement between paddocks when livestock were rotated. |
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The system was stocked on May 16th, with 160 head of newly acquired Angus and Angus-cross bred cows that began calving immediately after being moved to the first pasture. The cows ranged from 4-10 years of age. |
| At the start of the grazing season, pasture size was set using one strand of polywire electric fence and step in posts. The wire was moved ahead of the cattle. No wire was placed between the cattle and areas previously grazed as they only grazed the newly allocated, ungrazed forage. At the beginning of the grazing season, the rotation went quickly, as the cows were on pastures ranging in size from 9 acres to 30 acres. The cattle were moved every two to five days. |  |
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Pastures on the system were very productive. After measuring and evaluating the growth of the pastures, the average total production, considering regrowth, was approximately 51/2 tons per acre. One 80 acre pasture was hayed as the forage became too tall and mature prior to grazing during the first rotation. |
| Cows selected species based on their palatability but in general grazing was very even across the paddocks. The grass was generally grazed to a 4-5 inch height and the alfalfa to an 8 inch height Grasshoppers were plentiful in late summer and reduced forage yields. Thistles were a sporadic problem in several paddocks. Thistles were clipped before flowering. Insects (thistle bugs) were present in large numbers and actively defoliated many plants. | |
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| More details and photos... | |
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