pasture problems

[bfn5005]

in the fall we planted a pasture mix along with wheat for a ground cover. This spring the only thing that came up was the wheat. My first question is, is the wheat a good source of grass for the cattle to consume throughout the summer or is it not worth them being out on it? my second question is, I have not enough cattle for the amount of pasture I have. My dad wants to cut and bale it up into high moisture bales if it grows to fast. Since they are already out on it and crapping in it, is it still safe and a good idea to cut and bale to use in the winter or should you not bale in pastures?  ANY HELP is greatly appreciated.

 

[BadgerFan]

An annual like wheat will be fine for the cows to eat.  In fact, it will act as the cover crop until the pasture mix gets rooted. 

As far as baling it, putting it in high moisture bales is a good choice compared to dry hay because the fermentation inside the high moisture bales will kill most disease issues.  It can work fine.

 

[Okie Boy]

Don't know how it will be in Pa.  In NW Oklahoma we pasture wheat into the ground in May. If you plan on it after that it is tough and heads out and they won't eat it good anyway. So don't plan on the wheat for all summer. Talk to the person you bought the mix from . What else is in it. Will those species come on this spring? As far as haying goes it can make good hay if cut at the right time. The manure will not hurt but you might want to limit the area the cattle are on so they will utilize the area they have and leave the rest for haying. Hope this helps some.

 

[KCK]

Your wheat will be harvestable, therefore totally dry, in the June/July area since it is winter wheat. You won't get too much more time out of it, then you can bale it. Producers around here (OKLA) do that. Where are you? You could call your land grant university and talk to someone in the plant science department about that for a true educated speech. Something about wheat pasture poisoning when at a rapid point of growth.
Quote from OSU Fact Sheet....
"Wheat pasture poisoning is a non-infectious metabolic disorder of cows grazed on wheat pasture. It occurs most frequently in mature cows that are in the latter stages of pregnancy or are nursing calves, and that have been grazing wheat pasture for 60 days or more. Cows with wheat pasture poisoning have low blood concentrations of both calcium and magnesium. While a similar, tetany-like condition may occur in stocker cattle, its incidence is extremely low."

Down here in Oklahoma, with the price of wheat being pretty low, there are still cattle on wheat pasture in a lot of places.  So, read check out this document for some help...
http://osufacts.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1806/B-818.pdf

 

[bfn5005]

Your wheat will be harvestable, therefore totally dry, in the June/July area since it is winter wheat. You won't get too much more time out of it, then you can bale it. Producers around here (OKLA) do that. Where are you? You could call your land grant university and talk to someone in the plant science department about that for a true educated speech. Something about wheat pasture poisoning when at a rapid point of growth.
Quote from OSU Fact Sheet....
"Wheat pasture poisoning is a non-infectious metabolic disorder of cows grazed on wheat pasture. It occurs most frequently in mature cows that are in the latter stages of pregnancy or are nursing calves, and that have been grazing wheat pasture for 60 days or more. Cows with wheat pasture poisoning have low blood concentrations of both calcium and magnesium. While a similar, tetany-like condition may occur in stocker cattle, its incidence is extremely low."

Down here in Oklahoma, with the price of wheat being pretty low, there are still cattle on wheat pasture in a lot of places.  So, read check out this document for some help...
http://osufacts.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1806/B-818.pdf

so are you telling me if i keep my cattle out grazing on the wheat for more then sixty days they have a chance of getting wheat pasture poisoning?? they are a 2 year old cow and a 3 year old cow with calfs at their side.

 

[KCK]

I am not telling you anything. That is from the link I posted. You should always contact someone in Education about it. That PDF should have contact info for some of the guys at OSU that you could ask. So, call them, tell them your story. It isn't a true wheat pasture since you planted grass, too. Make sure you let them know that, too.
The other advice here comes well, too. We have found that the cattle don't like it once it heads out, either. The high moisture bales are also what works best for us.

 

[Okie Boy]

The grass tettany problem can usually be taken care of with a balances mineral mix. I have never had a problem that I know of and I graze cows with calves many years.