swath grazing alfalfa with dairy cows

This week we tried a couple of new things with our grazing system. We cut a paddock of Reid canary grass and a section of alfalfa with the discbine. Most of the alfalfa got baled up for winter storage but we let the cows graze the rest of the swaths on the ground last night as an experiment. They went out after milking hungry because they ran out of TMR in the barn which probably was a good thing...it encouraged them to eat it. Our neighbours called us concerned that the cows were out in the wrong area - because, from the road it looked like they were in the area of 'just baled'

We are happy with how it worked out. They ate more than i was expecting and they weren't waiting at the gate in the morning to get back to the barn. That to me means contentment. We found that traditional grazing of ripe alfalfa is not a desired meal to our beloved Holsteins. They pick away at the tops and leave a lot behind, tramping more than they eat. Bloat is also a cause for concern when it comes to grazing too much alfalfa especially if it is damp. By cutting it, letting it wilt and dry down the consumption was pretty good. I'm not going to say they cleaned it all up, but perhaps the area was just too large. Of the cut alfalfa in the photo above we fenced off about 2/3 of what you can see, it was maybe 5 acres. The dry cows are in it now, cleaning off some more...we may in the end have to rake some up.

The reid canary grass on the other hand did not work out as well. The dry cows were fenced in on a very tight couple of swaths to encourage eating... by the end they were desperate to get out of it. It would seem they would starve before eating it and it is dry like hay at this point. We may try baling it and feeding it to calves or heifers.

Now on to the calves. We only have one paddock for them this summer becasue we are short of grass all around. this will mean feeding them hay throughout the summer and that is fine. Flies are my concern with them being in this one area the entire time. Overall they adjusted well to the new set up. 12 are on milk now and seemingly enjoying the freedom. I love that i get to do this everyday.