Cattle & Ranching

[Cajun 11705]

THAT is the specificity I was looking for.  Gracias!

[Cajun 11705]

I have one of these in the back of my Polaris.  Not enough for his 55 acres, but I figure I can keep the dove hunting spots I had cleared at bay for awhile with your suggested witches brews…

[Lat22 4010]

The diesel acts as a surfactant.  I just really wanted to say "surfactant".

Stem Spray Method | Texas Natural Resources Server (tamu.edu)

[davidg 4036]

That sprayer will work fine.  There are some recommendations for different spray nozzle sizes but I just use what came with the sprayer.  

Here’s a couple of PDFs I saved a few years ago with different mix ratios for different applications and a slide deck from one of the AgExt BrushBuster seminars.  There are some of the seminar videos on YouTube if you want more info.

 

 

ManagingDeep-RootedInvasions.pdf

 

brush-busters-quick-mixing-guide.pdf

 

Killin’ mesquite, honey locust and huisache is serious bidness.

 

 

Edited April 16 by davidg

[BabaYaga 15286]

17 hours ago, Cajun said:

Help a no-nothing here out ~ What do y'all spray the mesquite remnants with?

I don't think my cousin sprayed shit, but he had all that cleared area hit with a disc, then plowed, and then had grass seed planted.

Is he going to get a nasty surprise soon?

 

Yeah, he's a mesquite small-bush farmer now

[BabaYaga 15286]

3 hours ago, davidg said:

Killin’ mesquite, honey locust and huisache is serious bidness.

 

[Grimas 669]

I came across an interesting Youtube channel of an outback ranch manager in central Western Australia who manages 3500 head on 1 million acres.  Interesting technology where he's setup Wi-Fi across the property at all their watering holes and repeater stations, self-mustering yards, daily repairs and lots of feral animal elimination... 

 

Edited April 18 by Grimas

[Cajun 11705]

On 4/16/2024 at 8:34 AM, Lat22 said:

The diesel acts as a surfactant.  I just really wanted to say "surfactant".

Stem Spray Method | Texas Natural Resources Server (tamu.edu)

I eschew such temptations.

[fattyflattie 4639]

5 hours ago, Grimas said:

I came across an interesting Youtube channel of an outback ranch manager in central Western Australia who manages 3500 head on 1 million acres.  Interesting technology where he's setup Wi-Fi across the property at all their watering holes and repeater stations, self-mustering yards, daily repairs and lots of feral animal elimination... 

 

From what I remember when I was there, seems overgrazed.  Sort of joking. Just unbelievably desolate. 

[BabaYaga 15286]

15 hours ago, Grimas said:

I came across an interesting Youtube channel of an outback ranch manager in central Western Australia who manages 3500 head on 1 million acres.  Interesting technology where he's setup Wi-Fi across the property at all their watering holes and repeater stations, self-mustering yards, daily repairs and lots of feral animal elimination... 

 

Reminds me of a great doc on Netflix called "Muster Dogs".  It's a challenge-doc for five ranchers to turn Aussie Kelpie pups into champion muster dogs over a year (I think).  Those ranches are so isolated and technology and resources are so scarce, the muster dogs are absolutely critical to many ranchers to help move and control their herds.  

[Grimas 669]

6 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Reminds me of a great doc on Netflix called "Muster Dogs".  It's a challenge-doc for five ranchers to turn Aussie Kelpie pups into champion muster dogs over a year (I think).  Those ranches are so isolated and technology and resources are so scarce, the muster dogs are absolutely critical to many ranchers to help move and control their herds.  

I really like the sessions where they are making bush fixes on equipment with Uncle Ant. Kinda reminds me of me and my dad fixing stuff - we kinda knew what we wanted to do and they eventually get the task done but it usually takes 3x more time than expected…

[Herbie Hancock 7341]

Should have 500 rolls put up right now and have sold another 200-ish. Second year in a row I haven’t even put 300 up and have zero to sell. Also second year in a row I fertilized with rain in the forecast for multiple days only for it to never show up. $810/ton for 33/0/0 and red diesel being $3/gallon is hard on a part-part time wannabe farmer. Maybe beef prices will drop and I can invest more money in another losing venture.

[tx 3 putt 76859]

3 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Should have 500 rolls put up right now and have sold another 200-ish. Second year in a row I haven’t even put 300 up and have zero to sell. Also second year in a row I fertilized with rain in the forecast for multiple days only for it to never show up. $810/ton for 33/0/0 and red diesel being $3/gallon is hard on a part-part time wannabe farmer. Maybe beef prices will drop and I can invest more money in another losing venture.

clarkson’s farm ?

[Cajun 11705]

Helluva a morning here in Frio Co...

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

Anyone have any input / experience on turning shit weeds into lush, green goodness?  Looking for some advice on how to get more native grasses and/or grazeable pasture on my property.  

Backstory:

Bought seven acres west of Dripping Springs and built a house a few years ago.  Front third of the property is Coastal with a big Oak mott near the road.  Back third was SOLID Cedar with a smattering of big Oaks here and there.  It was so thick, you couldn't even walk through it without a chainsaw.  Got all the Cedar cleared and stumps removed, and there's some decent soil there.  Obviously some rocky areas, but it's surprisingly good dirt.  I put down a bunch of Rye last winter, then hydroseeded a few areas adjacent to the house that did well this summer with all the rain.  But, the remainder of the areas that I cleared are covered with every type of weed, thistle, stickerburr and nettle imaginable.  

We're planning on bringing in some sort of livestock in the next two years or so.  Not super urgent since we already have an ag exemption with bees.  And, with such a small tract, it would just be a few goats or sheep or possibly 1-2 longhorns as pasture candy.  Not a farming / ranching operation by any stretch.  And, supplemental feeding is anticipated.  

So, here's my quandary... What's the best way to eradicate the undesirable plants and encourage native grasses or let the Coastal proliferate?  Do I bush hog it and try to keep the weeds low?  Spot treat where I can with herbicide?  Continue to overseed?  Bring in goats first to eat everything under the sun?  

[Herbie Hancock 7341]

You need to find a farmer with a spray rig and make friends with him. If you weren’t 4 hours away I’d do it for a case of beer +cost and it would take about 20 minutes. Glyphosate at 8oz per acre in February. Late April fling 300 lb/acre of fertilizer; bonus points if your feed store can inject Grazon or Duracor. Mid May, 4oz per acre glyphosate and 2oz per acre Pastora will finish clearing out anything else. Once you clear out the weeds and they aren’t choking out your grass you’ll see how much you need to sprig.

[Cajun 11705]

Man, apparently someone dumped Anton Chigurh's body in the brush near our ranch back in 1974...

[Kennythetiger 9374]

On 9/9/2024 at 1:43 PM, Spaulding Smails said:

Anyone have any input / experience on turning shit weeds into lush, green goodness?  Looking for some advice on how to get more native grasses and/or grazeable pasture on my property.  

Backstory:

Bought seven acres west of Dripping Springs and built a house a few years ago.  Front third of the property is Coastal with a big Oak mott near the road.  Back third was SOLID Cedar with a smattering of big Oaks here and there.  It was so thick, you couldn't even walk through it without a chainsaw.  Got all the Cedar cleared and stumps removed, and there's some decent soil there.  Obviously some rocky areas, but it's surprisingly good dirt.  I put down a bunch of Rye last winter, then hydroseeded a few areas adjacent to the house that did well this summer with all the rain.  But, the remainder of the areas that I cleared are covered with every type of weed, thistle, stickerburr and nettle imaginable.  

We're planning on bringing in some sort of livestock in the next two years or so.  Not super urgent since we already have an ag exemption with bees.  And, with such a small tract, it would just be a few goats or sheep or possibly 1-2 longhorns as pasture candy.  Not a farming / ranching operation by any stretch.  And, supplemental feeding is anticipated.  

So, here's my quandary... What's the best way to eradicate the undesirable plants and encourage native grasses or let the Coastal proliferate?  Do I bush hog it and try to keep the weeds low?  Spot treat where I can with herbicide?  Continue to overseed?  Bring in goats first to eat everything under the sun?  

Good morning Spaulding. 
As Herbie recommended, I too would either make friends with the closest farmer with a field sprayer, or hire a commercial sprayer for a year or two. Your glyphosate is going to kill everything- up here on the High Plains it works very well to kill early-season cheat grass and kochia. Just remember if you use it later in the spring it’s a kill everything chemical. You can talk to the sprayer guy and see if they have something similar to 2,4-D that might kill broadleaf weeds but leave the grass. 

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

Thank you @Herbie Hancock and @Kennythetiger.  Exactly the kind of input I was hoping for.  Saved both comments for reference early next spring.  Any harm in knocking it down this fall with a bush hog, or am I just compounding the problem by doing that?

[Herbie Hancock 7341]

No harm at all, but a waste of time and diesel unless you just need something to do or it will make it look nicer.

Coastal and most other grasses like warm soil temps, so when the soil temp (not ambient air, but soil temp) dips below 80 is when it starts to go dormant. That typically happens when you get a week or more of nighttime temps dropping into the 50’s.

The benefit to knocking down all those weeds is that they aren’t competing with your grass for water and sunlight, but when the grass goes dormant that’s a moot point so then it’s back to what I said above; if you just want to do it then go for it, but there’s no practical reason to do so until the spring. Plus, you’re gonna get some growth through the winter from your rye and some other random weeds so odds are you need to mow mid-March again anyways.

[Herbie Hancock 7341]

Good morning Spaulding. 
As Herbie recommended, I too would either make friends with the closest farmer with a field sprayer, or hire a commercial sprayer for a year or two. Your glyphosate is going to kill everything- up here on the High Plains it works very well to kill early-season cheat grass and kochia. Just remember if you use it later in the spring it’s a kill everything chemical. You can talk to the sprayer guy and see if they have something similar to 2,4-D that might kill broadleaf weeds but leave the grass. 

Glyphosate works as a surfactant, which you’ll need when running other chemicals in your tank. Glyphosate at lower doses will also knock out your smaller weeds without harming your grass, but this application has to be done immediately after cutting. If you spray your lower dose glyphosate within 3-5 days of cutting you’re good, if you wait longer than that then your grass will have recovered from the cutting and you will most likely stunt your grass until the next rain. Anyone that has their own spray rig should have the knowledge and chemical license to get exactly what needs to be done……should…….

[Hornbeliever 712]

I’m sorta in same boat with 7.5 acres and five bee hives.  Wonder what all these chemicals do to bees?

My yard is actually great as I have-and only want - two acres cleared but I’m having hard time keeping my gravel driveway a driveway.  Turns into grass very quickly and I’ve burned it off with flamethrower but that takes wayyyy too long.