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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Winter sowing red clover

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  • From: "Liz Pike" <liz AT laughingbrookfarm.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Winter sowing red clover
  • Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 21:20:15 -0500

> The cattle
> really like the forage, and we think our finished weights and the quality
of
> our meat shows the value of the clover.

there you go...I was thinking horse...clover & horse don't mix. Sorry....

BUT, since we are just starting the research phase for potentially adding
grass-fed beef to LBF, I'll keep this information stored for near-future
use.

>Fescue is, in my humble Truman-esque opinion, not worth a darn for
anything, if one has a choice.

Unfortunately, here in NC, fescue is one of our few options. There are
others, but none grow as well as fescue in our long humid summers.
Unfortunately again, it isn't great for horses, but it's ok--as long as
you're not breeding. The endophyte infected fescue is hard to get rid of,
and will infect those pastures reseeded with non-infected seed within 3 to 5
years. It has adverse affects on respiration rates, but in such a small
percentage most owners don't bother feeding anything else (& the horses love
it), though some owners are switching to bermuda grass

In doing research on this, I stumbled across the effects of endophyte
infected fescue on cattle, which greatly surprised me. It seems to affect
them more than horses, and in other ways than horses, yet that's what
everyone here feeds their cattle. Ah well, learning every day...

I'd hoped to graze cows with horses, but that may not be an option. More
info to file away...

Liz Pike
Laughingbrook Farm
Westfield NC
http://www.marketfarming.com new content added daily!!
http://www.laughingbrookfarm.com









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