[Brandon]

Sorry In advanced new to the forum (And new to cattle farming, cash crop since I was a kid and now venturing out on my own at 27) thanks in advance for any help. I visit multiple large dairy farms a day as I am a road tech for a John Deere dealership and see them chopping, hauling, packing and covering there hay for feed and it got me thinking, could I do that with grass clippings? I have 4 head of dexter cows and as it sits I give them 1-2 “loads” of grass clippings when I’m mowing but seeing Large dairy farms years doing that got me thinking if I could do that with my clippings. I have on my farm an old cement slab where I removed a falling down old granary and wondered if I could mow, pile up the clippings and pack them down and cover them with a tarp to make myself some haylage and have a feed alternative to hay and grain through the winter. Is there anyone on here that has attempted this? I read online lots of folks using sealed containers but don’t want that many of them sitting around. Let me know what y’all think, thank you

 

[MontanaBredRancher]

Sorry In advanced new to the forum (And new to cattle farming, cash crop since I was a kid and now venturing out on my own at 27) thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome OP

I have 4 head of dexter cows and as it sits I give them 1-2 “loads” of grass clippings when I’m mowing

and wondered if I could mow, pile up the clippings and pack them down and cover them with a tarp to make myself some haylage and have a feed alternative to hay and grain through the winter. Is there anyone on here that has attempted this?

I have Dexters as well...Although I do not personally feed my cattle grass clippings, that sounds like a perfectly fine idea...The only thing I would worry about with the piling up of clippings, is colic.
If you are piling up these clippings for winter, and you don't realize that with every load you are adding in some sort of sand or fine rock dust, the cattle will be consuming it. This can lead to colic, which can ultimately lead to death. Colic can be extremely dangerous, mainly in horses (I have experienced it ☹😤 with my horses), but also common in cattle and goats and sheep. As I said, I have never done something like this, but it seems like a safe idea.

My feeding routine and demographics: 4head of cattle for 2 acres (1.5 acres of pasture) and 2 flakes of alfalfa and 2 flakes of oat hay per week. More cattle, but I split it into 4head for you and 2 acres.

Another thing with piling the clippings for winter: bugs, roaches, wasps.
Sometimes insects like roaches and wasps find homes in grass clippings or stacked hay. It really depends on what the weather is like. What state are you located in? Also, your way of covering the pile matters too...