Spreader Pasture maint., manure management?

[canoetrpr]

I'm quite new to this so I don't really have an idea of what implements would be necessary for pasture maintenance and manure management.

I have 16 acres of flat pasture. My Kubota L3400 and Woods 60" rotary cutter are on the way.

I have a fair amount of manure left over by the previous owners - in a pile - which I would like to spread over my pastures.

The pastures also have manure that was not collected, which I would like to collect and add to my manure pile to compost before I can spread it.

Anything else I should be doing to keep my pastures in good shape?

What implements do I need for pasture maintenance?

I am guessing I need a manure spreader. What would I use to collect manure from the pastures? Is a harrow of some sort required to break up a bit of the ground on the pasture from time to time - after I spread the manure for example for good areation.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

 

[hudr]

I would highly reccomend aerating the pastures. On all of our grazing land and hay meadows we pull a 15' Aerway across them once a year in the spring. Behind the Aerway we have a 15' harrow to spread out the manure a bit. We don't gather the manure before this, just scatter it w/ the harrow. BTW, we rent the Aerway and harrow for about $4/acre and pull it with our own tractor. This process has really helped build up our topsoil.
In your case, I think I would spread the pile then aerate/harrow.
Are the fields rough? If so, you might want to think about breaking them up with a set of discs or plows to level them before pulling a harrow and maybe a roller across them.
Also remember, these are fairly long processes. You won't see much improvement the 1st season. It will take time. Some of our fields we have been working on for 5 years or more. We do soil tests every 3 years to see where we are on nutrients. Soil tests, thats another thing you'll want to do depending on what you want to grow. Your local extension agent should be able to help with that.
my .02

 

[swiftboot]

not sure about how to deal with the pile of manure, but the pasture paddies can be dealt with by a pasture drag, especially if you plan to keep cattle on the land. A couple sheets of runway steel chained together and dragged accross the pasture will pulverize the dried manure and smear the otherwise wet ones. I made a drag out of nine tractor trailor tires by cutting holes from one side of tread to the other and chaining them together with a piece of 4" pipe at either end. It is heavy but crushes everything in its path and will last til the chains rust off.

 

[canoetrpr]

swiftboot:

Sounds like a chain harrow would do what you have achieved with your setup. Do I understand this correctly?

 

[canoetrpr]

hudr:

Thanks for those thoughts. How big a tractor do you have to pull that Aerway and the harrow?

I don't know for sure but I'm guessing that my 34hp machine won't be able to drag your setup. Renting sounds like they way to go though for a once a year job like this.

My pastures are in relatively good shape - bumpy in parts though. I'm guessing this is just from compacting by the horses that were here before - and maybe even grass growing over piles of manure (doubt the previous owner was good about breaking them up with a harrow).

I just plan to keep the pastures open as grass and am looking into putting a few head of highland cattle on them in the spring - some thing to keep this place looking like a farm . Bit empty without livestock.

 

[hudr]

we have a 4320 JD (116hp) that pulls it OK in 3rd gear w/ duals on the rear. Our 5020JD (133hp) does an even better job. Of course, those aerways come in smaller sizes too.
If you just have a few bumpy spots I think a chain harrow would smooth those out after a while.

 

[Cottonhawk]

I use a 6' raer mower, a manure spreader, and a flexible tine harrow (www.wingfields.com) to manage my pastures. The tine harrow is very helpful to break up the manure turning them into fertilizer. I drag the tine harrow whenever any of the pastures have too many piles on them.

 

[theboman]

A disc and a section of chain link fence will work nicely for opening the surface and getting the goodies worked into the top soil.

OR, get the manure and create a nice big compost pile. You garden and your wife will love you for years to come.

 

[Soundguy]

Unless you plan to spen 24/7 picking up pasture pies.. I'd forget about collecting pasture maneuer, for composting then distribution. I use a heavy chain drag to bust up the maneuer in the pasture, and I dump my barn collections in a pile. I turn it now and then with my loader. If I had more animals, I would then pile into a maneuer spreader and spread periodically.. but I only have a few hay burners right now.

Soundguy

 

[canoetrpr]

Ok soundguy - I feel pretty daft now!

I had always assumed that my manure pile came from the previous owners picking up the manure from the pasture.

Of course you've cleared it up for me that they never did this! With a high degree of probability my manure pile is constituted of manure that their horses left in the stalls.

I'm not a horse person at all - so y'all will have laugh at me for this. I kennel my dogs in the stalls from time to time for a few hours when we are out somewhere and since they don't poop in there - somehow the thought just had not occured to me that horses were not house trained!

I feel pretty silly now

 

[deerefan]

My wife and I own and operate a large horse ranch in Louisiana. We have 3 simple implements and our pastures are always in good shape. We pick stalls and load the manure and urine soaked shavings into the spreader. We spread it in the pasture and follow up dragging the pastures using an old chain link gate. I then go in w/ my landscape rake. It is strong enough to break the top layer soil to allow the nutrients into the root system. The ONLY time the pastures are disced is for rye planting just before the first cool front. I guess you could say our strategy is all natural. We DO NOT use any chemicals due to our horses health and sensitivities. Horses have poor digestive systems and are very succeptible to colic. Also, since the best way to spread these chemicals is drop or broadcast, maybe spray, the wind picks it up and spreads it. I don't care to ingest it. We have farmers around us stop in and ask how, w/ a horse per acre, do we keep our grass steady. We do not give them all the secrets, but will definitely give advice. We also apread the manure between the rows of our pine. These trees were waist high when we moved in, they are now roughly 30 - 45 feet tall. So, if you think I'm full of s**t, well, you're right! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif My wife and I take a lot of pride in our pastures b/c we know the animals are getting the best grass possible. So, simply put, use the manure as fertilizer...you will be pleased with the results. Get a good manure spreader and a good rake. You should be pleased with the results.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I feel pretty daft now!
)</font>

Don't. Every time we do something new in life.. it's our first time...

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( somehow the thought just had not occured to me that horses were not house trained!
)</font>

Yep.. I think mine actually wait sometimes till they get in the stall! Seriously though. If you are curious.. head out to the maneuer pile and take a shovel... dig a bit.. horse maneuer is in the form of balls.. fecal balls to be exact by the book... cowpies are .. uh.. plops... I'll bet your pile is mostly bedding and balls /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.. Be aware that the plops and balls break down to a nce 'soil' on the lower levels o fthe pile. Also.. don't be alarmed to see a few 'plops' on the pile. Lots of oats and corn sometimes grow up on my maneuer pile.. and a caw will walk and stand on/in the pile and eat the green tops to within about a foot of the pile.. then unload and leave.. thus leaving cow maneuer in the horse maneuer pile.. etc..

Soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

I'll add one thing to deerfans good advice.. cow poop isn't real harsh on the pasture.. horse poop is.. lots more nitrogen.. thus more active.. and can burn grass.. that's why horse people drag thair pastures real often.. as opposed to cattle people who are way more lax about it..

Soundguy

 

[deerefan]

Exactly....the ammonia in the urine and nitrogen in the manure can help and hurt a pasture. Definitely spread it well and wear a mask when cleaning stalls...the urine odor can be real strong.

 

[canoetrpr]

deerefan:

Thats great info! I might have to borrow a manure spreader from my neighbour for now.

I'm real glad the folks on this group talked me into getting a FEL with my rig. My neighbour does not have one and is most pleased to trade tractor time for his expertise and many implements he's got.

The landscape rake is something that I will consider getting along with the chain link. Does not sound like thse would be too expensive. Pretty sure my land could use some opening up.

BTW Are you planting the rye for harvesting?

I too am planning to go completely chemical free. We hope to have some highland cattle on this pasture and grow steers for beef. Would be nice to eat meat that hasn't been grown on a pasture with chemicals.

Do you ever seed your pastures?

 

[deerefan]

I plant the rye as a good winter grass for horses to graze on. My bajia grass dies off after the first lite frost so I need a good, durable grass to carry me thru the winter. I have one pasture that the previous owner destroyed that I plan to reseed this spring with bajia. The landscape rake is inexpensive and it does a great job of "dethatching" the grass and letting it breathe. All the implements I use cost me under 1500 total. I use my JD 5103 and my 52 8N for the work. I would like to get a bigger manure spreader to pull behind my 5103. The one I have now I pull w/ the 8N but it can be pulled w/ a large ATV. I use an 8 ft set of discs for chopping in the fall when I plant rye. It is good to chop your pastures from time to time to till in the good nutrients and turn over fresh soil. The rye planting allows me to do this. But, keep in mind, no matter how much grass you have, if you put more than 1 horse per acre, it will all be for nothing. Don't let them over graze.