tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post910547251772009213..comments2023-11-07T06:51:41.301-06:00Comments on The Beginning Farmer: TBF 022 :: Listener Questions, an Interview with the Modern Farmer Boy, and a Hard Lesson LearnedEthan Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333115493519268802noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-561366100506117882013-08-08T12:25:51.312-05:002013-08-08T12:25:51.312-05:00Awesome interview Caleb! Can't wait for you to...Awesome interview Caleb! Can't wait for you to start your own show!Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12981395044699080982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-66694882383276105742013-08-07T22:43:07.662-05:002013-08-07T22:43:07.662-05:00"...If you had 30+ acres with quite a few wee..."...If you had 30+ acres with quite a few weeds how would you handle (burn, bale, graze, mow, etc.)?..."<br /><br />I had a wildfire go across an area of native grass on the farm once in late summer, and as soon as it rained it turned into an impressive stand of weeds. But, I've seen pastures that were burned in early spring that resulted in good stands of grass (if it rains soon after the burn). I'm not so sure that I would intentionally burn a pasture unless I was dealing with something like alot of little cedar trees.<br /><br />I have a 2 acre weaning pen that's always had a weed problem. In the past, I would brushhog when the weeds got to the point that I couldn't stand it anymore, and/or I'd put cattle in there for day or so to really stomp down the weeds, but the weeds never really went away.<br /><br />Last winter, I fed hay in that weaning pen at about 30-40 bales/acre (or bale grazing) to build up the fertility. Then in the spring, I mowed it with a riding lawnmower a few times to really keep the weeds down and let the grass grow (it didn't hurt that we actually got some rain this year). Now, it looks like there aren't that many weeds and the grass has really thickened up. It would take a number of years to cover 30 acres with that method if that's the entire farm, but it could be a long term project to slowly improve and weed-free-ify the pasture.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-89154238518576180132013-08-07T22:16:02.942-05:002013-08-07T22:16:02.942-05:00A few years ago, I read (possibly in Progressive F...A few years ago, I read (possibly in Progressive Farmer magazine??) about a family that bought some CRP land that they planned to eventually transition to pasture. <br /><br />They didn't want to buy out the contract, so they were used some of the emergency grazing/haying provisions allowed to bale or graze 1/3 of the acres every three years. They got a reduced payment on the acres they grazed/hayed and were able to actually manage the pasture somewhat as their livestock herd grew (although they also owned some non-CRP land which was used for the time periods when they couldn't graze the CRP).<br /><br />It might be a little irritating that someone would have to "manipulate" the system to get a little more out of the CRP program, but it might be an option instead of buying out the entire CRP contract. And, talk to the FSA before you follow any of my vague recollections to determine if I got any of that right.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.com