Tag Archives: grass-fed beef

As previously stated, we feed our cattle mainly forages.  These come in the form of grasses, clovers and legumes.  Our cows enjoy year-round access to pasture.  We also supplement with hay, especially during the dull autumn days and into winter.  This will last up until the spring, when the pastures once again begin to flourish.

During the shorter, finally colder days of February; we have been studying and planning how to bolster the nutritional content of our pasture.  This pasture will serve as the main source of food from April though September and on into October.  We are researching which plants (white clover, alfalfa, and various grasses) to add into the pasture.  We also believe (see postings about you are what you eat) that the key to the whole process is the soil.  We will begin soil testing in the early spring and then will begin the process of building the soil through natural methods.  This will likely include organic/ all natural fertilizers, increasing organic matter, and lime.  We may add manure or possibly turn the soil over and replant.

We have to recognize the Hartzler family for their help and advice as we go forward headlong.  We have learned a lot just through simple discussions with them.  The Hartzler family runs a dairy operation in Wooster, Ohio.  They supply organic, all natural, hormone free milk in traditional glass bottles.  We highly suggest stopping in to enjoy some of their famous chocolate milk and some heifer trails ice cream.  The Hartzler’s provide us with soil testing and some of the amendments, such as organic pelleted fertilizer.

We have found through this winter that our two year old bred heifers consume roughly 1/2 bale of hay per head per day.  This varies based upon the quality of the hay that we provide them.  It also fluctuated based upon the amount of grass that they eat in a given day.  We provide constant access to a mineral block.  This compensates for some of the things that our soil lacks.  Two of the main soil deficiencies are vitamin E and Selenuim.  Many farmers in the area administer vitamin E and Selenium injections within 24 hours of birth to prevent the White Muscle disease.

Prior to purchasing our cows, we read and researched information about how much hay a cow would eat in a given day.  Various places put that amount to somewhere between 1/3 of a bale to one entire bale per head per day.  This varies dependent upon the total density of the bale and the quality of the hay that is contained within that particular bale.  We plan to go on the 1/2 of a bale per head per day model from here on out.  These are of course the traditional small square bales, not the big round (like the ones in the top image) nor large square bales.  We have also discovered that we need to add straw bedding in smaller amounts as the cows seem to find the straw a delicacy for one reason or another.