Our green pastures are turning brown. April saw a few drops of rain, however May and June, to date, have been bone dry. Couple this with last year’s drought and it could mean hard times for mid-Missouri grazers. Don and I have done some preparing though. We are grazing more wooded areas, being more judicious about lot sizes and in early May, we made arrangements to rent pasture for the bulls.

Renting pasture is new to Don and I so we are taking small steps. I believe, however, that this will be a win-win situation for us and the lessor. First of all, we can hold off feeding hay which also includes the expense of purchasing it and the time and expense of feeding the bales. For us, the stock can be transported to the food source cheaper than the food source be transported to the stock. The win for the lessor is that his pasture land will get some improvement through managed grazing after years of no stable management practices. Joe told us about the land’s use on the day Don and I went to walk it and determine if we could use it. I was glad to hear that he would like to make better use of his pasture. Its disappointing to see land lose its nutrient values or become overgrown, but that’s another blog for another time.

Back to feeding hay… Don and I have decided to purchase more hay than we have in the past as opposed to baling our own fields. Our plan is to create more stockpile and rejuvenate those hay fields with hoof traffic and cow pies.