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Judy,
I have grazed alfalfa stands off in the fall for several years, & have
never had a single incidence of bloat. The rules I follow are: never
begin grazing until after the alfalfa goes dormant after a hard frost;
I always supplement the cattle with a bit of lower quality hay, a small
amount of grain, or corn stalks (sometimes using all 3 at the same time)
to keep them reasonably full at all times; & I NEVER give them a fresh
break of alfalfa when it's covered with frost -- I always will wait
until the sun &/or wind have evaporated the frost before turning the
cattle in on it. You will also want to watch the amount of forage you
offer them at one time - I always try to give them only what they can
clean up in 24 hrs. or so... that way, I figure they are forced to eat
most of the stems as well as the leaves, too. Having a fair amount of
grass in your stand will also help to dilute the alfalfa, too. When
watching my cattle on a fresh break, I've noticed that they strip the
leaves off the alfalfa 1st, then will eat the grass in the sward, & then
will eat the upper alfalfa stems & remaining leaves. If your daily
allowance is sized right to prevent them from gorging on just leaves,
I'd be very surprised if you have any trouble & you shouldn't need to
feed any surfactants.
Bruce Gerloff
Circle G Grassfed Beef
P.O. Box 105
Marengo, IL , USA 60152
----- Original Message -----
From: Judy Decker
To: graze-l@taranaki.ac.nz
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 8:25 PM
Subject: [Graze-l] grazing alfalfa/grass
We are, with a bit of trepidation, preparing to graze a stand of
alfalfa/Lakota brome. The Lakota brome is too tall to go into winter, is
plentiful in the stand, and needs harvested. We've taken 4 cuttings off
the stand this year. It has had 2 moderate frosts upon it. We know we
need to send them in full, but I am curious as to whether a bit of soap,
like Basic H could be added to their daily water to provide some
surfactant activitiy in the rumen. Anyone tried this? Pro's, Con's?
I will add that we have a good amount of alfalfa in an E free fescue
pasture, along with red clover, and the cattle seem very sensible in
their grazing. I find plenty of alfalfa not grazed at all in that
pasture, across the season. (They seem to prefer the smartweed to
alfalfa when it is in season.) When the E free fescue goes summer
dormant, they add more alfalfa to their grazing.
Thanks,
Judy
Renaissance Farms Ltd
Bill and Judy Decker
Emporia, KS
http://www.renfarms.com
