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How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
#4567754
09/14/13 08:04 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 125
AO2000
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 125 |
The land that we added to our original piece had cattle on it for as long as I can remember... Looking at it from both an arieal view and by driving it, you can clearly see the difference between the original property and the newer property.. Mainly the thinning and trials that the cattle made.. How long are we looking at before those spaces are filled out?
Also, are they're any interventions I could apply that might speed up this process? I thought about going through the "bigger" spaces with a plow and opening up the soil to allow something to get in there and hopefully come up.. Would that even work? I'm not talking about huge open trails that were made, but noticeably bigger openings if you compare our original piece to the newer piece..
Lastly, I know this would effect native browse, but how severely? Could it have gotten to the point that the native browse wouldn't even come up anymore due to the cattle? The ranch wasn't over grazed; the owners were really good about cattle management.. But like any cattle, they left their scars on the land..
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: AO2000]
#4567841
09/14/13 08:36 PM
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 15,285
Tbar
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Make America Great Again
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: Tbar]
#4567858
09/14/13 08:41 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 32,156
txtrophy85
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Will depend a lot on the soil types. Certain types of soils are easily prone to compaction, which gives it that hard pan characteristic where nothing will grow.
If you have the means to lightly disc it, it would greatly benefit the property
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: txtrophy85]
#4567886
09/14/13 08:51 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 125
AO2000
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Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 125 |
Southern Duval Will depend a lot on the soil types. Certain types of soils are easily prone to compaction, which gives it that hard pan characteristic where nothing will grow.
If you have the means to lightly disc it, it would greatly benefit the property The newer property has a lot more typical south texas style short brush.. I wish I knew how to id some of it.. I think it'll do great, alot of diverse vegetation is pretty much all I can tell.. I was thinking about discing it but not too deep, keeping the discs more narrow..
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: txtrophy85]
#4567891
09/14/13 08:54 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,358
jshouse
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my new lease in north texas has been without cows for 4-5 years i believe and the place is beautiful, the meadows are thick with tall grasses and browse is thick. my other lease up here has cows for about 9 months a year and it is ugly, bare ground everywhere, cow patties, foot prints, huge difference. i bet you will start noticing a difference in a few years.
congrats on getting rid of them.
If I send my neighbors a text and ask them to give me feedback on my lawn and plant rye into a giant dong pattern, I'm probably going to get some less than positive feedback. Same goes here.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: AO2000]
#4567903
09/14/13 08:56 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,358
jshouse
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Southern Duval Will depend a lot on the soil types. Certain types of soils are easily prone to compaction, which gives it that hard pan characteristic where nothing will grow.
If you have the means to lightly disc it, it would greatly benefit the property The newer property has a lot more typical south texas style short brush.. I wish I knew how to id some of it.. I think it'll do great, alot of diverse vegetation is pretty much all I can tell.. I was thinking about discing it but not too deep, keeping the discs more narrow.. oh, heck, i have no clue about that land down there, probably wont ever notice a difference...
If I send my neighbors a text and ask them to give me feedback on my lawn and plant rye into a giant dong pattern, I'm probably going to get some less than positive feedback. Same goes here.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: jshouse]
#4567910
09/14/13 08:58 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 32,156
txtrophy85
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A sandier soil recovers quicker.
From what I've seen places with more clay content takes longer
Don't go crazy deep with the disc, just enough to break up the surface and get some oxygen in there
Keep the cows out and with some timely rains will be back to good by next summer
Take a picture that will give me a better idea of what your working with
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: txtrophy85]
#4567986
09/14/13 09:36 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 125
AO2000
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Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 125 |
A sandier soil recovers quicker.
From what I've seen places with more clay content takes longer
Don't go crazy deep with the disc, just enough to break up the surface and get some oxygen in there
Keep the cows out and with some timely rains will be back to good by next summer
Take a picture that will give me a better idea of what your working with It's been a little over a year and a half since the last cow was on the property.. Ill have to take some pics and post them up on here for the experts to let me know what they are, because haven't a clue
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: AO2000]
#4568595
09/15/13 01:40 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 32,156
txtrophy85
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If its been a year and a half since the cows were on it an the property is still scarred, I would say you have compacted soil issues.
Disc it up and get some native grass seeds from your extension office and bring the habitat back
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: txtrophy85]
#4569091
09/15/13 04:56 AM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 688
Fork-LegendV21
Tracker
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Tracker
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Posts: 688 |
If its been a year and a half since the cows were on it an the property is still scarred, I would say you have compacted soil issues.
Disc it up and get some native grass seeds from your extension office and bring the habitat back Were dealing with the same problem. Our rancher overgrazed big time on our place and you definately can see a difference in the neighbors property and ours. Pretty bare out there now, but most of the cows are gone now, so we need a bunch of rain and it should get better.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: Fork-LegendV21]
#4569365
09/15/13 01:09 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 7,807
Deerhunter61
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: Deerhunter61]
#4569491
09/15/13 02:03 PM
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,420
Dave Davidson
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Cows are seldom a problem; over grazing is.
Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: Dave Davidson]
#4569502
09/15/13 02:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,358
jshouse
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cows are always a problem.
If I send my neighbors a text and ask them to give me feedback on my lawn and plant rye into a giant dong pattern, I'm probably going to get some less than positive feedback. Same goes here.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: jshouse]
#4569535
09/15/13 02:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 19,498
Erathkid
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We got rid of our cows 2 months ago. The grass is returning and so are the Deer, Turkey and hogs. Amazing.
Life is too short, as is. Don't chance it. Don't text and drive.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: Erathkid]
#4569579
09/15/13 02:38 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,358
jshouse
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We got rid of our cows 2 months ago. The grass is returning and so are the Deer, Turkey and hogs. Amazing. it is literally like the flood gates open on my lease when the cows are moved, we go from zero sightings and very few pics of deer to groups of 6-7 does and bucks everywhere. bad thing is that the cow man doesnt move them till mid-late october, his words were "...so that leaves you guys like 60 good days of hunting...." and its a bow only lease
If I send my neighbors a text and ask them to give me feedback on my lawn and plant rye into a giant dong pattern, I'm probably going to get some less than positive feedback. Same goes here.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: jshouse]
#4569606
09/15/13 02:52 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,267
TRIJI....WHAT
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,267 |
My buddy has one of these for his ranch but his is smaller than this one. Works great for reseeding or anything else. Great machine and I know they rent them somewhere. I would assume that your land would benefit several times over if you rented this machine and did some work with it. http://stutsmanscd.org/Prices_and_Services.htm Something like this.....
Last edited by TRIJI....WHAT; 09/15/13 02:54 PM.
Shhhhhhhh better to be quiet than remove all doubt..
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: TRIJI....WHAT]
#4569756
09/15/13 04:22 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 32,156
txtrophy85
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90% of ranches have too many cows.
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: txtrophy85]
#4570013
09/15/13 06:35 PM
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44,461
rifleman
Sparkly Pants
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Sparkly Pants
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44,461 |
Aerate & hope for rain...
Takes us 1 rainy Winter & Spring for junk to shoot back up head high.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: rifleman]
#4570096
09/15/13 07:24 PM
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 216
TxFisher
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 216 |
Cows are grazers and deer are browsers, Im not saying that they wont eat the same things, but they generally dont. Cows and deer can coexist quite nicely and not bother each other, but if too many cows are on a place it doesn't help. I'd say it would takea good wet year and most of your native plants would come back.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: TxFisher]
#4570177
09/15/13 07:56 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 19,498
Erathkid
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TxFisher, I believe you're right. But when all of your neighbors run cattle and you don't, guess where the Deer are going to feel the least threatened? On our place. It's quite disheartening to be in your stand and see a bunch of Cows move in, kicking rocks and making noise.
Life is too short, as is. Don't chance it. Don't text and drive.
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Re: How long before cattle damaged land starts to recover??
[Re: rifleman]
#4570217
09/15/13 08:08 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 19,498
Erathkid
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Aerate & hope for rain...
Takes us 1 rainy Winter & Spring for junk to shoot back up head high. This. Aeration by mechanical means will do wonders. Disking alone, without planting, is one of the best ways to help overgrazed pasture. Even better if you can plant native seed. It is EXPENSIVE though. There's probably native seed still on the ground. Disking will help it reestablish. Oh, and rainfall. We've been fortunate to have a couple of pretty good rains since the cows were sold. Big Bluestem is coming back, along with some vetch, and of course King ranch bluestem. We may have to mow soon. We haven't done that in years. Before, it looked like a desert.
Life is too short, as is. Don't chance it. Don't text and drive.
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