# Grazing after lime



## Mark T (Jan 7, 2003)

I limed the fields at my place three weeks ago. The neighbor has allowed me to graze ten acres behing my place so that I can wait to restart the regular rotation until after a rain settles the lime. We haven't had a drop of rain in three weeks. The neighbor's field which wasn't great to begin with is pretty thin and I am looking at some thick fields of grass and clover. I could hold out for a while at the neighbors, but it will take me a month to move through the 31 paddocks on my place and I'm starting to get nervous that frosts may nip my pasture before I can graze it down. Is it okay to let the cows start grazing clover and grass that is still grey from the lime coating?


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Well, lime is dirt, and I imagine a cow consumes a certain amount of dirt anyway. I wouldn't worry about it but probably wouldn't hurt to google the words "lime" "cattle" and "poisoning" together just in case.


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

BTW, frost won't hurt grass or clover.


----------



## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Graze the area, not a problem. Actually it is an enhancement with the calcium.


----------



## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Worse thing that will happen is that it will wear their teeth a bit. 
I lime mine and never take the cattle off it. 
Ox


----------



## Mark T (Jan 7, 2003)

Thanks everybody.

I'll move 'em tonight.

Tiknal, I appreciate the tip. I was operating based on my local coop extention notice that says to take the animals off the grass so it would have a chance to recover before frost.

I got a lease on a 37 acre farm down the road this year (and another 30 acre hay patch), so had my feeders off the property. Combined with a jump allowed by rotational grazing, I have grass coming out of my ears. I've got grazing at the home place until the middle of December (if we don't get snow cover) and could probably make it the rest of the way through on the rental if I moved them over to the new farm and wanted to drive down the road every day to de-ice. I'll probably keep them here and feed hay just for ease of management since I have hay stacked to the rafters.

Of course, if hay prices go way up, maybe I should go ahead and try to graze as long as possible and start selling hay.

Anyway, thanks again.

Mark


----------



## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

When I lime the pasture area only problem is driver having to work his way around the cows. I don't pull them off. Lime is calcium afterall.


----------



## LMonty (Jul 31, 2006)

I take it this means the alkalinity doesnt upset their rumens too bad, eh? I was wondering the same thing myself, as we just sent a soil sample in yesterday. I'm pretty sure its going to need it, since the last owners said it hadnt been done in a decade or so as far as they knew.


----------

