from my observations, in west central missouri today, the normal cattle farm is a spring, summer, early fall, fescue based operation. typically around november 1st, depending on your stocking rate, it turns into a fescue based hay and supplemented grain operation. with a really dry start to 2022, pastures didn't allow grazing until mid may, a full month late. with our extreme drought by august, most farmers were feeding hay by august, almost 3 months early. with that combination, the description of alot of fescue pastures were, and are now, "wouldn't hide a mouse". these conditions for me just added up, that its time for me to quit chasing my tail, kill off all the fescue that i can, establish all warm season grass with pollinators, and escape cover pastures. then give up on the cow-calf, system, and try to come up with a good steer or heifer to grass ratio, and only keep them during the green season. do only enough hay to sell during drought years, and keep back a couple beef thru the winter. then decide when to burn, when to mow, and what stocking rate will produce the perfect pasture disturbance to bring back quail. i'm small time, but from what i can tell, the cost and labor to keep a cow herd year round, get them pregnant, keep them pregnant, have a healthy calf, and then raise that calf to weaning to sell vs buying and selling some pasture disturbers every growing season will be negligible. the smile on my face if i can bring back one covey of quail, priceless.
