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Cows...

(Also posted to whitetail forum but I also wanted a pure Kansas perspective...)

My buddy owns 160 acres in Kansas. We hunt deer on it. But he also lets a farmer graze cows on the land. How will that affect the hunting?

here is some data: I think about 1/4 to 1/2 of the land is "graze-able". The rest is wooded creek bottoms and overgrown sand plum thickets. I think the farmer has about 30 cows on the land. They are there from about Memorial Day to Labor Day.

I just spent the weekend walking nearly the entire properties. The grass looked extremely short. We saw a zillion cow tracks. We saw very few deer tracks.

We walked a neighbor's adjacent land (with permission). We immediately saw a lot of deer tracks.

Will the deer return if the cows leave around September 1?

As long as the deer have time to get used to them, cows aren't a problem. If the property has been overgrazed it won't hold the deer as much, but they'll still come through.

Is 100% of the 160 accessible to the cows?

If they leave Sept. 1 get started on a foodplot of wheat and you will have deer visiting soon after.

Oak trees?

They may avoid the pasture for a while, but once they realize the cattle are gone they will be all over it.

Cows and deer do not really mix, but I have seen them in pastures together quite frequently.

turk,

There is about 20 acres of CRP that is protected from the cows. Everything else is grazed.

No oak trees.

Lots of cover and varied landscape with multiple creek bottoms

Try this: The last week that the cattle are on the place spread seed (clover, wheat, oats, hairy vetch, etc) for plots. The cattle will "stomp" the seed into the ground and make good soil to seed contact. The next rain will germinate it. Then it's got a good growth spurt due to lack of competition because the native is overgrazed and short. This is actually a good situation for you to be in.

An no, the deer won't care that the cattle had been on it for the summer.

Actually, I just planted a 1 acre food plot of Grains and Greens from Grandpa Rays. We disked the ground, spread the seeds, and drug it with a harrow. I am hoping that the cows are gone before the seedlings really start to come up.

If the cattle are gone in early september, there will be plenty of deer living there by November.

Zero oak trees? That part sucks.

20 acres CRP untouched... that's great. I bet you have deer living there now and may provide some great opportunities in the early season.

I think you have all the things necessary for a great spot.

Zero oak trees? That part sucks.

20 acres CRP untouched... that's great. I bet you have deer living there now and may provide some great opportunities in the early season.

I think you have all the things necessary for a great spot.

Zero oak trees? That part sucks.

20 acres CRP untouched... that's great. I bet you have deer living there now and may provide some great opportunities in the early season.

I think you have all the things necessary for a great spot.

I have cattle on my place year round, need the extra income as I am retired. There is always deer on our place and especially along our creek bottoms. I see deer and cattle in the same field all the time. I don't feel cows effect the deer hunting at all, maybe since it has been this way for 30+ years. I also have permission on two neighbors both upstream and down stream from our farm and don't see any additional action on them than ours.

You said it was half grazable, minus 20 acres CRP, 30 head might be pushing it, all cows or is it 15 units?

^^^ Probably stockers if they are only there for the summer months. We can get away with 2.1 -2.5 acres per steer for summer stockers. 80 acres divided by 2.5 is about 29 steers...

Sure seems to make a difference on our farm, especially for older bucks. If the deer move out, could heal quickly. A lot depends on how much habitat is left.

Having hunted grazed land my entire life I can tell you they trample everything and deer tend to avoid them in timbered areas. Ocassionally you see deer around them but they are probably passing through to an area where there are no cows. A cow offers absolutely nothing that benefits a deer. They are not observant enough to warn a deer of danger like other animals and they are very noisy which obscures what the deer can hear. That being said, open country will often hold deer where there are cattle. There is no telling how many bucks have been shot out the window of a feed truck.

When we first got our place, a rancher had 25 pairs, "cow&calf" on it. It is 160 acres, about 1/2 & 1/2 timber and poor pasture. It was grubbed down to weeds and the rancher was complaining about having to move some stock off. Really PO'ed him when I told him that we would not be renting out the next season. We let it set for 5 years, "no cattle" and the grass came back faster than I expected. Deer numbers increased.

Now I have a farmer that will put 5 or 6 cows on it. During a wet season like this year, you can not tell they are there. Even then, he has to have them out by the 1st of Sept.

My opinion, cattle do make a difference. Deer still frequent the place, just not where the cattle hang around. A mistake last year was to put mineral close to a Deer trail, cattle found it, moved in until it was gone, Deer used that trail very little the rest of the season. Considence ?

A lot has to do with what deer are use to. Cattle have access to almost every inch of this part of the state. Thankfully deer are more than willing to share the acreage with them (although they certainly don't tend to herd up with them).

Now consider this; mow a clover field and what happens? It grows back with tender, lush, and nutritious growth. Deer flock to it! Now think about a deer's diet... it consists almost entirely of native browse/forbs/legumes. Spend a summer with cattle grazing and fertilizing natives (and the added plants as I mentioned above), remove the heard in time for fresh regrowth, and have a great food source the entire winter.

Cattle done the wrong way can leave a field barren with only non-palatable weeds... or they can leave the biggest "food plot" you've ever seen. With free fertilizer to boot! I would rather have a herd of cattle, some electric fence, and a box of matches for habitat management than a tractor.

As for cow numbers, my estimate of 30 was total. It was probably half cows and half calves (and one more bull).

Manure pile handy where the rancher feeds?

Till up a spot spread some manure and plant some wheat. Plant early after Sept. 15th, pray for a good slow rain, and you will have deer soon.

Those deer are close already. If possible I'd get a foodplot close to that crp patch, but plant it so you've got a funnel between food and bed.

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