By Joel Salatin “Those cows are belly-deep in grass and starving to death.”
That’s a maxim among livestock producers to explain the nuances of forage quality.
It simply means all grass is not created equal.
When grass first begins to grow, it’s high in protein. As it matures, it moves from a protein to a carbohydrate. And if it becomes fully mature, it turns into something akin to cardboard. It loses all its nutritional strength.
Different species of grass mature at different heights. Bluegrass, for example, matures and sets seed often before it’s a foot tall. Switchgrass, in contrast, often grows to 6 feet before it even …read more
