Hay there

TRUXTON, NY – At its simplest form, bale grazing is a way to feed animals on the land. However, farmers are known to tinker with such practices and make them their own. Depending on a farm’s context, goals and the tools to implement, it’s rarely a “cookie/hay cutter” approach.

A capacity crowd of farmers were invited to “come and kick the bales” at Hillside Farms in Cortland County, run by Jacob and Alexa Newton and their two children, Leon and Nelson. The direct-to-consumer farming operation specializes in producing grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and forested pork supplying roughly 320 families, two farmers markets and three restaurants, supported by over 200 acres of pasture and hayland.

The farm’s topography of rolling hills and ponds dictates what land management tools can be used effectively. They utilize bale grazing primarily for the brood cow and yearling herds. Jacob described his non-grazing season approach as “plus-90 days of bale grazing and 90 days of pack barn feeding” in using the strength of frozen concrete or suitable conditions to feed on the land and limit soil damage. “We are continuously looking at our weather app during the bale grazing season as a guide to our management decisions,” he said.

The farmers met amongst the cows and bales to observe the impact of hay and baleage residue, hooves and manure placement and ask pertinent questions. Jacob said his animals have evolved to move daily for fresh forage which works well with bale grazing. “This is very much a planned activity,” he said.

“Our bale grazing plan takes into account different areas throughout the farm on land in need of additional fertility. We adjust our bale groups to the number of days we would like in between cattle movements. This allows for a clean feeding area, fresh air and sunlight. Whether it’s coming out of the barn or moving to the next group of bales, the cows love the movement,” Jacob added.

Their recipe includes setting bales in grids, especially when reclaiming pastures with goldenrod and multiflora rose in them; using gravity to roll out bales; and bringing three bales of baleage per day to the herd, put in a strategic row to reduce waste. He likes to start feeding bales near the barn to create a lane out to the planned pastures, which helps with winter footing in frozen conditions.

“Bale grazing is a great herd management tool but it can seem to go sideways when not planned out,” Jacob said. “We will not place bales when there is an abundance of moisture or no frost in the ground. Hoof traffic is fine, but tractor ruts not so much. We avoid winter mix and 30º rain as much as possible. We have pack barns and use those in the shoulder seasons when needed to be resilient.”

No bale grazing workshop would be complete without a “wasted hay” discussion. Jacob was ready.

“It’s a great way to deposit fertility on pastures that have limited access. We are able to relocate fertility with minimal mechanical impact on these hillside pastures with bale grazing,” he said.

“We aim to bale graze in between the shoulder seasons. This maximizes consumption of hay, reduces trampled waste and leaves a nice, thin layer of residue for bedding. If we can get 60 days of good bale grazing, we can cut our bedding cost by about 55 cents per head per day. Also, we reduce two loads of manure spreading/stockpile per week, estimated at 23 cents per head per day cost. The result is $46.80 per head saving cost on a 60-day period.”

Cornell’s SCNY Dairy Extension Specialist Betsy Hicks added her expertise on the importance of forage quality and dry matter intake for colder months.

She said, “I think one of the most important parts of this feeding regimen is the fact that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy. There are lots of different ways to graze bales and different strategies can be employed based on conditions and management capacity.”

The group of practitioners as a whole were a great resource of shared experiences and thoughtful questions, adding a layer of context for beginning farmers and novices alike.

Several farmers, including the Newton family, are keeping records of their progress as part of a national USDA-NRCS CIG Grant led by the University of Kentucky Research Foundation titled “Bale Grazing: A Practical, Low-Cost & Environmentally- Sound Management Strategy to Winter Beef Cattle” that partners researchers and farmers from Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and New York.

Jacob concluded the walk with a look at winter watering options and his Freeze Miser spigot, a tour of their poultry processing facility and pack barn area. He said, “Be patient for regrowth in the spring. The bale grazing area may need to be rested for more days next season, but once the sward is established, the grass grows thick! Like most farmers, sometimes we aren’t as patient as we should be. So, in areas that have hoof traffic or high impacted areas, we will broadcast a cocktail of annual and perennial seeds and harrow them in to build a forage base back quicker.”

Guests left with plenty of coffee, local donuts, new grazing charts and an appreciation of a new tool that improves fertility, animal performance and reduces labor costs – the kind of things that make this practice “bale-ievable.”

This workshop was a collaboration between the Northeast Region National Grazing Lands Coalition, Hillside Farms and the SCNY Cornell Cooperative Extension Team, which is part of USDA-NRCS CIG Grant #NR223A750013G01.

Watch a recent video about “What We Have Learned About Bale Grazing” by farmer and University of Kentucky Agricultural Economics Professor Greg Halich on YouTube at tinyurl.com/futrw2yu.

by Troy Bishopp, Northeast NatGLC Grazing Resources Manager