I bale grazed all of last winter (Christmas - April, winter stockpile grazed until Christmas). Set bales out about middle of December on a nice day, on an area that's really sandy and needing OM buildup, and then used polywire to limit them to what would last them for no more than about 3 days. The first set of bales took me to early February, after which I had a good idea of how much they'd go through for the rest of the winter, and set that many out on another nice day. Those were the only two days that I had to run a tractor all winter. No rings. Yes, the spots where the bales had been set didn't grow much grass this year, but the circle around that where the cattle stood did much better than the rest of the pasture there.
I feel this is "the only way to go" up here in MN, because of how deep our snow usually gets. I'd prefer to unroll the bales if it could be done with just a 4 wheeler or a side x side, but that's a no go here most of the time. Starting a tractor every day is not going to be in the cards for me... too costly, and too time consuming. I intend to do it again this year, with about 3 times as many animals. My winter stockpile is starting to get down there already... one place will be done Dec. 1, my other place, where I winter the cattle, will probably take me to about Dec. 20. Am working on a plan that will give me more of that, and of higher quality, for next season. Can't beat feed without ANY mechanical harvesting costs!