Bale Grazing

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I have a small hill side that needed addressed so I have nuked it this year with unrolling hay on it. I unroll a bale with the UTV and then move over and unroll the next one and so on.

When I cover the area like carpet i will start over. I have unrolled over 20 bales on this little area this year. I usually don't put it down this thick but I have more hay then I know what to do with and this area isn't great anyways. Probably won't see results until next year. Lol.

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chaded said:
I have a small hill side that needed addressed so I have nuked it this year with unrolling hay on it. I unroll a bale with the UTV and then move over and unroll the next one and so on.

When I cover the area like carpet i will start over. I have unrolled over 20 bales on this little area this year. I usually don't put it down this thick but I have more hay then I know what to do with and this area isn't great anyways. Probably won't see results until next year. Lol.

View attachment 27651


View attachment 27652
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Gonna look awesome come May and June!
 
chaded said:
I have a small hill side that needed addressed so I have nuked it this year with unrolling hay on it. I unroll a bale with the UTV and then move over and unroll the next one and so on.

When I cover the area like carpet i will start over. I have unrolled over 20 bales on this little area this year. I usually don't put it down this thick but I have more hay then I know what to do with and this area isn't great anyways. Probably won't see results until next year. Lol.

View attachment 27651


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If it's possible for you to keep the cows off that area for a couple months a d really let it get started good it would make a big difference in the future.
 
kenny thomas said:
Different subject but I had planned on sowing fertilizer on my pastures today. Got up and it was 15F so decided I probably need to wait.
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Felt like -30 all over again when I stepped out with the wind.

I've been hauling hay today. Found some 5x4's for a decent deal I think. About to set two out now and see what they do with it. Second cut, netwrap, outside... $30. And no herbicides which is hard to find. Has some johnson grass seed in it so I am very much excited. 😂
 
kenny thomas said:
Different subject but I had planned on sowing fertilizer on my pastures today. Got up and it was 15F so decided I probably need to wait.
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Don't let a little cold stop you. If you fertilize on frozen ground you do less damage then if you wait until mud.
Many around here fertilize with a foot or more snow on the ground.
 
I have bale grazed and here is how I did it. In the fall and in my area is no such thing as stock piling forage. So I would cut and bale the surplus grass in the late fall and wrap with sisal twine and leave in the pasture. Also the rake tractor had an electric herd seeder that I had a mix of rye grass and clover that I spread at the same time as the raking. The cows would eat on a bale until it was gone before going to a new bale. Then come spring you would have the rye and clover to graze.
 
hurleyjd said:
I have bale grazed and here is how I did it. In the fall and in my area is no such thing as stock piling forage. So I would cut and bale the surplus grass in the late fall and wrap with sisal twine and leave in the pasture. Also the rake tractor had an electric herd seeder that I had a mix of rye grass and clover that I spread at the same time as the raking. The cows would eat on a bale until it was gone before going to a new bale. Then come spring you would have the rye and clover to graze.
Click to expand...
I like the rake mounted seeder. Abounds pretty slick. Electric?
 
Rmc said:
Don't let a little cold stop you. If you fertilize on frozen ground you do less damage then if you wait until mud.
Many around here fertilize with a foot or more snow on the ground.
Click to expand...
Normal farming for Minnesota. I frost seed when seeding down, prefer to drill into about 4" of new snow.
 
chaded said:
I have a small hill side that needed addressed so I have nuked it this year with unrolling hay on it. I unroll a bale with the UTV and then move over and unroll the next one and so on.

When I cover the area like carpet i will start over. I have unrolled over 20 bales on this little area this year. I usually don't put it down this thick but I have more hay then I know what to do with and this area isn't great anyways. Probably won't see results until next year. Lol.

View attachment 27651


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WOW... you're really "buying in alot of fertility there". What I'm seeing is a whole lot of hay left behind the graze, with not alot of manure. How many are you feeding here? Point is, you're building mostly with residue... not so much "processed residues through the cow".... which adds microbes, which then work to "consume" the remaining residual, which then works to more directly feed the green growing plants. This IS going to work, and it WILL be a massive boost to the soil and the biology and the growing grass crop... I'm just suggesting that putting more animals on it to "process" more of the hay you're feeding could potentially be even more beneficial.
 
RDFF said:
WOW... you're really "buying in alot of fertility there". What I'm seeing is a whole lot of hay left behind the graze, with not alot of manure. How many are you feeding here? Point is, you're building mostly with residue... not so much "processed residues through the cow".... which adds microbes, which then work to "consume" the remaining residual, which then works to more directly feed the green growing plants. This IS going to work, and it WILL be a massive boost to the soil and the biology and the growing grass crop... I'm just suggesting that putting more animals on it to "process" more of the hay you're feeding could potentially be even more beneficial.
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That's the magic. Earthworms do magic too. Perfect 7 ph on castings I think I've heard. As long as the ground is wet enough to facilitate worms, it'll be good. My best pasture spot was a garden previously. Tilled yearly. I covered with a foot of hay in an attempt at Ruth Stout gardening. Abandoned and returned to pasture the next year. It grows leaps and bounds better than surrounding ground. Food for thought. Had to be worm activity and fungal activity under all that hay.
 
ClinchValley86 said:
That's the magic. Earthworms do magic too. Perfect 7 ph on castings I think I've heard. As long as the ground is wet enough to facilitate worms, it'll be good. My best pasture spot was a garden previously. Tilled yearly. I covered with a foot of hay in an attempt at Ruth Stout gardening. Abandoned and returned to pasture the next year. It grows leaps and bounds better than surrounding ground. Food for thought. Had to be worm activity and fungal activity under all that hay.
Click to expand...

Yep. I can go out there right now and pull back some hay and there are worms everywhere.
 
ClinchValley86 said:
That's the magic. Earthworms do magic too. Perfect 7 ph on castings I think I've heard. As long as the ground is wet enough to facilitate worms, it'll be good. My best pasture spot was a garden previously. Tilled yearly. I covered with a foot of hay in an attempt at Ruth Stout gardening. Abandoned and returned to pasture the next year. It grows leaps and bounds better than surrounding ground. Food for thought. Had to be worm activity and fungal activity under all that hay.
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree completely... just thinking you could get a little more value out of the hay you're putting out there, without taking away from the value you're putting in/on the ground. Cows are excellent "biology" too, just as worms are. It's ALL good!
 
RDFF said:
WOW... you're really "buying in alot of fertility there". What I'm seeing is a whole lot of hay left behind the graze, with not alot of manure. How many are you feeding here? Point is, you're building mostly with residue... not so much "processed residues through the cow".... which adds microbes, which then work to "consume" the remaining residual, which then works to more directly feed the green growing plants. This IS going to work, and it WILL be a massive boost to the soil and the biology and the growing grass crop... I'm just suggesting that putting more animals on it to "process" more of the hay you're feeding could potentially be even more beneficial.
Click to expand...

It's ok, the hay is dirt cheap and I have a couple barns about full still.
 

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