Spring cleanup

[MadRanchTX]

Looking for opinions on what to do with the wasted hay from winter feeding. Last year I feed in 2 main spots and this spring pushed all the waste into two piles to compost. I'm trying to stay upbeat about the drought, with what will be an additional 5 months of purchased feed this year this seems like a good opportunity to improve the ground. How is that for looking at the silver lining! So far this year I've been moving the hay rings about 10' every new bale thinking come spring I would plow in trying to get some more organic material into the ground and then seed. Good idea or bad idea? I pulled the cattle from the main pastures in June trying to keep them from destroying them, their in about a 7 acre sacrifice area and will remain so until spring green up. Up until now bugs have keep the patties in check but I'll have a pretty good organic load sitting on top of the ground by spring. This seems like a reasonable albeit slow way to improve my little slice of earth to better withstand future droughts. If it works I will move the sacrifice area every year much like rotational grazing. I'm not necessarily sold on this idea but the drought has me thinking.
I'll need to purchase a plow, which is on the long list anyway, what would be the best type plow for this type thing. I have a 50HP newish tractor.

 

[dun]

I scoop it up along with a lot of the manure and spread with a top beater manure spreader. I put it on thin pasutres and lot of it on the hay fields in the spring.

 

[bird dog]

Mad Rancher I would keep doing what you are doing. Keep a compost pile going by scooping some fresh crap out every week or so and spread the finished compost on your fields. Plowing the compost in is lot easier than plowing in a thick layer of moldy hay.