HDRider":1gnlbsn8 said:Question. Talking about this subject with my neighbor, and he runs some good cattle. He says the grass loses nutrition in the winter and they need hay to make up for that nutrition loss.
Is that true?
Depending on the forage and the climate, the energy returns to the root system to survive dormancy and prepare for the next year. This is the tricky thing (for me anyway) about stockpiling is the nutrative degradation. Also, in the winter the soil doesn't dry so stockpiled forage tends to be ground to mud rather quickly instead of eaten. Thus, it's better to cut and bale your excess while it has the most value.
Really, that's all we're doing when we buy hay is buying someone else's stockpiled forage and bringing it to where our cattle are.