Bale grazing: challenges, opportunities, and tips for getting it right-Greg Halich

This presentation was given as part 2021 Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council Fall Grazing Conference, "Sustainable Intensification of of Pasture Management in the the Mid-South". This conference was held on October 26, 27, and 28 in Princeton, Elizabethtown, and Winchester, KY, respectively. Proceedings of this conference can be found at uknowledge.uky.edu/ky_grazing/.

[@danhanson7927]

We remove strings and net wrap when we layout hay in October or November. I’m in northern Wisconsin and have snow from November until April. Also you can have higher stocking density from December until March because the ground is frozen so no puging.

[@jamesthompson6810]

Great video!

[@kennethheern4896]

I can attest to the fact that a winter feeding station doesn’t work very good. Equip program helped build me one. They had a plan for the number cows I have. It looked great when I started using it. Turns out it wasn’t big enough. I really got tired of loosing one or 2 older cows the first 2 years. Now I unroll hay in the pasture. It really works great.

[@mdsloads]

Excellent info

[@frontiersmanselfreliance3621]

We have been bale grazing for decades and this year I’m switching to unrolling. The manure is too concentrated around hay rings and too much waste prevents summer grass from growing

[@petealberda6307]

Great video! When do you remove the net wrap? In the fall when you set the bales out?

[@andrewbateman7534]

Not sure about Kentucky, but my Grandfather used bale grazing since the early 1950s. But, he called it feeding hay. We never considered it an exotic concept. He never had to sow seed, the hay took care of that. Granted, we grew our own hay, so we knew it did not have weeds, etc.

[@danarudgers2056]

Lots of things our forefathers did are all of a sudden new ideas.

[@andrewbateman7534]

Dana Rudgers I agree. It saddens me that some people (non farmers who want people to call them farmers) use older ideas poorly, try to take credit for the concepts, and make money telling others. Meanwhile, there are knowledgeable people who try to help others, free of charge, but people want to pay the other guys.

[@danarudgers2056]

@@andrewbateman7534 there's a movement a foot to use many of the old ways that make sense. It will happen by necessity as purchased inputs (fertilizer and fuel) get more pricey. Less tillage and more cover crops will become the trend. Hopefully we can get more livestock back on the land as well. The ability to graze certain animals on cover crops after grain harvest holds real potential. Fencing is alot easier than when I was a kid. Sharpening locust fence posts on a buzzsaw belted to a Farmall and pounding them with a 16 lb maul then attempting to nail barbed wire to them is on old thing I doubt will make a big comeback however. Today's portable electric fence is awesome technology I wish my dad could see. I can hear him. "That string won't keep ewes in. They'll be up to Louie Wellman's by morning."

[@user-tc3ou6sy5f]

It was called.......the Allis Chalmers roto baler !

[@coziii.1829]

I don’t like the circle ⭕️ scars with unrolling you have no scars

[@waterdogherbfarm2652]

can this be applied with small square bales? also no reason why sheep can't be added to this model? thanks

[@michelewarner5166]

Can the same concept apply to horses? And do you need to take a drag and break up the manure?

[@jenniferhall7035]

I also want to know if u could do this with horses

[@willowriverranch7965]

Wow! We have made so many mistakes our first year! To do this, we’d need everyone on 1/2 an acre for a week…. Looks like our next investment should be a hay ring!

[@user-tc3ou6sy5f]

So why do farmers bale such large bales ???? When not bale smaller bales and keep cattle moving ?

[@twbishop]

@5:58 an ongoing issue is whether to unroll bales or not: unrolling allows more equal access to eat, less compaction and other pasture damage, and more even distribution of nutrients/organic matter--and less waste depending on the animals/grazing time. but snow can cover unrolled bales and unrolled bales provide no wind breaks. unrolling also requires more work and fuel. (but relative to tractors, four-wheel drive ATVs can more efficiently unwind bales with fewer ruts.)

[@tritchie6272]

Theirs a channel I like to watch of a guy in Missouri who likes to use a 4 wheeler to unroll hay. He claims it don't cause ruts like Tractors. Seems like he's very picky about what conditions he will put a tractor on his Pastures. But he also moves his animals often. I can't claim any experience in the matter. Currently I am watching lots of video's and hoping to absorb some helpful knowledge for when God decides to make my dream of a farm come true.

[@coziii.1829]

I rather unroll It’s all about same waist Plus what is not eaten it turns into mulch etc.

[@michelewarner5166]

Can the same concept apply to horses? And do you need to take a drag and break up the manure?