How to get a 100 yard windrow of hay with our bale unroller!

[@sharonchew2144]

'Pet the cat'--descriptive and catchy phrase from Ben and Issac for unrolling hay bales. That's a keeper!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes I love that description from the boys!!

[@christophergruenwald5054]

It makes sense and easy to remember.

[@wendyc.5769]

My coffee surely tastes better when watching the cows!!

[@travishansen4908]

"Everything is better with some cows around" - Corb Lund-

[@karlkahmann4035]

I live at least 130 miles from the nearest beef cow. I have no idea why I enjoy these video’s so much-but I do

[@richardgranger1791]

Maybe this lifestyle is in your future.

[@hamidahlouch7727]

The sun is setting on one side the moon is rising on the other side . Thank you for the video

[@emilmoldovan1789]

Wow, 375 happy cattle bringing more fertility to your land and they do that for free. The cows look absolutely amazing!

[@leelindsay5618]

Good info! Let people get past their old, outdated information and figure out how to save money. You were on stockpile the other day in January in Missouri!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes we still have a ton of stockpile left to graze this winter. A wise old man told me one time, " At the end of winter, you should have at least 1 blade of grass left on your farm somewhere!!"

[@CliffsideStables]

One generation sharing new insights with another generation! Tim @ Cliffside Acres

[@mattmunn71]

Beautiful view from your "office" tonight.

[@Digger927]

That's a nice trick on determining the direction of wrap on the bales!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Works like a charm.

[@Bayou_Russ]

Beats me following the swirl with my finger for a minute to determine the direction😂 And I’ve noticed too bale density will dictate how fast it unrolls. Our looser bales with unroll fast but the packed tight bales take longer to roll out.

[@elneno82]

I like your method! A time lapse of how the hay gets eaten and how little is left could be a powerful point supporting the unrolling. Cheers!

[@drewhillfarms]

Ben you can ski and feed your cattle. I used to feed my Highland cattle on x- country skis with the hay on a plastic sled. Worked out great and the cattle stayed away from the skis. They must have thought that skis were my horns.

[@deanhobbs7507]

This video is Excellent I grew up on a farm growing apples pears and grapes no comparison to what you're Doing. No fertilizer no pesticides very low fossil fuel very low equipment requirement Not labor intensive high nutritious food beautiful animals it's not even close

[@ilovehorses5714]

It's like a rug. It's a terrific idea.

[@philhochstetler5908]

Finally Ben and Isaac help me get it going the right way Thanks

[@georgeheller2281]

375 head and not a sound, those cattle are as happy as it gets. I like to call my unroller a manure spreader. Have a great weekend!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Thanks 👍

[@fredslayton]

Ben reminds me of a young Elvis lol. But they are both godsends and will make fine ranchers one day!

[@doniedewgotstrikesagain2082]

As long as there is no crazy wind snow is nice.

[@patrickwalker6024]

feed space is so important! I love to see this. Look at how much fun and effective that ATV rig is! Nice!

[@geoffreyclarke9700]

You will find out that as your soil improves the more litter you will need but you will be growing more pasture. A win win if you like.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes you are correct, more grass and better nutrient dense grass each successive year!

[@lindagates9150]

Wow a beautiful video I know that I would have put the bale on the incorrect way as ,if I have two choices when it comes to any technical issues, My brain promptly stops working properly ! Earlier when I was looking at Bens hand resting on the bale unroller I didn’t realize that he had gloves on! Talk about almost having a heart attack luckily he moved his hand and I saw he was wearing gloves attack averted. That glimpse of the glove was the best part of the video the next best part is a tie the sunset was a clear winner until the bale unrolling so I regret that I have to say in third place the cows flocking to the newly unrolled hay barely made the top three! Thanks for the update on how to use the bale unroller I am sure that many people will benefit from the lesson

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Linda I hear you on the technical issues!!!

[@DiamondHeartRanch]

There is always a cheaper way of feeding cattle. Thanks for sharing. I might have to build me one of those unrollers

[@soyoucametosee7860]

Greg you have a great environment and plenty of available land to carry out this kind of grazing. When I get some sheep again soon I will apply some of these methods and build an oasis in the desert.

[@fabriciomarchi9695]

Fun and informative.👍 Stay safe!

[@joshuagrau9282]

Stripes on bale wrap also tells you direction of wrap. Differing stripe on left of bale from right

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I will have to check that out. Pet the cat works good to!!

[@Bayou_Russ]

Forgot about that John Deere wrap has those to show you which way the net wrap goes on the baler.

[@davemi00]

Ben, you added alot, never doubt that !! Best Wishes.

[@davidsawyer1599]

Hey Mr.Judy Some great advice. Ben and Issac bring so much to your operation. The "Petting the Cat" deal. An effort to communicate effectively with a little humor thrown in. I read in the comments before this, one of the faithful is being persecuted unjustly. It's sad that even in his attempt to reach out that his words fell on deaf ears. Stay warm.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Thank you so much!

[@LeaHawkins]

Thank you so much sir, for all your videos and helping others who have this dream do this. I’m just learning and don’t have any cows yet. But I got my husband to watch a couple of your videos last night and he really liked what you have to say. Will be watall of them with him in the near future! My question was, how many bales of hay does it take to feed your cows during the winter using your unrolling the bale method and when do you usually need to start and stop giving them hay? Meaning what months? We live in Missouri as well. Thank you and God bless.

[@richardgranger1791]

Greg Judy Two days ago I had a woman call and threaten to turn me in for mistreating my animals. She claims I haven't fed them in an entire month(because the hay ring is empty). She claims they never have water, even though they have 3 sources of water on the property. She claims they need shelter even though they have apx 6 acres of dense mixed forrest with good patches of pines, and a large brush lot and a ravine all of which provide adequate cover. I tried explaining unrolling bales to feed my cattle. I tried to explain the water situation, and I attempted to explain that sylvopasture is an excepted method of sheltering your cattle in the winter, but she didnt want to hear it. She said that she has taken pictures of their conditions, and said she is turning me in to animal control, and the police. I can't wait until they show up, and I can show them that all of her claims are unfounded. Thanks again Greg Judy for introducing me to a better form of animal husbandry.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Some folks do not understand. When their emotions get involved, its tough to explain common sense methods to them. Do the very best you can with your animals and leave those type folks alone.

[@brucemorrison4793]

Richard Granger, It's astonishing how many people know so little about how nature works--too many folks also believe that livestock guardian dogs minding sheep flocks should have dog houses and that cattle need to go into a barn at night in winter. There is a great video on KZbin of cattle on Gabe Brown's farm hanging out in approximately -30 F winter weather that is a good teaching aid on this subject!

[@swamp-yankee]

@@brucemorrison4793 So true. I had a neighbor worried sick about our dogs during the summer when they were visible from her place even though there's cover in every paddock, and we had almost no rain April-August. Apparently she was kept up nights worrying about them, but she never even asked us about them. Just told our landowners about the perceived abuse.

[@keithlightminder3005]

We had rabbits as outdoor pets in a custom built hutch with lots of Timothy hay to eat and live under as well as wind shelter and tea every day as well as nutrition and salt licks. A neighbour was saying it was abusive to keep these rabbits outdoors. Thankfully some fat wild rabbits hopped by while we were talking so all I had to ask her was - well someone must be doing a great job of looking after those guys. Are you bringing those little guys inside each night? Side effect was we started getting deer wintering in our back yard because the rabbits would kick out excess hay for them.

[@HectorPerez-tb8hn]

Another great video !!

[@doniedewgotstrikesagain2082]

I wish I could post pictures in the comments I would love to show you my new bull your chanle influenced what kind of bull I brought.

[@williamc.fetterjr9036]

Always good information!

[@LibertyGarden]

Great video. Thanks.

[@FriendlyCleaningKC]

Pet the cat!! Isaac is a great farmer

[@lindseywatkins2075]

Like ur videos. Been raising cows for a bunch of years but this is my first year to unroll the hay for them. I’ve found unrolling opposite the way rolled works better for me. I’m feeding about 40 head plus about 20 calves on a 4x5 bail per day. We ve been in a drought here in AL for about 3 months so there’s little grass. Got all my pasture sowed down in rye grass. So looking forward to see how all this works out.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Hope you get some rain!

[@alexriddles492]

Since you're leaving some organic matter behind on the soil are you trying to unroll your bales on contour? It seems this could work like key line plowing to help with water infiltration and improved drought tolerance.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes we like unrolling hay on contour, it is also much safer when your on an atv!!

[@erobertson264]

Pet the cat! Genius!

[@andrewwilliams2826]

clean cows so often cows are standing in 18 inches of mud eating from a round feeder this has got to be the better way

[@davemi00]

Luving it‼️

[@DanielleRoyalegacy]

When you pet the roll, does it purr? Thank you for all the insight.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Danielle I will have to listen closer the next time I pet one!!! Love it!

[@willieclark2256]

Pretty cool!

[@richmcatee3420]

Greg love the channel. I live in the finger lakes region of Ny state. How would these southpole crosses do in my area. Would it be to cold?

[@toddcaskey9984]

Where in the finger lakes , I’m from Honeoye. I live in Newfane now.

[@richmcatee3420]

@@toddcaskey9984 Hornby.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I would go with a breed that is adapted to.your local weather conditions. If you move a South Poll up there, just make sure they don't have a super slick hair coat. They need to be able to grow hair in the winter time in your area.

[@swamp-yankee]

Devon's are real nice. They have more hair, and slick off well. I think they might be a little smaller than south polls.

[@josephmonroe1187]

Hey guys, How do or would you handle Lice this time of year?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Natures sun in April takes care of lice in 4-5 days.

[@cecileoneill315]

I was wondering if you can only feed a part of the bale and pick it up and travel to new location? I have small groups of animals in different locations that I have to feed with round bales.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

That is the best part of our unroller, just feed what you need and bring the rest back to your hay storage area.

[@WildflowerFarm417]

Old Timers: Don't waste that hay on the ground. Instead, spend thousands on fertilizer next spring.

[@davej7458]

Yeah just think about that for a minute or two.

[@WildflowerFarm417]

@@davej7458 I thought about it for three minutes.

[@wrong-waygo-back9355]

And the old timers(current day) don't run the cows togeither and that also mean no rested paddocks, no feed, need to buy more feed, more fertiliser which produces the man made drought !

[@markborgman73]

I made my unrolled and am spreading junk hay first them a bale of good hay on top. Trying get more ground cover on my Indian grass blue grass pasture pasture.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Be careful that you don't get the hay to thick. If the unrolled hay is over 3-4" deep you can kill out your grass by forming a thick mulch over your existing sod. The next summer you will have bare spots on your pasture where the hay was to deep. You want a grass plant on every square inch of your pasture if possible. No bare spots, those dirt patches don't capture solar energy.

[@markborgman73]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher I run a tetter over it to scatter it out more. Thanks for reply.

[@ant350]

Watching from 🇮🇪 want breed of cattle are them you keep

[@andrew-rp7uy]

Just wondering why you use a atv over a utv?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

ATV is much more versatile than a UTV. Not as heavy, very small ruts in extreme muddy conditions as well. Putting in our temporary daily paddocks is also much easier with an atv.

[@rickayers3150]

Hey Greg, can we get a close up of that bale unroller ? Can you show us how you load it? Thanks

[@Digger927]

There are several videos on his channel showing it to the detail you want.

[@rickayers3150]

Thank you

[@debrablowers1144]

As to the waste you talk about if you leave the cows another 3 hours they will like the ground clean. So you can regulate your waste but you may sacrifice body condition doing so. Denny B

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Your exactly right Denny. Just by watching their gut fill and monitoring how much hay is remaining.

[@mikepowell8611]

Its only waste when you think you're a cattle rancher. You're not a Cattle Rancher you're a soil rancher.

[@triciahill216]

We’re watching the remains of our cornfield stubble turn to weeds here in late April. (The farm had been in corn last fall when we bought it.) Other than liming the fields, we’re wondering what type of hay we should be looking for to roll out with our Greg Judy bale unroller and let the cattle trample into the ground? Would you suggest we look for the cheapest hay we can find, hay made late with lots of seed (if we can find it), or any particular type of hay? Should we broadcast some K31 or pasture mix seed just prior to unrolling the hay? Any help and insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much, Greg.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

With a old cornfield you need to get as much carbon as possible rolled out on the field in a thin layer and let the animals eat and trample it on to the ground surface. This is best done in the winter when the ground is frozen. At this time of year you could drill some cover crop mix into the field which would give you something to graze this growing season rather than weeds. Don’t seed it down with grass until August time period.

[@triciahill216]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher We’re on a bit of a tight budget, but fortunately have enough established pasture that we don’t need the old cornfields for grass this season for our small herd of cattle. I’m wondering what would likely happen if we either try to graze some of the weeds and/or mow the weeds this grazing season. Then, roll out hay and graze it this winter. Would this likely work to convert old cornfields into pasture? Would you have any suggestions as to this vs seeding it this August? Thank you very much for your help.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

@@triciahill216 I would occasionally graze the cornfield this summer. There will be some tender forbs in there that they will eat

[@mickielliott3392]

Where are you located I am in Buffalo mo

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Clark Missouri

[@davidhickenbottom6574]

I'm feeding square bales all over my micro farm. Looking forward to an explosion of life this spring. I buy all the mulch hay I can find people practically give it away and their farms look terrible.

[@dukeofistria]

Greg is there a reason why you dont produce your own hay?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You can not afford to own the equipment to bale it up when you can buy all you want for $30 to $40 a bale most years. When you buy your hay, you focus on being a better grazer, because every time you feed a bale, it comes directly out of your billfold. When you bale your own hay, most folks don't put a dollar value on that bale. The common response is, well I had to much grass anyway, so I just rolled it up.

[@Bayou_Russ]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher I can attest to that, we bale our hay and my dad acts like every bale is a dollar Bill burning a hole in his pocket come winter time.

[@Eric_Allen]

Do you bail your own hay or buy it?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

We buy it.

[@bdlit7165]

Good hay has almost identical makeup as good fertilizer. Then you add the manure, you are spreading fertilizer without paying a bunch for the man made stuff.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You nailed it correctly and well said. $30 worth of nutrients in every bale!!

[@rochrich1223]

Have you tried leaving, say half the wrap still on? If the hay comes off at all, it would spread much further.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You don't want to ever do that. Make darn sure you get all the netting off before you unroll it. If you leave any netting on and it gets hidden in the unrolled hay, you may find a dead animal. Animals love to chew on plastic netting and swallow it, dead animal.

[@ryanforbes3021]

I've seen the results of a belly full of twine. A guy that worked at the last place I worked looked after the cows for awhile. He was too lazy to make sure all the twine was off the bales. All I'm gonna say is poor cow.

[@rochrich1223]

I give... I thought it was a manageable risk. I hope I would have seen shreds coming off with the hay and given up the experiment as too dangerous.

[@ilovehorses5714]

I actually understand the cat technique....

[@ilovehorses5714]

They are eating it all. Where's the waste? Plus reseeding it all ...

[@savageairsoft9259]

I say the way hay may pay is to make it lay the Greg Judy way every day,otherwise nay! Okay!?! Yay!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Wow that is some serious rhythm you came up with !!!

[@kurtkohl151]

Poor teacher who isn't surpassed by his students.. kids these days:-). Looks like they got it down