Programming in Bale Grazing 2021-2022

Bale Grazing is a winter feeding practice originally developed in the western Canadian provinces and portions of the northern US.  Done correctly, it can reduce equipment and labor (no tractor is required for feeding) and dramatically increase pasture fertility.  However, it had to be adapted to work well in the Upper South as our soils aren’t frozen over for months at a time during winter.  I started bale grazing on one of my personal farms ten years ago to figure out how it can be adopted here.  It took a few years to develop a system that worked well on my farm and that I felt can be tried by other Kentucky cattle farmers.  Since that time I have worked closely with over a dozen farms in Kentucky and had farm visits on scores of others to get them started on bale grazing.  

In 2018 I obtained a small grant to start on-farm demonstrations related to bale grazing (SARE On-Farm Research Grant, $12K), and was able to leverage it with five demonstration farms in Kentucky, one in Missouri, and two in Virginia.  This seed grant led to an NRCS CIG grant with $2.3 million in funding.   There are six states that are participating and it will last for six years.  I’m the PI and lead investigator on this overall project that has roughly 35 team members.  We will be collecting soil, forage, and economics data comparing bale grazing to other winter feeding practices, and document how bale grazing changes pastures over time.  We will also be creating on-farm demonstration sites so that area farmers can see bale grazing in practice to evaluate it, and to have a chance to talk with the farmer about the practice.  

This grant is important because NRCS and extension has been promoting engineered feeding structures as the solution to the winter feeding problem with beef cattle.  NRCS is finally admitting they are not working as designed, and looking for alternatives to these costly structures.  Bale grazing is a low-cost solution to the problem.  In addition to Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Missouri, and New York are all working on this project together.  We will have demonstration farms in all of these states.  One of our team members is a soil ecologist that many claim is the best in the country (Alan Franzluebbers USDA-ARS and NCSU faculty) who is leading the soil side of the project.  

Through my on-farm research and personal experiences, I have turned bale grazing into one of my signature extension programs.  In 2021-22, I had 23 farm visits to help guide on-farm implementation. I had 11 in-state extension presentations during that same time.  

There has been increasing interest the last few years in other states to teach farmers how to implement bale grazing in the humid eastern US conditions.  I had eight out-of-state presentations and two regional level presentation on bale grazing in 2021-22.  I’m also working with Purdue and Virginia Tech to implement bale grazing on their research farms.

As one indication of program impact, at the AgrEcon Cow-Calf Profitability Online Conferences held in 2021, my bale grazing presentation had the highest rating (4.6 out of 5) out of seven presentations, and that was with some other incredibly good presentations and presenters.  

However, I believe the clearest quantitative measure of program impact was from a presentation I gave for the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council annual meetings held at three locations in 2021.  There were eight presentations at each location from our state extension specialists plus one out-of-state specialist (Ed Rayburn who was the keynote speaker).  These presentations were recorded and posted to the web at: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrq6psn95pUxQqWrf_m4ZnH-xhW74EhIu    

As of 7/13/22 my video had 6907 views and the next highest was 1926 views (by the out-of-state keynote speaker).  All are summarized below:

Greg Halich                                      6907

Ed Rayburn                                      1926

JD Green                                           851

Morgan Hays                                   520

John Grove                                      474

Jimmy Henning                               287

Matt Dixon                                      250

Chris Teutsch                                   192

This differences at first glance are dramatic, and if you take out the out-of-state keynote speaker who had the next highest viewings, it becomes almost embarrassing.  

I have found publications in popular farm-press magazines the best way to get new information out to the general farming public.  In the last year I wrote two articles on bale grazing for Hay and Forage Grower (circulation of 127,000 readers).  The editor of the magazine was impressed enough with the bale grazing concept that he came out from Wisconsin to visit my personal farm and one farm that I have been working with for three years to see the tool in action.  He wrote a follow-up article to my two articles based on that visit: “He’s a Bale Grazing Disciple”.   

I get scores of emails each year from farmers who have either watched one of the videos I have on bale grazing or who have read one of my bale grazing articles.  Here is one such email from Steve Freeman, who has a large cow-calf operation in southern Missouri:

“I just wanted to drop a quick note about your article in Hay and Forage Grower. I don't want you to think I'm just pumping up your tires but I found this piece of writing to be about as informative and well written as one could be. You have a knack for explaining the issues and challenges very well. Don't hide or minimize them but lay them out and how to manage them. I can't imagine reading your article and not wanting to go out and give it a go!”

Here was another email from Todd Clark, cattle farmer and hay producer in Fayette and Scott Counties KY: “Just read your article in Cow Country News, awesome!”

Many people are initially skeptical that bale grazing will work.  Bill Payne, a technical service provider for NRCS was initially very skeptical and vocal against bale grazing, but after attending on of my presentations on bale grazing where I addressed his concerns and questions changed his mind about the practice.  Here is an email from him after that presentation: 

“I do feel more comfortable [with bale grazing] after your presentation yesterday.  The key principles that you pointed out yesterday, namely:  low stocking density, using dry hay, hay rings, feeding on stockpile and reseeding afterwards all make sense.  Good presentation.  Keep up the work with innovative ideas”.

Bale grazing is a radical change to conventional wintering practices, and requires a different mindset to have the confidence it can work.  For some farmers an article or presentation will be enough to give them that confidence.  However, for many farmers the only way they will make the change is to see it working on an actual farm.  That is one of the main goals with NRCS CIG grant: to have farms scattered across six states to provide demonstrations where farmers can see bale grazing in action and see the results over multiple years.  The next six years will provide an opportunity to expand the scope and impact of this signature program.  I look forward to the ride.