Hay feeding seasons in Kentucky can last anywhere from 90 days to 6 months, depending on several factors, including herd size, forage management, weather, and infrastructure. Shorter hay feeding seasons can give producers advantages in terms of production efficiency and input cost reduction. The Extension Agent, in partnership with specialists in Agricultural Economics, Animal Science, and Plant and Soil Sciences, have led a bale grazing trial with 4 Producers in Anderson County. 

Bale grazing is a winter-feeding method where bales are set out on pasture and fed in a planned, controlled manner, somewhat like rotational grazing. Monthly one-on-one site visits and planning meetings have been scheduled and conducted with the producers through the fall and winter to cover concepts such as feeding rate, stockpiling fescue, field size, hay quality, nutrition balancing, and soil fertility. The University of Kentucky recently received a $2.6 million Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Grant to expand the project across six states: Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, New York, and Missouri. Continued field days and educational programs will occur with discoveries stemming from the research conducted for this grant.

Participants will be given written surveys multiple times in the coming year for both the Anderson County Extension Office as well as the University and NRCS. All producers verbally reported several outcomes that have spurred interest in the community by other producers. Shortened hay feeding season, less dependence on commercial fertilizer, and reduced input cost from decreased tractor usage were some of the most important metrics mentioned about the program.