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 11 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 could be tried by other Kentucky cattle farmers.  Since that time I have worked closely with over a dozen farms in Kentucky and had over 100 other farm visits 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 that started in 2022.  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.  

Although 2022-23 winter was the first for the project and we were just getting started, we still held one field day at one demonstration farm in Kentucky, and then had an agent tour at two farms.  Having field days, tours, and informal gatherings at the participating farms is an important component of this project and these will increase in subsequent years.

This research into bale grazing 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.  

Through my on-farm research and collaboration with other states on the CIG grant, I have turned bale grazing into one of my signature extension programs.  In 2022-23, I had 28 farm visits to help guide on-farm implementation. I had 8 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 wetter eastern US conditions.  I had eight out-of-state presentations: Five at the state or regional level, one multi-state presentation (Heart of America Grazing Conference), one national-level presentation (NRCS Field Specialist Workshop), and one international presentation (International Grassland Congress) on bale grazing in 2022-23.  

The clearest qualitative evidence of program impact is the sheer number of requests for presentations, including the national and international presentations noted above.  These requests are not happening because I’m a good marketer of this program.  They are happening because people are watching my videos, reading my magazine articles, or attended my presentations on bale grazing and the demand for this topic is spreading word-of-mouth.

The clearest quantitative measure of program impact was from a presentation I gave for the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council annual meeting in 2021.  While this presentation occurred in fall 2021, it was recorded with the other presentations and posted to the UK Forages website for continuous viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M3zs0TWmrg  

As of 7/11/23 my video had 15.0K views (6.9K on 7/13/22 a year ago) and the next highest was 2.8K views by the out-of-state keynote speaker.  These are summarized below:

Greg Halich                                                                    15.0K

Ed Rayburn (Out-of-State Keynote)                         2.8K

JD Green (UK Specialist)                                             1.3K

5 Other Presentations by UK Specialists                 Less than 1.0K each

The sheer number of views compared to the other presentations shows strong evidence (at least comparatively) of program impact.  

Interest in the actual grant and the multi-state collaboration is growing as well.  In May 2023, 

Beef Magazine (circulation 100,000) featured article summarizing this bale grazing grant and how bale grazing can improve winter feeding.  

I get scores of emails each year from farmers who have either watched one of my videos, read one of my articles, or attended one of my presentations or field days on bale grazing.  Here are some of these emails:

Ben Smith, cattle farmer in Meade County, and also teaches agriculture at the community college in Elizabethtown (ECTC): 

“You are the only one in land grant extension who seems to be familiar with the process [bale grazing] and understands the economic and ecological benefits… I've followed your work and guidance on bale grazing, and we have seen great results with regards to soil health, animal performance, and overall profitability.”

Susan Garey, Delaware extension agent: “I came across your information in several talks and YouTube videos and really appreciate your combination of practical experience with science in your presentation”.

Steve Freeman, Missouri cattle farmer and past president of the Missouri Forage and Grassland Council:

“I sincerely want to say how much I enjoy your presentations. Bringing your practical farming knowledge together with your economic/financial knowledge allows your presentations to resonate with us. And you don't preach!”

Ted Johnson, ANR Agent Lee County, after an agent tour of two of the CIG bale grazing farms:

“I was wanting to learn and see a more planned way of making it [hay feeding] more effective for the farmers. I learned a lot on our tour that I can relay to my producers and assist them in being more efficient. Very interested in follow up tours on this topic. Keep up the great work.”

Nick Frechen, cattle farmer in Fowler Michigan who I worked with by email and phone to help him implement bale grazing:

“I really appreciate all of the help, compared to my roll-out method with my UTV last year, this has saved me hundreds of hours in labor and hundreds of dollars in hay waste, so that alone is extremely encouraging!”

Curk Smart, Maryland cattle farmer: “Your video changed how I view wintering cattle. I wish I could get the money back for all the concrete we poured lol”. 

John Murray, West Virginia University Extension Agent: 

“One of the producers that attended the meeting held at the State Fairgrounds in January was my wife’s uncle.  He went home and immediately set out bales that week and gave bale grazing a try. I was talking with him last week and he was happy with the way things went and plans on utilizing bale grazing again this coming winter.”

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, presentation, or You Tube video will be enough to give them the confidence to make the change.  However, for many other 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 demonstration farms where farmers can see bale grazing in action and see the results over multiple years.  The next five years will provide an opportunity to expand the scope and impact of this signature program.  I look forward to the ride.