There has been a big push the last few years by forage specialists to promote year-round grazing, where no hay or only a few weeks of hay is fed. Graze 300 is a similar program that has been implemented in a number of states to promote just 1-2 months of hay feeding. While the intention of these efforts is good (trying to reduce hay feeding costs), the net effect on overall profitability has not been evaluated. It has just looked at one side of the equation: reduced hay feeding cost, but has not accounted for the indirect costs. Although there are a few of these costs, by far the biggest indirect cost is that cattle farms will have to reduce their stocking rate to reach these lower levels of hay feeding (holding other management practices constant). The end result is that you will have fewer calves to sell on the same farm. This cost has not been accounted for in the push to promote limited hay feeding on cow-calf farms. 

I have included these indirect costs into a comprehensive analysis looking at a range of scenarios of various stocking rates and hay feeding days on a given farm. Since the cost of reduced cow numbers (selling fewer calves) will be highly dependent the base profitability of a particular farm, multiple cost-profit scenarios are presented so that the audience/user can chose what is more representative for their situation. The benefit of reduced hay feeding is dependent on the cost of the hay (purchased or produced), as well as the potential nutrient value from feeding it (subtracted from hay cost). So a range of net hay costs are also presented. Once the combined base profit and hay cost scenarios are chosen, each farmer is able to identify the range of hay feeding days that will be most profitable for their farm and in their specific situation. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question.  It depends.  Simplified recommendations will cause misleading results.

This program is most beneficial to advanced cow-calf producers who are willing to learn and change their management practices, and I only try to use it in the right situation at county meetings. It is much better geared toward multi-county or regional-type meetings with more serious cattle farmers, such as the Master Cattlemen program. It is harder to pull off successfully at a county meeting where learning is not the main priority.

That said, interest in the program exploded last year after I published a series of three articles in Progressive Forages on the topic:

http://www.progressiveforage.com/forage-types/grasses-and-grazing/picking-apples-off-the-grazing-tree-when-grazing-isn-t-profitable

https://www.progressiveforage.com/forage-types/grasses-and-grazing/picking-apples-off-the-grazing-tree-part-ii

https://www.progressiveforage.com/forage-production/management/picking-apples-off-the-grazing-tree-part-iii-the-stocking-rate-hay-feeding-trade-off

During the winter of 2017/18 I presented this program in Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and even a regional NRCS sponsored grazing conference. I presented it at a national-level SARE 10-year anniversary conference in April, and presented in January 2017 at the national-level American Forage and Grassland Council annual meeting. I will also be presenting at the Missouri Forage and Grassland Council annual 2-day meeting in October (along with grass-finished cattle production). The Missouri chapter of the AFGC is arguably the most active chapter in the country and every year they bring in 1-2 nationally recognized speakers for their group. Out of all the work I have done in extension, this is probably the best indicator that my work is having an impact.