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NE Iowa | Year 4 of bale grazing here in NE Iowa. Bales go out and net wrap comes off in the fall as soon as the ground is frozen so we don’t tear things up with equipment. Cows come off stalks and onto bales the beginning of December. Been running 30hd on 60 bales with the goal of finishing up by February when it gets too muddy to graze without pugging up the soil. This year running 60hd on 120 bales. Works really well to build soil fertility on the lighter ground. Saves a bunch of equipment time too - no equipment needed for daily feeding after the bales are set up and way fewer trips spreading manure in the spring. Cows get access to 6-8 bales at a time (rule of thumb is 10hd/bale). Polywire gets moved to the next set based on bale utilization, weather, and body condition. Less hay goes into the cows than with bale feeders and I do have bare spots for a minute in the early spring where the bales themselves sat. These quickly reseed with whatever is in the seed bank along with whatever seed is in the bale. Better quality bales bring better seed and have 5-10% ‘waste’. Poor quality bales bring poor quality seeds and have 10-20% ‘waste’. I keep the neighbors entertained too… overall it’s been a win here.
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Hay feeding question
