Hi Eddie, We have some bales up front in rows that we use when we can't use the bale grazing. A more common problem is when the ground gets too soft. After a rain the cattle can do significant damage to the area they are feeding in. When that happens, we feed up front. We also feed up front when we are waiting for the grass to get mature enough to withstand grazing in the spring... greater than 12" tall. If snow did get too deep for the UTV we could plow the lane, like Greg Judy. He shows this practice in one of his videos. He uses a bale unwinder that he designed rather than the rope.
1/22/2023 Update. The steel rod has become a handy bale handling tool. When you want to spin the bale around to correct the rotation or to turn it around for the next pass, you can pull the rod out about 2 feet on the side you want to lift on to create a lifting handle. I can spin a full bale around by hand. I am very happy with the logs and bonnets right now. Together, they are doing a great job of keeping the bales from freezing to the ground. I've never had a problem spinning a full bale around to correct its rotation for unrolling. Next year, I am going to check bale rotation before it is put in place, so it is "never" necessary to spin bales around before unrolling them. I am very pleased so far with the condition of the ground between the feeding line and the centralized winter water. I will make sure to do a video about this at the end of the season.
HI Kevin, Thanks for the video. I’m unrolling hay as well, but that’s an interesting way to minimize waste by staking the fence posts down the center of the row of hay. Is that 8 head of cattle you’ve got? What’s the approximate size of the paddocks you’re allowing them to graze on and are you rotating every 4 days?
Hi bonsukan, That is 9 head. Two of those are last spring's calves, so it is probably equivalent to 8 adults. The paddock we are using for the winter is around 40 yards wide. Every day they get access to another 2 yards or so of that paddock as the line moves away from the "barn" where the centralized winter water is. They are not excluded from the earlier feeding areas. They travel over those areas to get to the water. If snow is on the ground, I notice they often stay in the feeding area and skip the trip back to the water and eat snow instead. This is not rotation during the winter. I figure that is Okay since the pest cycle is not active. During the grazing season they are moved at least once a day. Sometimes twice.
Im from Northeast Iowa......... since November...... Id already be frozen and still out in the field if I done things this way. Need a lot heavier clothing then your wearing here....... when its 20 below 0 !!!!!!
Still doing it at 3 degrees F in Southern Wisconsin! Yes, the overalls have been drug out! Today there was about 8 inches of powder on the ground. This did not slow down the RzR. Surprisingly, I am still able to step in posts. I thought I would be drilling them in by now!
The plastic was laid on the ground, logs placed inside, then the plastic not pinned by the logs was pulled to one side to set the bale on the logs. Then the plastic was pulled up over the bale and taped. The plastic came from Blain's Farm and Fleet. The tape is regular box tape. I cannot say for sure if the plastic improved my hay yield. I hope to know better at the end of the season. The last two bales in the row were left unwrapped so a comparison could be made. The plastic helped keep the bales from freezing to the ground/logs. It also made it easier to spin the bales around if they are facing in the wrong direction.
Low maintenance. Straightforward. Simple. My kind of setup.
Thank you very much for sharing.
I really like the down the center method of conserving hay.
It made a big difference for us. Without the line, most of the cattle will stand in the middle of the hay and poop in it while they eat.
That’s a great idea to get the most out of your hay bales.
Good idea and strategies. Wish to can see more videos on how you would feed your cattle in the deep snow?
Hi Eddie, We have some bales up front in rows that we use when we can't use the bale grazing. A more common problem is when the ground gets too soft. After a rain the cattle can do significant damage to the area they are feeding in. When that happens, we feed up front. We also feed up front when we are waiting for the grass to get mature enough to withstand grazing in the spring... greater than 12" tall.
If snow did get too deep for the UTV we could plow the lane, like Greg Judy. He shows this practice in one of his videos. He uses a bale unwinder that he designed rather than the rope.
1/22/2023 Update. The steel rod has become a handy bale handling tool. When you want to spin the bale around to correct the rotation or to turn it around for the next pass, you can pull the rod out about 2 feet on the side you want to lift on to create a lifting handle. I can spin a full bale around by hand.
I am very happy with the logs and bonnets right now. Together, they are doing a great job of keeping the bales from freezing to the ground. I've never had a problem spinning a full bale around to correct its rotation for unrolling.
Next year, I am going to check bale rotation before it is put in place, so it is "never" necessary to spin bales around before unrolling them.
I am very pleased so far with the condition of the ground between the feeding line and the centralized winter water. I will make sure to do a video about this at the end of the season.
Awesome
HI Kevin, Thanks for the video. I’m unrolling hay as well, but that’s an interesting way to minimize waste by staking the fence posts down the center of the row of hay. Is that 8 head of cattle you’ve got? What’s the approximate size of the paddocks you’re allowing them to graze on and are you rotating every 4 days?
Hi bonsukan, That is 9 head. Two of those are last spring's calves, so it is probably equivalent to 8 adults. The paddock we are using for the winter is around 40 yards wide. Every day they get access to another 2 yards or so of that paddock as the line moves away from the "barn" where the centralized winter water is. They are not excluded from the earlier feeding areas. They travel over those areas to get to the water. If snow is on the ground, I notice they often stay in the feeding area and skip the trip back to the water and eat snow instead.
This is not rotation during the winter. I figure that is Okay since the pest cycle is not active. During the grazing season they are moved at least once a day. Sometimes twice.
Im from Northeast Iowa......... since November...... Id already be frozen and still out in the field if I done things this way. Need a lot heavier clothing then your wearing here....... when its 20 below 0 !!!!!!
Still doing it at 3 degrees F in Southern Wisconsin! Yes, the overalls have been drug out! Today there was about 8 inches of powder on the ground. This did not slow down the RzR. Surprisingly, I am still able to step in posts. I thought I would be drilling them in by now!
Great idea wrapping the bales in plastic. How do you actually put the plactic on the bales?
The plastic was laid on the ground, logs placed inside, then the plastic not pinned by the logs was pulled to one side to set the bale on the logs. Then the plastic was pulled up over the bale and taped. The plastic came from Blain's Farm and Fleet. The tape is regular box tape.
I cannot say for sure if the plastic improved my hay yield. I hope to know better at the end of the season. The last two bales in the row were left unwrapped so a comparison could be made.
The plastic helped keep the bales from freezing to the ground/logs. It also made it easier to spin the bales around if they are facing in the wrong direction.