Get reliable rangeland science

Bale grazing is the practice of allowing livestock winter access to hay bales in a hayfield or improved pasture to reduce feed delivery costs. Livestock growers in the northern Great Plains practicing this technique are also interested in improving soil health and forage production, while maintaining livestock performance. However, very little published data is available addressing these impacts. An applied research project on four ranches in North Dakota is being conducted to examine winter hay bale grazing effects on subsequent forage production on improved pastures. Four bales per ranch were selected and vegetation clipped for biomass at four distance points along each cardinal direction from the bale center after cattle had grazed the bales. Hay residue was sampled at the same points to determine waste, and examine a possible relationship with forage regrowth. Four control points without bales were also clipped in the same fashion within the pasture. The most common perennial introduced grasses in the pastures were smooth brome (Bromus inermis), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and quackgrass (Elymus repens). Data after the first year of forage re-growth shows a positive trend between forage re-growth and bale grazing on three of the four ranches, and a negative trend on one ranch when compared with the controls.� On average, forage increased 14.5 percent 1.5 m directly along the bales edge, 18.8 percent 1.5 m from bale, 38.5 percent 3 m from bale, and 71.5 percent 4.5 m from bale. On one ranch, excessive residue from wasted hay appears to have negatively affected the forage regrowth response. Another year of data collection on the same sites will allow us to examine forage response from nutrient release over time. Our completed project will include an annual cost analysis and outreach for technical information on bale grazing as a winter feeding practice.