Tag:

cows

how to use round hay bales on a small farm

How To Feed Round Hay Bales By Hand

by From Scratch Farmstead April 23, 2023

Small square bales of hay don’t have to be the only option on your small farm or homestead! We’ll share how we feed round hay bales by hand without owning a tractor.

Hay Basics

I’ve come a long way from my suburban upbringing where I’m not sure if I could have told you the difference between hay and straw.

So, I full well realize that sometimes it’s helpful to start with the basics.

Hay is simply grass that has been preserved for later consumption. Many livestock graze on pasture during the growing season and then switch to hay during the colder months. Here in northern Illinois, our cows are fed hay roughly November through April each year.

A hay field is cut down, dried out, and then baled up. During the drying period, the cuttings are cured much like a potato is cured when dug up from the garden and goes on to last for months. Cured hay maintains its freshness and nutritional profile when properly stored for at least a year.

The three standard sizes of hay bales and their common dimensions are:

Small Square Bales – 1.5’ x 1.5’ x 3’
Round Bales – 4’H x 5’W
Large Square Bales – 2’ x 2’ x 8’ or 3’ x 3’ x 8’

Small square bales are light and compact enough to be moved by hand. The latter options both require heavy equipment to move. Because of this, many small farms have only ever dealt with small square bales.

But let’s look at some reasons to consider round hay bales.

Why Round Hay Bales Make Sense

When our neighbor who supplies our hay approached me about switching to round bales this past winter, I was skeptical.

However, after trying it for a full winter and assessing the pros and cons, I’m not missing small square bales as much as I thought I would—maybe not at all!

Let’s look at that more in the way of pros and cons of round hay bales.

Pros of Round Hay Bales

Cost

Round bales cost less. Pound for pound, you’re buying in bulk and there’s savings to be had there. In our area, a $90 round bale would cost me about $150 in small square bales. Add that up over an entire winter and that’s a lot of savings.

Efficiency

When a farmer has the option to move 1 round bale with a tractor versus 20 small square bales by hand, which do you think they’ll choose? With the right equipment and proximity, exchanging round bales between seller and buyer will save a lot of time.

Availability

Because of this efficiency, many farmers have invested in round hay bale equipment. If you’ve only ever used small square bales before, you might be surprised how many options of round bales are available if you search nearby.

Cons of Round Hay Bales

Moving Them

A standard round bale of hay is going to weigh around 1,000 lbs. You need a tractor or skid steer to move it. And wherever you plop it, it’s not going anywhere. You won’t even nudge it an inch once the tractor leaves—I’ve tried. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to own the equipment yourself, which we’ll talk more about below!

tractor dropping 4x5 round hay bale in barn

Portioning Them

There’s no getting around it—portioning out the flakes of hay that come off your small square bales is just convenient. With a rolled up round bale it trickier to portion, but not impossible. I share more on how I do that coming up.

Keeping Them Tight

The first few round hay bales I dealt with felt both frustrating and wasteful. Without the right technique, they seem to just keep unraveling and making a mess all over your barn. But again, after learning the ropes this became much more manageable!

Feeding Round Bales of Hay by Hand – Step by Step

To save you some of the frustration and hassle I just mentioned, here is how we’ve made feeding round hay bales by hand work on our small homestead.

Step 1 – Receiving a round bale

We have a small pole barn with an opening large enough for a tractor to back a round bale into (approximately 8’). Assuming you also have a dry and accessible area to fit a round bale into, here are some considerations when receiving a delivery:

Lay pallets down first. This will raise your bale off the ground so it stays dry. You’ll likely need 4 standard sized pallets for this.
Have a couple feet of clearance. You’ll need space to efficiently unroll hay for your animals on a daily basis.
Lay the bale flat side down. This will make working with your bale by hand and unwrapping it easier, which is our next step.

round hay bale stored flat side down in barn

Step 2 – Unwrap your bale

Round hay bales typically have a plastic mesh netting wrapped around them 2-4 times. There’s two ways to remove this wrap.

First is by simply finding the end of it, pulling the netting around the bale, and unwrapping the bale fully. Second is to take a sharp knife or blade and cut through the netting from top to bottom on the bale, and then unwrap it. Both work, but I tend to prefer the first method.

Note that the outside roles of hay may be loose and come unraveled when you first unwrap a round bale. This can be especially dangerous if you have chickens or other small animals that can get trapped by a hay avalanche! Usually, this resolves as you go since the role gets tighter toward the center of the bale.

Step 3 – Unroll flakes of hay

Instead of separating flakes like on a square bale, round bales need to be unrolled. There’s two tricks here I’ve learned to make this easier.

The first is to roll the hay back up as you’re pulling it off and unrolling it. It’s less awkward to keep it in rolled form and work with it that way.

The second trick is how to release the hay you’re unraveling. When you’re done unrolling hay, instead of pulling the hay straight out from the bale, pull it back in the same direction you were rolling from until it releases cleanly.

unrolling flake of hay from 4x5 round bale

This clean release will help keep the rest of the bale intact. If you don’t do this, the bale will likely continue unraveling and leave you with some extra hay on the ground to clean up.

One more thing worth noting is that a fair amount of hay can fall to the ground while unrolling the bale. Gather this hay up—either by hand or with a rake—and use it. This helps to minimize hay waste.

Step 4 – Feed your animals

If you only need a small quantity of hay at a time, you can likely just unroll some hay by hand and bring it directly to your animals or hay feeder.

For larger quantities, like when I feed hay to our cows, I’ve found it easiest to have some kind of hay cart or wagon to distribute hay with. I use a plastic garden cart for this and unravel several rolls of hay at a time to fill the cart with. Then I wheel the cart out and dump the hay for them in their paddock.

Step 5 – Getting a replacement hay bale

Once the bale has gotten small enough to relocate, you can clear the space for the next bale of hay to be dropped off.

We’ve found it helpful to keep a careful watch of the weather and be in regular communication with the farmer you’re getting hay from so both sides can plan ahead.

If unfavorable conditions are forecasted like snow, ice, or really cold temps, you may need to expedite things and try to get a bale dropped off sooner so you’re stocked up. Or, if temperatures are going to heat up, you might want to try and get hay delivered before the ground thaws and turns into a muddy mess.

We always try to have a few spare small square bales on hand in case there’s an unforeseen lag period between getting a replacement hay bale.

Round Hay Bales – FAQ’s

Can I use round hay bales if I don’t own a tractor?

Yes! This is very dependent on your farm’s hay intake needs and proximity to sources of hay. But, as we have discovered, it is very possible without owning a tractor or skid steer.

Check with local farms near you to see if they will not only sell you round hay bales, but also be able to deliver them as needed. Even if they charge a delivery fee, it may still be more economical than small squares bales.

And how about that neighbor with a tractor or skid steer? Maybe you can get a few bales delivered and see about borrowing equipment from a neighbor to move them as needed.

With a little creativity and networking, there’s a good chance you’ll find an option that works.

feeding cows from round hay bale by hand

Do you remove netting off round bales when feeding?

Yes. the safest way to feed round bales is to remove the entire netting and dispose of it properly prior to giving it to animals. The plastic mesh netting that wraps a round bale can be dangerous if consumed or an animal gets caught in it.

This post focuses on how to feed round bales by hand. But round bales are also commonly fed in whole form and placed in a field or hay feeder for livestock to consume. In both cases, always remove the plastic wrap first.

How Much Does a Round Bale of Hay Cost?

This will depend both on your location and the quality of hay being purchased. I can speak for our area in northern Illinois, which is pretty representative of the midwest.

High quality, tightly packed round hay bales cost $80-$100. A lesser quality round bale will likely cost $65-$80.

How Much Does a Round Bale of Hay Weigh?

Contents and sizes can vary widely among round bales. A small round bale can weigh as little as 600 lbs. and a large bale as high as 1,600 lbs.

The four standard sizes of round bales are listed below along with their average weight:

4’ x 4’ – 600 lbs.
4’ x 5’ – 950 lbs.
5’ x 5’ – 1,200 lbs.
5’ x 6’ – 1,500 lbs.

How Many Square Bales are in a 4×5 Round Bale?

On average, there will be about 19 square bales in a 4×5 round bale.

Small square bales typically weigh between 40-60 lbs. each. If you figure 50 lb. small square bales and a 950 lb. 4×5 round bale, then you would have 19 square bales per round bale.

A 1,500 lb. round bale would be equivalent to 30 square bales at 50 lbs. each.

Tips When Purchasing Round Hay Bales

Well grown, cut, and preserved hay is a beautiful thing. It’s sweet smell and freshness is unmistakable.

If you are new to hay and don’t yet have a barometer for high quality hay versus poor quality hay, I’d encourage you to befriend a long-time farmer (preferably one that cuts their own hay) and learn as much from them as you can. Observe some different bales of hay with them and get a feel for what they look for, the smells they notice, the compositions they prefer. That will be your best teacher.

But here are some other things to look for, or to avoid, when purchasing round hay bales.

How To Purchase Round Hay Bales:

Ask what cutting the hay was from. Farmers typically cut hay three times a season. The 1st cutting is comprised of mainly early season grasses. Your 2nd and 3rd cutting will yield higher percentages of alfalfa and clover. Therefore, later cuttings of hay are typically more desirable.

Is the bale tightly packed and rolled? A tight bale will contain more hay and therefore be of higher value. Loosely packed bales will also likely lead to more waste.

Look for hay that has a sweet smell and avoid anything that smells moldy, musty, fermented, or moist.

It’s normal for the outside of a bale to be discolored, but make sure the majority of the inside contents are green and crisp throughout. Avoid anything that is excessively discolored or bleached beyond the outside layers.

Look for fine-stemmed grasses and plants and avoid hay that appears fibrous and overgrown.

Avoid bales that feel warm to the touch or are excessively heavy from moisture. Too much moisture in hay can cause mold or spontaneous combustion.

Understand the makeup and nutritional profile of the hay. The most common hay mixtures include grasses, clover, and alfalfa. In addition to energy and nutrient rich grasses, alfalfa and clover are high in protein and offer different vitamins and minerals.

Understand the farmers growing practices and make sure they align with your values. Were synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers used? Was the field planted in genetically modified pasture seed?

Tips for Reducing Waste When Feeding Round Bales

Round hay bales are commonly fed to animals in whole form—meaning the entire bale is placed in their paddock and consumed over the course of days or weeks.

This is the most convenient way to feed round bales, but also the least efficient. Research has shown as much as 60% of hay can be wasted using this method. The simple addition of a hay feeder can reduce this to only 5% being wasted.

The topic of this discussion, however, has been feeding round bales by hand in smaller quantities. How do you do this and reduce waste?

Our method has been to:

Dial in the intake amount of your animals
Dump hay in a different location every day

To get the quantity of hay dialed in, simply start with what seems like a standard amount and observe what happens.

Are your animals showing you signs of being hungry when the next feeding time comes around? If so, increase your quantity.

Is there still hay left that they didn’t eat when the next feeding time comes around? Then try decreasing a bit.

Find the happy medium where your animals are content with minimal hay being wasted. Note that intake needs can change based on variables like temperatures.

Once you have the quantity of hay dialed in, my next method to reduce hay waste is to dump hay in a fresh location at every feeding.

My experience has been that if you feed your animals the right amount of hay in smaller quantities, very little gets wasted. They eat it up before they are able to trample it and poop all over it. Then by the time they’re hungry again, you’re right there with their next round of hay!

For us, this has looked like giving our couple cows one full cart of hay in the morning and one full cart in the evening.

And this leaves us with one final question.

Is a hay feeder necessary when feeding round bales by hand?

Our answer is a resounding—NO!

Could a hay feeder be helpful? Maybe. But it is definitely not a necessity.

We are all about simple homesteading on a budget. Until something becomes an absolute must have on the homestead, we avoid it. This way, we have less things to manage and less expenses.

If you manage your hay situation using the methods I’ve outlined above, I’m willing to bet you can get by without a hay feeder too—wether you use round bales, square bales, or any shape in between 🙂

Cows In Winter 101 | How To Keep Dairy or Beef Cattle Warm and Happy

by From Scratch Farmstead November 27, 2022

When our formerly suburban family bought a milk cow, the list of questions was a mile long! At the top of that list, “How in the world do we do this in the winter?” Since then we’ve learned a lot by visiting farms, working at farms, and keeping our own cows in winter. We’ll break down the basics of winter cow care for both dairy and beef cattle.

Our Simple Winter Cow Setup

We keep a dairy cow and one or two of her calves on our 5 acre homestead northern Illinois. With little previous experience, we learned a TON along the way. But this small herd has survived the last several winters just fine.

Our setup is nothing special! Cows are hardy animals. Our cows are 100% grass-fed meaning they’re on pasture all growing season and fed hay through the cold months.

This video shows more of our winter cow setup.

Even when eating hay in winter, the cows are outside in a fenced paddock. Our stall inside our pole barn is only reserved for the coldest stretches, or when they are wet and need a place to dry off.

With the right food, water, and shelter, keeping your cows warm and happy all winter long is 100% doable!

How cold can cows tolerate?

Cows are happiest in weather between 40-60°F. They will generally hold up fine with temps reaching down to 18-20°F. Below that range, cows can start to experience the stresses of their cold environment and require additional care and management. If their needs are met, cows can handle temperatures down to zero or below.

Cows are warm blooded animals and keep a core body temperature around 101°F. Cows maintaining that body temperature will appear calm. If your cow exhibits behaviors like mooing excessively, they devour food aggressively and rapidly, or their milk supply or body weight is dropping, they might be in a stressed state from the cold.

The biggest winter threat is when a cows coat of fur becomes wet followed by freezing temps. We’ll talk more about shelters below, but some access to a dry space without wind is a necessity. Without it, cows might not be able to dry off and bring their body temperatures back up on their own.

This is especially true with newborn or young calves. If a newborn calf is born in temperatures below 32°F, they will likely need to be brought into a barn or shelter to dry off and keep warm. Young calves should also be monitored closely and given access to dry shelter during their first few months. They aren’t able to moderate their core temps as well as an adult cow.

That said, cows are built for the cold and capable of maintaining their own body temperatures to keep warm.

How do cows stay warm in the winter?

Cows have three ways to keep warm in winter: growing winter hair, thick and fatty skin, and through proper food intake.

Growing Winter Hair

In the cool fall months, cows start to grow a thicker and longer coat of fur. Their winter coat makes an excellent outer layer to help trap internal heat while shedding wind and other elements. But, as mentioned above, this coat is not impermeable and can be dangerous when wet. We like to keep close watch of the weather and make adjustments as needed. For instance, if a sleet or rain is coming followed by rapidly dropping temperatures, this might be a time where we’d preemptively open up barn access for them.

Thick and Fatty Skin

A cow can also prepare for winter by bulking up. Cows are naturally thick skinned which helps keep cold out and heat in. But you may also notice their desire to prepare for the winter months by increasing their food intake and storing up extra fat under their skin. This will improve their body condition and add yet another layer or protection from the cold.

Proper Food Intake

Cows are ruminants, meaning their stomachs are designed to digest and internally ferment grasses and other plants. Both of these processes – digestion and fermentation – naturally produce heat. This allows cows to heat themselves from the inside out if given enough food, which we’ll talk more about.

Dairy Cows in Winter vs. Beef Cows in Winter

Dairy cows and beef cows don’t differ all that much. But because they’re bred for different functions, the cold does affect them in different ways.

Dairy Cows

Dairy cows are not only expending energy to keep themselves warm, but also to continue producing milk in the winter months. You might say they are pulling double duty. Some studies have shown a dairy cow will consume as much as 50% more during the winter months.

We have found it helpful to monitor our cows milk supply during the winter months to know if they are lacking anything in their diet and staying warm enough. A drop in supply may indicate they are expending the bulk of their energy to keep warm, therefore putting less energy toward milk production. Usually this tells us they need more food, minerals, or access to shelter.

The udder and teats of dairy cows are particularly vulnerable during the winter months. If exposed to too much cold or wind, their teats especially will become chapped and crack. This causes a lot of discomfort and can make them rather agitated while milking.

When we experience wounds on teats from the cold with our milk cow we know it’s time to offer her more barn access to get her out of the wind. With applying some healing salve or balm to the wounds, being gentle during milking, and giving her a dry, wind-free shelter, she’ll typically heal up within a couple days.

Beef Cows

Beef cattle will also have increased intake needs during the winter months. Though, typically, less so than a dairy cow who is also producing milk. A beef cows food consumption will go up around 20-25% during the winter months.

Beef cows are also generally hardier than a dairy cow because of their larger frame and build. This allows them to keep their body temps up more easily in frigid temps with less needs and inputs.

What do cows eat in the winter?

Knowing that a cow will consume anywhere from 20-50% more food during the winter, what then do you feed them?

Often, their diet looks similar to what it does the rest of the year. A cow typically on pasture will most likely transition to a diet of hay. Hay is a mixture of pasture grasses and plants that have been cut, cured, and preserved for consumption past the growing season.

Cows can also be fed grains, or a combination of grains and hay. When hay or grains are in short supply, other supplements can be corn stalks, wheat straw, or soybean hulls. Alfalfa pellets or other protein supplements are also an option if their hay or feed is low in protein.

We feed our cows a high quality source of hay through the winter and have found that to be substantial for them.

Water and minerals for cows in the winter

Having constant access to a clean and unfrozen water supply for your cows is an absolute must!

There are two common options. The most common is to add a submersible or floating heater to a stock tank. We have a submersible heater with a 100 gallon stock tank that we currently use a backup but has worked great when in use. The downfall of this setup is needing to run buckets of water out to fill it if you don’t have a frost-proof hydrant right next to it.

The second option is an automatic waterer that utilizes geo-thermal heat and/or a heater to stay unfrozen through the winter. There are many different manufactures or automatic waterers, but we use a Jug – check out our full Jug Waterer Review. We absolutely love it and it is a lifesaver, especially in the winter months!

Salt and minerals are another big nutritional need that arrises every winter. Their need for minerals especially seems to spike when the cold sets in. So make sure you have a fresh supply of salt and minerals available to them.

We buy a salt block and mineral block that they have access to all year. Even if they have an older salt or mineral block, we’ve found it important to refresh their supply heading into winter. The blocks have a tendency to get worn out, even if they still look new, during the summer months. One trick is to split a block in half with a hatchet to give them access to the fresh salt or minerals in the center.

Do cows need shelter in the winter?

The short answer is, “yes.” But not necessarily all the time. We have found that cows prefer to be outside when they can and so we try to reserve access to our barn shelter for only when weather conditions turn extreme. That said, if you have a suitable barn setup, you can certainly give them as much access to it as you’d like.

Observation is your greatest tool when it comes to allowing your cows to have or not have access to a barn or other shelter. During the winter months, we keep close watch on the weather and the cows themselves to know when it’s time to open up the barn for access.

The other day the thermometer showed -2°F so we opened up the barn for our milk cow overnight. The next morning she greeted us outside for her morning milking, so we just milked her outside!

Winter cattle shelter requirements

Typically, a shelter with at least 3 sides and a roof is a minimum requirement for proper protection from wind and precipitation. Within the shelter, you’ll want to make sure the floor stays dry with proper bedding like straw.

A stall inside a barn is ideal as a winter cattle shelter. Barns have a roof and can typically be closed up tight to keep out drafts and maintain heat. A simple lean-to structure is also commonly used with a roof overhead and at least three solid walls for sides.

When in a pinch, a more basic approach might be to setup t-posts or fence posts and fasten pallets or plywood to them to make a wind barrier. Trees or bushes can also help provide a wind barrier or shelter for animals in the winter months.

Where do cows sleep in the winter?

On still winter nights, cows will most likely choose to sleep beneath the stars like they would the rest of the year. On windy nights you’ll find them huddled up close to a windbreak to block the chilly wind. Or on wet nights they’ll likely seek out shelter and dry bedding to keep warm and dry.

As we’ve found out with our milk cow, they’ll often lay right in a warm pile of poop to keep warm! Cows just tend to be a little messier in the wintertime. So, if you have a milk cow especially, you may need to plan for a little extra time to clean them off.

Winter Cows Can Be Happy Cows!

So, yes, there’s some extra things to think through and monitor in the winter. But your cows will be fine and dandy if you make sure their basic needs of food, water, and shelter are being met.

You don’t need pristine barns or an elaborate winter setup. Cows know how to keep themselves warm and stay happy and healthy all winter long!

Your management and care will play a vital role in that! Keep close watch on them. And keep close watch on the weather. Learn what helps them thrive over time and make adjustments quickly when you notice something is off.

What about you? What patterns have you noticed in your cows in the wintertime or what have you found most helpful to let them survive and thrive through the cold winter months? We’d love to hear in the comments!

Some of the above links are affiliate links. This means we earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. We are so appreciative of your support!

To learn more about a family milk cow or keeping cows on your homestead, check out:

Owning a Family Milk Cow Basics
Simple Cow Milking Process For Beginners
How Many Cows Per Acre On A Small Farm
What To Know About Rotational Grazing On A Small Scale
Calf Sharing – How to Add Flexibility to Your Homestead
Breaking Down The Cost Of A Family Milk Cow

November 27, 2022 0 comment

Family Milk Cow Homestead How-to's Small Scale Farming

What To Know About Rotational Grazing On A Small Scale

by From Scratch Farmstead May 29, 2022

Rotationally grazing animals on a small scale is 100% possible! This post covers:

The what, why, and methods of rotational grazing
An example of rotational grazing from our 5-acre homestead
And resources that will help you get going on your small-scale farm.

What Is Rotational Grazing?

Rotational grazing uses paddocks to rotate animals through a pasture. Paddocks are sections of pasture divided by fencing.

Once a paddock is grazed it is left to “rest.” This rest period is essential for the regrowth of vegetation in the pasture.

Rest periods will vary based on climate and location. The farmer can develop an eye for when grasses have grown back to their pre-grazed height and stature. Grasses will take a minimum of 30 days for regrowth and may take as long as 90-100 days in warmer, dryer climates.

Where we are in the Midwest, I aim for between 40-50 days of rest between grazing.

Rotational grazing is the opposite of continuous grazing where animals graze one piece of land without any rest period. The past 75+ years, pastureland has increasingly been converted to cropland to support the shift toward row-crop farming. Continuous grazing has become the norm on many farms due to loss of pastureland. This can lead to poor quality pastures and degraded soils.

However, a new era of ecologically focused farmers and homesteaders have awakened over the last few decades seeking a better system for people, animals, and planet.

Why Graze Animals in A Rotational System?

The best farming systems mimic what nature accomplishes on its own. Do you ever see wild animals stay in one confined space to forage or graze?

Think of buffalo roaming the Americas prior to settlement. Herds traveled together from one prairie to the next, grazing them down as they went. After, the field sat there undisturbed and had time to reestablish itself. It would likely be a month or more before that herd, or another, returned to that same spot for grazing.

During that “rest,” grasses and plants go through a recovery period. This period is essential. From the ground up, it benefits the soil, which benefits the pasture, which benefits the animals that eat the pasture.

The goal of rotational grazing is to recreate this natural grazing pattern on our modern farms. Historically grazing often took place without defined boundaries or fences. Keeping animals fenced on your property is expected today.

Rotational grazing is the best way to mimic the grazing patterns of animals seen in nature while combining modern day fencing systems and management techniques. These rotational systems can be scalable from 2, to 200, to 2,000 acres, making it accessible for farms and homesteads of any size.

Rotational Grazing Methods

Rotational grazing takes many shapes. And no one system translates perfectly from one farm to the next. Paddock sizes and herd sizes differ. Soil health and pasture health are a big factor. Weather patterns impact management decisions.

The different methods of rotational grazing can be confusing. You will hear words like: intensive, high volume, adaptive, short duration, controlled, high-stock density, high-intensity low-frequency, and holistic management.

To simplify things, here are a couple main categories of rotational grazing:

Low Management Rotational Grazing

This method typically involves larger paddocks with lower stocking densities. A minimum of two paddocks are required and animals stay in a paddock anywhere between a week to a couple months. Typically, permanent fencing is used.

This method requires the least amount of management time but can lend to some areas of the pasture being overgrazed, leaving them at a disadvantage during the “rest” period. Grasses are best able to regrow when only 50% of their growth is left ungrazed.

Management Intensive Rotational Grazing

Smaller paddocks are set up, typically with temporary fencing, and animals are moved to a new paddock every 1-6 days. Setting up temporary fencing, relocating water sources, and any other management tasks will require more time in this method.

Paddocks may be set up as squares or rectangles that move animals across a pasture. Another method is to divide paddocks into a fan or triangle shape. The advantage of the fan shape is to have a common area for water and shelter where the fan sections meet. This means water and other necessities can stay in one place alleviating some of the management time.

Mob or Strip Grazing

These are your most management intensive rotational grazing systems. Strip grazing usually requires moving animals to a new paddock daily and mob grazing requires animals be moved between paddocks a few times per day. Paddock sizes are generally smaller and stocking rates higher for more concentrated grazing.

You need to select the rotational grazing method that works best for your land, lifestyle, and values. Like most anything, there is a correlation between time and benefit.

Higher management rotational grazing systems will best mimic natural grazing patterns and offer the greatest benefit for pasture health and animal nutrition. It will also require the most time.

Lower management rotational grazing systems run and increased risk of overgrazing leading to poor pasture quality and soil degradation. But it can free up your time and mental capacity.

Some form of management intensive grazing will generally be your best middle ground for a small-scale application. This has been true on our homestead where we rotate cows from one paddock to another about every two days.

Advantages Of Small-Scale Rotational Grazing

Rotational grazing works. I have completed a Regenerative Farm Design Course, worked on a 160-acre diversified farm that utilizes rotational grazing, toured dozens of farms practicing managed grazing while working in farmland access, and managed our own rotational grazing system on our 5-acre homestead.

Here are the advantages I have personally seen through rotationally grazing animals:

Soil Health

If soil health is not maintained, the rest of the system breaks down. The process of grazing followed by a period of rest allows grasses and plants to grow deep robust roots. Roots support the microbiology of the soil and also shed their outer layer – both lead to increased organic matter. Organic matter is essential for plant growth and provides drought resistance through improved water retention.

Pasture Health

Plants cannot thrive unless nutrients are returned to it. Animals create manure. Manure breaks down which closes the loop on nutrients being cycled back into the soil for plants to utilize. Better yet, rotational grazing spreads manure and, therefore, nutrients evenly throughout a field. Continuous grazing often leads to manure being concentrated around water troughs, feeding areas, or shelters. A healthy pasture will provide nutrient dense and abundant forage for animals.

Animal Health

History has proven that animals kept in sedentary and confined areas have led to diminished health and increased need for medical intervention. When animals are getting the nutritional support they need through a natural diet and their living conditions remain sanitary, they will be much more resilient and less prone to disease. While our cows are a small sampling size, we have not had one vet call in our years of rotationally grazing them on pasture.

Human Health

To further complete the cycle, we ultimately eat what we raise. Meat raised on a factory farm has nowhere near the nutritional makeup of animals that have been raised on pasture eating the very diet they were designed to eat. Not only does rotational grazing provide the highest quantity of forage for animals, they are also eating grasses when they’ve reached peak nutrition. This directly relates to the quality of the end product you will consume – whether meat, organs, or dairy.

Environmental Health

Farms never stand alone. They make up the larger ecosystem we are all a part of. Increased organic matter means greater ability for soils to sequester carbon. Improved forage quality and quantity means greater access to high quality, nutrient dense meat sources from local farms. Strong local food systems lead to more robust and resilient local economies and communities.

What Type of Animal Can You Graze Rotationally?

Any ruminant can thrive in a rotational grazing system including:

Cows
Sheep
Goats
Horses
Buffalo

The digestive system of these animals is created to thrive on an all-grass diet. Other animals such as pigs and poultry can also be raised in a rotational system on pasture. Heritage breed pigs like American Guineas and breeds like Idaho Pasture Pigs can do very well on pasture where consuming grasses and other forage can help offset the cost of supplemental feed. Poultry can also be rotated through pasture to make them less dependent on supplemental feed where they forage naturally for bugs and other plants.

Our post, How Many Cows Per Acre on a Small Farm, can also help you determine the appropriate number of cows, or other livestock, for your small-scale farm.

How Many Cows Per Acre On A Small Farm

May 26, 2022

Whatever animal you choose to raise in a rotational system, you will want to research what type of fencing is best suited.

For instance, a cow will typically stay contained with a single strand of hot wire at the perimeter. The same goes for pigs with a hot wire at about the height of their snout. A single hot wire would never keep in a goat and likely do little for a sheep.

Sheep and goats are best suited for electro-netting. Or, multiple strands of hot wires at varying heights will also work.

Our Small-Scale Rotational Grazing System

We have 5 acres total with a pasture that is approximately 3 acres. Our 2-3 cows graze this pasture between May-November in our Midwest climate. We plan to eventually add a small flock of sheep to graze alongside the cows.

We purchased used Premier-1 electro-netting portable fence and a solar fence energizer that we use to rotationally graze our animals. The solar energizer allows us to create a paddock anywhere on our property – sometimes even in the front yard! We are able to run hoses from a single hydrant in our barn to fill water even to the far corners of our back lot line. This system has worked great on a small scale.

We created this video that gives a full overview of the system we use and how we set it up and make it work on just a couple acres of land:

Rotational Grazing & Pasture Management Resources

Savory Institute

If you have not seen the Allan Savory TED talk yet, this is a great place to start. Allan Savory pioneered the Holistic Management grazing system. His methods are increasingly being implemented on farms and ranches across the world. Many of his principles can carry over to small scale pasture management.

Joel Salatin

Joel’s name is synonymous with rotational grazing. His many books offer incredible insights into managing healthy pasture and the unique livestock grazing systems his farm, Polyface Farm, have developed over the years. But Joel doesn’t want the focus to just be on large scale farming. His book, Polyface Micro: Success With Livestock on a Homestead Scale, gives practical steps to homesteaders of any size.

Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT)

FACT is a non-profit organization that helps train and educate farmers on humane and healthy animal production. Their vast library of free webinars covers really helpful topics pertaining to raising animals on pasture.

Steve Gabriel

A more technical read on pasture management techniques for various livestock is Steve Gabriel’s book Silvopasture, A Guide to Managing Grazing Animals, Forage Crops, and Trees in a Temperate Farm Ecosystem. As indicated in the title, this book emphasizes a unique form or rotational grazing called silvopasture, which incorporates trees into rotational grazing systems. This book is packed with general grazing information and is especially helpful if you want to incorporate your wooded areas into your grazing.

Mastodon Valley Farm School

Peter Allen of Mastodon Valley Farm and Lindsay Rebhan of Ecological Design are leaders in rotational grazing, pasture management, and whole farm planning. They offer a free mini-course and a Regenerative Farm Design Course that will help you see the bigger picture of why good farm management techniques are important and give you real world examples of how to implement them on your farm.

Some of the above links are affiliate links. This means we earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. We are so appreciative of your support!

May 29, 2022 2 comments