Some Benefits of Bale Grazing

By Amos Johnson

Pockets of hay remained after the snow melted away, golden-brown knolls in the green sea of early spring grass. The sheep and cattle stood in the last of their winter paddocks, monoliths of round bales in various stages of collapse as they’re rent apart by hungry mouths.

Hannah Bernhardt, of Medicine Creek Farm near Finlayson, Minnesota, explains how she rotates her livestock through hay-filled paddocks in the winter.

In the fall, she strategically pre-sets all the bales based on where she wants the animals to be at different points in the season. Sometimes that means proximity to water sources, sometimes that means avoiding low and muddy spots when the weather warms. Right now, they are near the house for shearing before soon moving out to begin lambing on pasture.

Usually, Hannah simply spreads any leftover hay with her feet, kicking it around as she does chores. Pointing to two big bales the sheep refused to finish eating before moving on, she acknowledges that sometimes there’s too much to do manually, but it won’t decompose well in a mound like that.