Letting beef cows graze on bales and snow in winter pastures
with a restricted system is working well for some Canadian
ranchers. It's simple and economical, and can last until spring
grazing. “You put the bales out and the cows go to the feed. You
just control access with an electric fence,” says Bart Lardner,
Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC) research scientist,
Lanigan, Saskatchewan. WBDC began bale grazing with replicated
trials in 2003. The first two winters, it had stocking rates of
680 cow-days/acre for 110 days. The test herds were on Russian
wild ryegrass pasture. Trials in 2005 and 2006 had stocking
rates at about 150 cow-days/acre, on barley stubble with barley
hay bales. “We're looking at differences between feed cleanup,
residue and nutrients left behind with the two systems,” says
Lardner. He estimates expenses at 10-20% less than feeding in
feedlots. It takes time to organize the bales for restricted
feeding, and it takes time to remove bale strings or nets. After
that, the rest is managin