When dry weather shrinks pasture production and hay reserves dwindle, cattle producers are forced to get creative to keep the herd fed. For many across the Plains and Midwest, that means putting up road ditch hay. While “ditch hay” can be a vital feed lifeline, it also carries hidden hazards — from mechanical hardware and toxic debris to weed seed introduction and unknown nutritional value.
“The year was dry, forage is limited, previous winter’s feed shortages are frozen into your memory, and you have cows to feed,” notes Troy Walz, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educator. “With these thoughts in mind, maybe you harvested hay from the roadside — ‘ditch hay’ — and will be feeding that hay soon. There are several things for you to think about and keep in mind as you feed the hay.”
Before feeding road ditch bales this winter, Walz recommends cow-calf producers evaluate four critical factors:
1. Beware Hardware and Roadside Debris
Road ditches are natural collection basins for road debris, vehicle fragments and discarded litter. While many producers walk ditch rights-of-way prior to swathing, balers inevitably pick up material hidden in dense underbrush.
“Even if you did walk the road ditch, watch carefully as you feed and pick up any trash that may cause problems,” Walz cautions. “Metal parts, plastic, glass shards and all other kinds of trash could have ended up in the hay.”
These foreign objects pose serious animal health and equipment hazards.
“Ingested metal or plastic objects can cause hardware disease in cattle, and debris can cause issues with feeding/ranch equipment or cause lameness in animals, so it’s important to be extra vigilant as you feed that hay,” Walz says.
Hardware disease (traumatic reticuloperitonitis) occurs when swallowed metal objects settle in the reticulum, where contractions can drive wire or shards through the stomach wall. Producers feeding ditch hay should inspect rings, unrolled windrows or mixer wagons daily and remove any wire, cans or shredded tires before cattle graze.
2. Harvest Timing Dictates Nutritional Quality
Road ditches feature a patchwork of vegetation ranging from introduced perennials to opportunistic annuals and weeds. Because forage value plummets as plants transition from vegetative growth to reproductive maturity, the calendar date of ditch baling plays a massive role in what those bales actually deliver.
“Did you observe if any of the plants are annuals or mostly perennials? Are the grasses cool-season, warm-season, or a mix? When did you harvest the hay?” Walz asks. “Depending on the type of grasses and timing of haying, this will affect the quality of the hay. Forage quality declines as plants mature.”
Walz points out timing differences are significant between species.
“Cool-season grasses like smooth bromegrass mature in June and warm-season grasses like big bluestem mature in August,” he explains.
If ditch hay was cut late in the summer after county maintenance schedules permitted, it likely consists of over-mature, fibrous stems with lower crude protein (CP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN).
3. Scout for Noxious Weeds and Persistent Herbicides
Baling ditches doesn’t just harvest grass — it often harvests seed heads of unwanted vegetation. Feeding these bales in productive pastures or winter calving grounds can create costly management headaches months down the road.
“Are the forbs common forbs that you have in your pastures? Are they forbs that you would want growing where you feed? Are there any noxious weeds?” Walz asks.
Equally important is whether county road departments or landowners sprayed the right-of-way during the growing season.
“Was the road ditch sprayed with a herbicide? If so, what was the herbicide?” Walz emphasizes. “Some herbicides are not labeled for forages that will be fed to livestock, and some herbicides may have carryover and remain active in the hay and the manure from the cattle that eat the hay.”
Pasture herbicides containing persistent active ingredients (such as picloram, aminopyralid, or clopyralid), found in products like GrazonNext, Milestone, or Tordon, can pass through a cow’s digestive tract intact and remain active in manure, threatening broadleaf crops or legumes if manure is spread on sensitive ground.
“Consider carefully where you feed this hay, knowing you may have some undesirable plant species to deal with next spring and summer or possible herbicide effects,” Walz advises.
Consider unrolling or feeding ditch hay in sacrifice paddocks or confined pens where weed germination can be monitored and treated easily next season.
4. Test, Don’t Guess: Nutrient Analysis
Because species mix, harvest maturity and ditch fertility vary widely, visual appraisal alone cannot determine the feed value of roadside bales.
“Taking a sample of the hay and having it analyzed is the only way to know its quality,” Walz says.
A standard forage test measuring crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and TDN allows producers to allocate feed accurately according to stage of production. Mid-gestation cows have significantly lower nutrient requirements than late-gestation cows or lactating pairs facing winter weather stress.
“Once you know the nutrient quality, you can formulate rations, along with any needed supplements, to meet the nutrient requirements of the cows you are feeding,” Walz explains.
Strategic Feeding: The Bottom Line
Ditch hay can be a cost-effective strategy to bridge winter forage deficits when used with open eyes and careful management.
“Road ditch hay can provide needed forage,” Walz concludes. “With a few precautions and a forage analysis, it can help you meet your cow’s nutrient requirements this winter.”
