As cattle producers prepare for the upcoming feeding season, winter management decisions will directly impact next spring’s pasture productivity and soil fertility. In regions where wet winters create persistent mud, feeding cattle in the same location year after year often leads to wasted nutrients and damaged pasture sod.
According to Jeff Lehmkuhler, University of Kentucky (UK) Extension professor, addressing these challenges begins with reconsidering where and how hay is fed.
“Winter feeding the beef herd is one of the challenges many beef operations face annually,” Lehmkuhler explains. “The upper Southeast’s climate provides significant winter precipitation combined with temperatures that prevent the ground from freezing for extended periods of time. These conditions result in mud and the disruption of the soil structure in areas where winter feeding occurs.”
To avoid tearing up whole pastures, producers have traditionally localized the impact. “Many operations feed in the same field every winter with the areas commonly referred to as sacrifice lots to avoid reducing pasture productivity the following spring,” Lehmkuhler says.
The True Cost of Feeding in One Spot
While sacrifice lots protect other fields from severe hoof traffic, multi-state research reveals this practice heavily concentrates valuable manure and fertilizer nutrients in a tiny fraction of the pasture.
Over the past several winters, a multi-state team led by UK’s Greg Halich — including collaborators from New York, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky — has evaluated bale grazing under a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant.
Working with USDA Soil Ecologist Alan Franzluebbers, the team conducted intensive grid soil sampling across three UK research stations where feeding had occurred in the same zones for years.
“The impact zone was categorized as areas within 87 yards of the winter hay feeding station/feeders which was approximately 7% of the pasture area. As one might expect, the impact zone was found to be enriched with nutrients,” Lehmkuhler explains (see Figure 1). “Soil nitrogen was 10% to 40% greater in the areas closest to the feed location compared to the remaining pasture area. Soil phosphorus and potassium were even more extreme with the heavy use areas near the feeding site having much greater soil phosphorus and potassium levels.”
Bale Grazing: Turning Winter Feeding into Targeted Fertilization
With high fertilizer input costs eating into ranch margins, letting nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium pile up in 7% of a pasture leaves the remaining 93% starved for nutrients.
“The cow-calf sector of the beef industry has seen record high returns. Yet, disruptions in fertilizer supplies have led to increasing input costs,” Lehmkuhler emphasizes. “Utilizing management strategies that improve spatial distribution of the herd such as managed grazing and bale grazing has the potential to disperse manure nutrients more evenly. Strategically placing bales in fields with lower fertility for winter-feeding has the potential to improve nutrient utilization.”
Take Action Before Winter Sets In
Rather than waiting until mud season is underway, Lehmkuhler urges producers to plan their winter layout ahead of time.
“Now is the time to begin planning your winter feeding strategy while you have time to consider how you can incorporate bale grazing into your beef operation,” Lehmkuhler summarizes.
