Bale grazing as a cost saving and environmental solution explored in new trials

Bale grazing implemented at Gowbarrow Hall Farm. Image credit to Angus Birditt, Pasture for Life.

Bale grazing is a common practice in North America and Canada, and involves putting bales out in the summer to feed outwintered cattle. It allows continuation of mob grazing from the warmer months, where the farmer can fence off each bale so the livestock can access one area at a time, enabling the rest of the field to recover once the herd has moved on.

The potential benefits of bale grazing have not been widely explored in the UK to date. Hoping to initiate positive change, six triallists have joined the farmer-led research project supported by Innovative Farmers and are already seeing success in proving this method as a nature-friendly and cheaper alternative to current overwintering practices.

Winter grazing usually involves feeding cattle on a “sacrificial field” of a single fodder crop like turnips or kale, which means ploughing up permanent pasture for a crop with no commercial value. What’s more, the cattle often damage the field, causing soil erosion and runoff, whereas bale grazing could return carbon and nutrients to the soil via trampled hay.

Trial co-ordinator and participant Nikki Yoxall, who farms a herd of native cattle in Aberdeenshire, said the field lab aims to investigate how these benefits can open “new welfare and commercial avenues” for farmers.

“There are farmers in the field lab who used to house cattle and are now using bale grazing as a way of outwintering, and they are already seeing cost reductions in terms of labour, fuel, machinery, and housing,” she pointed out.

“Initiatives like these put control in the hands of the farmers. Working with Innovative Farmers, we hope to show that bale grazing can have positive effects across several farm and soil types and encourage other farming communities to make positive changes.”

Boost for nature and animal welfare

As part of the project, triallists are testing the assumption that trampled hay can increase biodiversity by providing food and habitats for wildlife like earthworms, dung beetles, birds, and voles, as well as potentially boosting the yield of the permanent pasture when spring comes.

In contrast, hay and manure become waste products when cattle are being overwintered indoors. Bale grazing also provides an alternative to ploughing up permanent pasture, which often results in runoff into water catchments.

Changes to soil quality will be monitored throughout the field lab, and it is hoped bale grazing can help to avoid negative impacts on soil structure. Soil and forage samples will be taken in August 2023 and every summer until 2026.

The farmers also hope to demonstrate that bale grazing offers a low-risk solution with the housing system available as a backup, particularly if the farm still has a shed.

As overwintering indoors implies a higher risk of disease like pneumonia due to moisture levels, the animal welfare benefits of bale grazing cannot be overlooked. Cattle are known to comfortably live at -10°C without needing to warm themselves up, meaning housing often isn’t necessary.

Innovative Farmers Manager Rebecca Swinn commented: “The potential environmental benefits of the bale grazing trial cannot be overstated. Feeding manure back into the soil encourages vital insects to work over winter, increasing the health of the soil and providing food for birds and mammals.

“Results from the field lab could also have far-reaching implications for farm businesses, as less energy is lost through labour and fuel, saving money for use elsewhere on the farm.”

Case study of using cattle as a “regenerative tool”

Organic tenant farmer Silas Hedley-Lawrence manages a herd of around 300 beef and dairy store cattle on heavy clay and flood plains just outside Oxford. He has been bale grazing his cattle for four years and joined the field lab to gain specific data on what this practice is delivering for the farm.

Using this approach, he’s seen a reduction in costs of around two-thirds per head from the national average of £2.40 to just spending around £1 per animal per day.

Cattle grazing unrolled hay on the farm of Silas Hedley-Lawrence.

He said: “We farm on clay on flood plains and most people will say you can’t overwinter cattle on that. Not only are we doing it but we’re doing it as a tool to increase biodiversity and regeneration.

“The perception of what outwintering involves is so different to the reality of what we see here. We aren’t wrecking or sacrificing any fields. If it can work on our wet, heavy soils then it’s certainly an option for other farmers to use as a regenerative tool.”

Mr Hedley-Lawrence grazes his cattle in a tall grass system over the warmer months and uses bale grazing in the winter. The cattle are in a fenced off cell for a short period, usually one day, all year round.

He said while there are noticeable cost savings to this approach, farmers should also take into account the wider benefits. “It’s a holistic system where we are using the cattle as a regenerative tool to trample seeds into the ground. We don’t have to muck out sheds in spring, or reseed, or sort out any trashed fields.

“The pasture comes back each year more diverse and more productive – in May and June the area will be awash with wildflowers and herbs,” he added.

“The experiment has been great for wildlife on the farm. We’ve seen increased numbers of cattle egrets with the herd over the last two winters, and due to the additional manure dung beetles are bouncing back quite noticeably. Barn owls and hares were rarely sighted before and are now commonplace,” Mr Hedley-Lawrence concluded.

To find out more and to follow the trial, visit www.innovativefarmers.org.