Multi-Species Bale Grazing to Build Soil Health

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing management, grazing - multispecies, manure management, pasture renovation, pasture fertility, winter forage
• Crop Production: nutrient cycling, nutrient management
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research
• Natural Resources/Environment: soil stabilization
• Production Systems: holistic management
• Soil Management: nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil analysis, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: quality of life

This project is designed to address the resource concerns of land that was historically farmed with no inputs and depleted to a point of no longer being productive.  To rejuvenate the land and demonstrate how sustainable agriculture can be adapted to fit an operation, project coordinators will use multiple species of livestock and bale grazing.  This management strategy allows us to demonstrate a practice that is ecologically sound, profitable, and socially responsible.  Research from multiple universities has shown that bale grazing can increase nutrient capture, cycling, carbon sequestration, and more.  It has been shown that it can reduce the direct costs of labor, machinery, maintenance, fuel and fertilizer costs.  Additionally, multi-species grazing has the potential to improve forage utilization.  What research hasn’t been able to show is the real world application that combines all areas of focus and is available for producers to see the benefits and challenges of adopting a sustainable practice like bale grazing with multiple species.  As project coordinators, we feel a social responsibility to provide others with the opportunity to ask questions and consider options for their own operation.  It is through projects like this that sustainable agriculture will become a term that is better understood and more readily adopted.

• Improve soil health and fertility
• Increase nutrient cycling and reduce nutrient runoff
• Improve herbage production and forage quality
• Improve residue management
• Improve herd and flock health by extending grazing season
• Observe potential benefits of multi-species in a bale grazing scenario
• Reduce feed and labor costs
• Share findings through self-guided tours, field days, extension publications and testimonials to improve understanding of sustainable agriculture