Bale Grazing to Regenerate Reclaimed Surface-Mine Land

There are more than 2 million acres of strip-mined land in the eastern United States, much of it in Pennsylvania with highest acreage in Indiana County (https://mapmaker.millersville.edu/pamaps/AbandonedMines/). Many, but not all, of these acres have been reclaimed. While reclamation may restore the grade and improve the aesthetics of previously mined land, the soil is degraded and less productive than it was before mining. The soil is often compacted, contains high quantities of rock fragments, has reduced water infiltration, has higher pH and electrical conductivity, lower soil organic matter content, and lower total nitrogen pool (Shrestha and Lal, 2007). Seeding the reclaimed land with grass has been shown to increase organic matter and nitrogen contents faster than planting forest while it protects the soil from erosion (Buta et al., 2019; Thomas et al., 2023). Management intensive grazing may speed up soil improvement leading to an ecological shift to taller and more robust grass species, increased soil organic carbon and nitrogen content, improved cation exchange capacity, increased fungal/bacterial ratio, improved soil structure, and lowered compaction and soil erosion (Teague et al., 2011). Bale grazing in pastures is a practice that can be used in a rotational grazing system to further improve soil and pasture productivity. In the winter farmers need to supplement hay, which is often done in ‘sacrifice’ or hard surface lots, but hay bales can also be fed out in the fields. Plant nutrients are imported with hay, and manure and urine plus residual hay provide fertility and organic matter to soil, potentially improving soil health and forage productivity.  Grazing is an interesting form of land use because it can be practiced by beginning and small farmers with low infrastructure and labor needs. Because 50-60% of Pennsylvania farms are small, with sales less than $10,000 (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/index.php), this project is relevant to many farmers in our state and it responds immediately to NESARE’s Outcome Statement by ensuring greater sustainability, resilience, and economic viability contributing to improved quality of life, especially of small, part-time farmers, some of whom are from minority background. The project will generate knowledge that can help farmers change hay feeding practices to improve soil and forage productivity. It will provide information important to grass-fed producers such as the members of the new Cooperative Allegheny Grass Fed. If bale grazing proves beneficial, it would reduce need for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer on pastures, improve productivity and net farm income; conserve and improve soil; and boost employment in the grazing industry, improving life for small, part- and full-time graziers in the Appalachian Region.