Growing Specialty Crops in "Sacrifice Paddock" after Winter Bale-Grazing

View the project final report

Commodities

• Vegetables: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages, peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes
• Animals: bovine

Practices

• Animal Production: feed/forage
• Crop Production: intercropping
• Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems

A common practice for livestock producers in northern climates is setting out bales of hay and "bale-grazing" through the winter months. These bales leave behind organic matter that is great fuel for the soil. However, these areas are often unproductive in the first season after feeding because the residue mulches the ground, suppressing growth for several months until it breaks down.

This weed suppression is a prime opportunity to transplant some high-value specialty crops into a space where they don't have to compete for sunlight or other nutrients. A handheld drill auger attachment quickly makes an opening large enough for a started plant's roots without the need for conventional tillage or chemical burndowns. While the hand-planting could limit scaling, the reduction in weeding, labor, and chemical inputs should offset the additional planting labor.

Producing a high-value crop on land that would've been mostly unproductive through the growing season can diversify income sources and provide the farmer and their community with additional local food choices. Our goal is to identify which specialty crops respond well to this growing strategy in Minnesota by planting multiple varieties of >15 different specialty crops in a bale-grazed "sacrifice paddock" after the cows come off.

Our conclusion was that the bale residue mulch provided weed suppression of varying degrees and eliminated watering needs. However, water retention was too high in some places for some varieties, which created some productivity issues. Additionally, heavy vegetative growth increased harvest difficulty and time. Nutrient availability was very high which made it more conducive to crops such as tomatoes, peppers, corn, and squash. Leafy/green vegetables had access to too much nitrogen which hindered production of salable products. As a result of the education program, farmers learned how to use bale residue to reduce tomato leaf blight and produce squash type products in land that would normally be unproductive.

1. Evaluate the productivity of at least 20 specialty crops grown through bale residue
   1. We evaluated 52 different varieties of 24 different specialty crops planted in bale residue. Insights and observations are detailed below.
2. Identify at least 5 specialty crops that thrive in the low-maintenance system for other ranchers to consider growing
   1. Our most productive crops were (in order): zucchini, pumpkins, gypsy peppers, acorn squash, earliana cabbage, supersweet 100 tomatoes, terra cotta tomatoes, great stuff peppers, mortgage lifter tomatoes, supersauce tomatoes, and wild violet sweet corn. We plan to grow all of these varieties again in bale residue going forward.
3. Share findings through a field day and social media via podcast
   1. The podcast link is shared below under "Educational & Outreach Activities," and we felt the field day was very successful based on conversations during and after the tour.