What is in this article?:
- Kentucky cattleman grazes herd straight through winter
- Acreage increased during summer
• Many could not fathom what it would be like to feed little or no hay in December, January and February.
• But it’s a reality for one Murray producer, thanks to the practices he learned through University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service programs.
Feeding hay to cattle throughout the winter has been a longstanding practice among Kentucky producers.
Many could not fathom what it would be like to feed little or no hay in December, January and February. But it’s a reality for one Murray producer, thanks to the practices he learned through University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service programs.
“In Kentucky, we historically have had a continuous grazing program,” said Garry Lacefield, UK Extension forage specialist. “The changes have come about because of better fencing, better watering systems and the knowledge that if we do a better job of controlling our grazing management systems we can do a lot better job using more pasture in a higher quality state over more days of the year.”
Greg Reynolds attended the 2010 Kentucky Grazing School at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton. At the school, Lacefield taught Reynolds about extending the grazing season by stockpiling tall fescue and rotational- and strip-grazing cattle.
“Extension programs at the University of Kentucky are absolutely fantastic,” Reynolds said. “I went through that two-day program and learned a tremendous amount of information that was very practical and that I could bring home and actually put to use.”
This winter, he has fed a total of 98 square bales of hay for 19 days to his 20-head of Braford cows, which are a mix of Brahman and Hereford. However, he was prepared to feed for 120 days and had 1,300 square bales stored in the barn.
In the winter, the cattle grazed stockpiled tall fescue in a two-acre strip sectioned off with electric fencing. Each week, Reynolds and his son Jacob allowed the cattle to access another two-acre plot of fresh grass.
“Because we had them in such a small area, they didn’t trample the forage,” Reynolds said. “They were able to utilize a very, very large percentage of the forage. I wouldn’t say 100 percent of it was utilized, but definitely in the 80s.”