Tips to help make beet and bale grazing work in a wet winter

Last winter’s heavy rains meant a Welsh family went in at the deep end when they trialled bale grazing for suckler cows to build soil health and cut the housing period.

But the Rodericks at Newton Farm, Scethrog, near Brecon, can look back on their first winter using the technique as successful.

Poaching was limited to small areas, and summer recovery was good, despite the wet winter.

Bales are in place for a second bale-grazing stint this winter. This will complement strip-grazed silage bales and fodder beet, which the Rodericks have been using since 2016.

See also: How beef herd is delivering £350/cow net profit with deferred, mob grazing

© MAG/Michael Priestley

Mixed wintering

Richard and Helen Roderick, who farm with their middle son, Tudor, value flexibility when outwintering. “We don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket,” says Richard.

By using fodder beet, their winter housing period has fallen from 24-26 weeks to four to six weeks. Calving takes place outdoors from 20 March if conditions allow, while weaned bulls and heifers are wintered indoors.

Their outwintering system runs across about 10 fields and has the following options on the farm’s mostly free-draining, light soils:

• Fodder beet and silage bales Back-fenced and strip-grazed on daily moves with a drag trough. Last year, 70 mature cows grazed a 5ha (12-acre) field set up for this.
• Bale grazing Grazing two old grass leys (6ha and 8ha) was deferred from July to November, with bales placed from hay taken from neighbouring fields. This year, 16ha will be bale-grazed by a mix of 50 in-calf heifers and first calvers.
• Housing On two occasions, cows were brought off the bale grazing and fodder beet for a week during last winter’s wettest periods. They were fed clamp and baled silage and bedded on straw. Some older cows, twin-bearing cows and thin cows at weaning (body condition score less than 3) are housed for the entire winter.
• Back-up crop A field of rape and turnips can be used to extend the winter grazing and possibly to calve cows on or winter sheep if needed.

Support

The Rodericks are part of a knowledge exchange initiative involving a group of farmers in England and Wales supported by McDonald’s UK and Ireland.

They are investigating bale grazing’s potential to build soil health through long rest periods and increasing organic matter.

Grazing and agroecology consultant Rob Harvard of Phepson Angus, Redditch, and staff at organic research farm and consultancy group FAI Farms, Oxford, have provided training and advice.

“The help we get is great,” explains Richard. “We are not experts and are learning all the time. As a group, it’s good to be open about our successes and failures – we all have them.”

Benefits

He says bale grazing on deferred grass offers another option for outwintering that does not require a crop to be sown and established in summer, reducing risk.

However, the trade-off is that bale grazing requires a field to be shut for deferred grazing for four to five months. This takes up more land and does not carry as much dry matter (DM) as a 20t DM/ha beet field.

Bale grazing costs the Rodericks 85p a cow a day for 12kg of DM/day for a 600kg Stabiliser cow.

Consultants in the McDonald’s bale grazing group advise that 6kg of this DM will come from grazed deferred grass, which, at a cost of 6p/kg DM, works out at 36p a cow a day.

The hay costs 49.5p a cow a day (£25/bale for 300kg DM) or 8.25p/kg DM.

By comparison, bedding a cow on 8kg of straw (at £90/t) a day costs 72p a cow a day and 10kg of pit silage (at £106/tDM) costs £1.06.  

Tips for a successful winter outdoors

© MAG/Michael Priestley

The Rodericks have picked up the following tips that make outwintering, bale grazing and strip grazing fodder beet work on their farm.

Outwintering lessons

• Be adaptable Outwintering requires an open mind to adjust plans
• Have a plan B Whether this is using stubble fields, a shed or another crop, have a back-up plan for very wet conditions.
• Genetics matter The easy-fleshing Stabiliser genetics suit outwintering as the cattle hold condition through the winter and are fitter at calving.
• Cow condition is vital Outwintering works best if cows go into winter at body condition score (BCS) 3-3.5 to calve at BCS 3 in the spring. Typically, about 10-20 cows might need housing.
• Use back fences and drag troughs A combination of a back fence and a drag trough reduces poaching and compaction from cattle repeatedly walking over areas on beet and bale grazing.
• Trim hedges well To avoid branches sapping power by earthing the wire, cut hedge sides (but leave height to provide more shelter).
• Move fast in the wet Keep stock moving on short shifts in wet conditions to reduce poaching, compaction and give cattle a dry lie. Three-day moves on bale grazing can be switched to daily shifts if necessary.
• Field selection Dry banks, old leys and less productive parts of the farm work well for bale grazing. Fodder beet follows grass before becoming part of the arable rotation, and should be on relatively flat and square fields.
• Use an external wire A hot wire around the perimeter of the outwintering field saves time when moving cattle through the winter and stops break-outs through hedges. Investing in fence posts and one strand of wire for this is worthwhile.

Bale-grazing lessons

• Bale-graze away from hay/silage field Take bales to fields that are grazed but not cut for hay/silage, because these will have more thatch and sward density, which helps cushion the soil, and helps roots grow deeper.
• Unroll hay Compaction and poaching are reduced by unrolling hay bales each day, because the cattle are spread out when feeding.

Beet-grazing lessons

• Graze downhill Flatter fields are selected to grow fodder beet to reduce the risk of topsoil loss on wet days. Where there is a slope, cattle graze it from top to bottom. A 6m grass buffer strip surrounding the fodder beet also helps reduce surface run-off.
• Conservatively estimate dry matter production High dry matter yields/ha are possible with beet, but frost damage can limit the leaf material available and stunt further growth. Adding plenty of silage bales can help eke out leaner parts of the field.
• Transition rumens Slowly introduce beet over 10-14 days to avoid the risk of acidosis. Start cattle on more silage bales and a small amount of beet fed through the electric fence.
• Use ring feeders To stop cattle trampling and wasting silage, use ring feeders, rolling and tipping them daily over the new bales.