BLOG

Now that we’re in the in between stages with grazing and the full, on set of winter, we’ve begun to feed hay to our goats.

We still feed them out on pasture, but they are now “bale grazing,” which is feeding round bales outside. The goats will graze the bales and, for now, the existing pasture. If we don’t get more snow in the next few weeks, I will temporarily fence them off from most of the pasture to avoid them eating it down too much.

Bales will be strategically placed throughout our pasture for the benefit of our soil and seed bed. While the goats eat, they’ll fertilize the area for us. Then any bale residue left over will add to the organic matter and seed bed. The result? In the spring we will start to see an influx of growth and improved pasture and soil quality in those areas.

In the meantime, the bale residue is a great “sunning” spot for our meat goats on “warmer” winter days.  It acts as a nice dry bed for them to hang out on.

Related blog posts:

• Bale grazing results with goats
• Bale Grazing: The What, Why, and How
• Can you still practice regenerative agriculture in the winter?
• The importance of soil health