Balage King and Beef

Rob took these pictures this morning on top of the hill where he's feeding them right now. With no snow, the name of the game has been "keep them moving"! It's hard to avoid mud this time of year with the weather that we've had, but thankfully the tops of hills are perfect high-and-dry locations to keep moving to.

That's Dean (Rob's Dad) in the tractor bringing up another round bale.

We grow and harvest all of our own hay for the beefers so we can ensure quality. Rob is known locally as the "balage King" because he knows how to make a good solid bale and quality feed. There is an art to it, and nope that's not my wheelhouse- you won't catch me making bales on our hills! I can make tractors rear, bales roll, and they would be a lopsided disaster. But Rob, he's the bomb. 

Everywhere we move and feed the beefers to it creates more fertility for the ground at that location. The feed they don't eat acts as a nice thick mulch along with the manure, which all feeds the soil microbes and builds soil organic matter. Fall and Winter are lovely times to plan out next year's grazing crop, and what we do now, impacts it for next year. Rob gets all excited about where he moves the beefers to next because he knows the impact it will have and all the beautiful forage it will create. 

I was asked through the summer when we had that long dry spell if we were going to be short on feed or it was too dry at our place. My response was no, we're in great shape. Because of our grazing practices, our soils are able to capture every bit of moisture and use it to its fullest. We even have extra hay to sell this year. If we take care of the land instead of just using or abusing it, it returns the favor and takes care of itself and others.