By Chris Hicks, County Director – UT Extension Smith County
We have spent a lot of time during Master Beef classes, Cattlemen’s Association meetings, and other livestock events talking about hay feeding strategies that focus on avoiding hay waste. Research has been done at UT and other universities to study how much hay is wasted using different types of rings, feeding wagons, etc.
One feeding method that is popular with some producers is unrolling hay. Advantages of unrolling hay include all animals having easy access to the forage, nutrient distribution back on the pastures, less hoof damage to the feeding area, and reseeding of the pasture with seed heads that are in the hay.
If done properly, this can be a great way to feed hay. If done improperly, it may be the most expensive way. Here are a few tips I’ve collected over the years from farmers and my own observation:
- Feed every day – If you unroll enough for several days, the cattle will use it for bedding and waste at least half. It will take practice to figure out how much your cattle will consume in a day without wasting too much, and that amount will change throughout the feeding season.
- Use it as a way to distribute nutrients – A round bale of hay contains Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. When animals consume that hay, they release some of those nutrients in the form of manure and urine. If you are feeding in rings on a feed pad or small sacrifice area, those nutrients aren’t distributed very far. On the other hand, if you unroll hay in a different spot every day, they are more evenly distributed, and even what hay isn’t consumed will have value as fertilizer. One producer told me they unroll in both directions across their pasture and their soil test hasn’t called for fertilizer in years.
- Avoid unrolling in the rain – I’ve been told by those with experience that their cattle don’t seem to consume unrolled hay as well when it is wet and rainy and that more is wasted. It might be a good idea to feed in rings during those days.
- Watch out for weeds – I had a producer I worked with who had pristine pasture on his farm until he bought some loads of hay he was told was “clean.” After unrolling hay all winter, he figured out during the summer that the hay had been full of pigweed seed heads that had now germinated all over the farm. Unrolling hay can reseed your pasture with undesirable species as well as desirable ones.
There are probably more tips that could be added, but these are a few to think about. Unrolling hay can work well, but it does require more time and effort. For more information on forage production and feeding, check out our publications available at smith.tennessee.edu.
