Expand the Grazing Season with Winter Stockpiling

Written by Kate Smith

Myth: The grazing season ends when the growing season ends.

Fact: With a well managed growing season, the grazing season can extend well beyond the forage production months.

From Jim Gerrish’s Kick the Hay Habit to Dale Strickler’s Managing Pasture, many of the best graziers in the country are demonstrating how livestock producers can reduce their feed costs by grazing instead of feeding hay through the winter.

Stockpiling summer annual forages allows for utilization of the summer growing season, extending fall and winter grazing opportunities. Many plants, especially warm season annuals, love to grow in the heat of the summer, soaking up summer sunshine and maintaining forage quality into the colder months. Now is a perfect time to be planting a stockpile grazing mix and here are some quick tips to get you on the right track.

There are a number of considerations to keep in mind when planning for winter stockpiling, so we've put together a list of helpful tips and tricks. Check out the full article on our website!

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Check out our Stockpile Grazing Mix

Missed our previous newsletters? Read our recent articles:

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The Economic Advantages of Growing a Cover Crop After Wheat

What Are Your Plans For Building Soil Health After Wheat Harvest?

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Regenerative Ag Field Day

July 8th | McLean, NE

Come out to see a very interesting project involving planting green. 4 rows of corn 10 ft wide and leave 10 ft of cover crops throughout the field, cover crops will be roller crimped in the whole field. This will provide weed control and fertility to the corn. A warm season diverse cover crop mix will then be drilled into the regen strips. Later on in the season, a cool season mix will be established. Strips will be rotationally grazed down to 50% before moving onto the next one.

Green Cover sales representative, Nathan Choat will be present to speak on the cover crop species selection as well as several UNL educators to discuss soil health.

Register for the Event

Join us for our Annual Soil Health Field Days!

Join us for Green Cover’s Soil Health Field Days – August 12 or 15!
Enjoy a free day of learning, networking and cover crop plot tours. This year we'll tour our corn interseeding plots again and we're introducing new rotations on topics like: growing forage for livestock, cover cropping in your garden, an equipment demonstration as well as in-field soil testing. Plus an optional bonus session on biologicals at our compost site.

As always, this free event includes a homecooked breakfast and lunch!

8:00am–2:30pm | Free & open to the public | Rain or shine
Come prepared for the weather—and bring your curiosity!

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Solar Energy at Green Cover in Bladen, NE

Green Cover is going Green! Thanks to Graham Christensen and his team at GC ReVolt, we now are harnessing the power of the sun to run the operation that will help deliver cover crop seed to thousands of farmers to get the best solar collection system ever - green growing plants - out on over a million acres!

Green Cover Podcast Episode #9: Greg Thoren

Greg Thoren is a regenerative farmer from Illinois whose willingness to learn and innovate has made his farming operation profitable and resilient. In this episode, Greg discusses how he’s growing and marketing nutrient dense grains, his experience with becoming certified with Regenified and how he’s grazing cattle on cover crops and then marketing that beef direct to consumers. Greg also shares about his extensive experience with corn interseeding, utilizing 60-inch rows and grazing his cover crop after corn harvest.

Watch the Podcast

Virtual Fence Foundations 5 Webinar Series

Last Friday of Each Month from 12pm - 1pm CT

Beginning June 27th, the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at University of Missouri is hosting a webinar series to educate producers on the use of virtual fencing technology and how it can aid in nutrient distribution, perennial pasture management as well as capturing grazing opportunities in a row crop operation.

Don't miss this excellent educational opportunity! Webinars will be held on June 27th, July 25th, August 29th, September 26th and October 24th from 12pm-1pm CT.

Learn More and Register