Ryegrass Wrap Up!

Ryegrass harvest season is now in the books. I actually have around 8-10 acres that I never got to cut due to the rain, but now it is so far past its prime that it's not worth the effort. It will be better served to mow it down and let it go back into the soil. That will be done as soon as the field is dry enough and then we will put in some summer forage. All total we ended up harvesting around 530 rolls of ryegrass baleage. These rolls average around 1400-1500 lbs each. Giving us a total production of around 750,000 pounds of forage stored and ready to feed cattle for the next year. One field produced better than I expected, and I couldn't figure out why. It remained a mystery until I remembered... That's where we spread the composted manure from the chicken and pig barns. Even free-range animals spend some of their time in the barn. When we clean out, it goes on our fields. The difference it makes in productivity is nothing short of amazing. Proving once again that a balanced agricultural system incorporates animals and plants in a cycle that is sustainable and regenerative. This is a surprise to absolutely no one reading this, but the examples are fun to point out.