Winter Grazing and Feeding Systems in Western Canada

Beef cow calf producers in Western Canada are looking for methods of extending the grazing season into the winter in order to lower winter feed costs. Dry beef cows were early or late weaned and grazed during the early months of winter on late seeded barley swaths (Hardlum vulgare L.) and compared to cows fed barley silage and free choice barley straw in a feeding yard. The swath grazed barley was late seeded in June and swathed in the silage stage in mid September. Cows successfully swath grazed for three winters from mid November until mid to late February with no major differences in animal performance The swath grazing system has less labour, less stored feeding and handling costs and less manure hauling costs than cows wintered on stored feeds in a feeding yard