Using Swath Grazing

Knowledge Nuggets

• Swath grazing is a process whereby annual or perennial forage crops are grazed in the swath during the winter months.

• Late-seeded annuals are swathed in mid-September for cattle to graze during the winter. Crops may include spring seeded cereals, winter annuals, annual legumes or combinations thereof. Swathing is done late enough in the fall so cool daytime temperatures prevent mold growth on the swaths.

• Allowing livestock to obtain all or part of their feed through swath grazing extends the grazing season and reduces winter feed costs. Savings can be as high as 40% compared to traditional feeding methods.

• Potential environmental benefits such as residue and manure management exist when swath grazing and by reducing the cost of corral cleaning and manure spreading.

• Swath grazing reduces the cost and time needed for harvesting forage and machinery use for handling feed and manure.

• For swath grazing to be successful, good management is needed in keeping cattle healthy and in good condition. Feed, fencing, water and shelter are important elements that need to be carefully planned when developing a swath grazing program.

• Caution is required when swath grazing calves, young cows, thin cows and cows with calves, as they need higher levels of energy and management than mature dry cows. If swath grazing these types of animals, consider providing supplemental feed and shelter.

• Select a field with protection from the wind, where you can provide extra feed to the animals on cold windy days, where you can easily monitor animal condition, where a water system is nearby if snow is unavailable, and where access to windrows is not limited due to severe snow drifting.

• The swath should lay on top of the stubble and be as narrow and deep as possible.

• Use electric fencing to force animals to clean up the feed that they have been given access to. If cattle are not controlled they will trample the swaths, and mix snow with the swath which then freezes. This makes it impossible for the cows to clean up the swaths during the winter.

• Depending on weather and management practices, feed usage from swath grazing can be as high as or higher than the usage of harvested hay or silage crops

• Cows can graze through two feet of soft snow. Wind-swept or severely crusted snow makes grazing difficult or impossible. If the snow is too hard or crystallized, the animal's nose becomes tender and lower leg hair can be rubbed off. If this happens, remove the herd from the swaths and feed regular feed to give the cows a rest.

• If the snow becomes too hard or too deep, it may be physically impossible for the herd to access the swath. To open up the swath in times of heavy snow, drive a tractor down the swath or blade snow off the swath. Placing a portable fence across the swaths also helps by exposing the ends of the swath which enables the cows to see the continuation of the swath after each fence move.

• Proper grounding is critical to making an electric fence work because of the high insulating factor of snow and frost to deliver a shock to the livestock. To overcome this, build a two-wire fence where one wire is electrified and one is grounded.

Swath grazing potential of spring cereals, field pea and mixtures with other species- available in PDF format only

Let us know of more good research papers for this topic.