Tracking Our Producer-Led Bale Grazing Project: Updates from the Field

Update July 16th of 2025

This week, our team headed out to collect soil data on bale grazing project led by a Farming Forward producer member. This is the first year of the trial, and we're tracking how different levels of leftover residue, or “trash”, from bale grazing affect soil and forage performance over time.

The producer seeded the site on June 5 using 50 lbs/acre of Morgan oats and 10 lbs/acre of a Pen Blend from Northstar Seed. Between June 10–16, the area received over 4 inches of rain, with another 1.5 inches falling on July 9, giving the crop a good start.

The trial includes three zones with varying levels of bale residue:

• Heavy Trash

• Light Trash

• No Trash

There’s growing interest in whether trash-covered areas perform better in the second year of the rotation, particularly due to improved moisture retention and nutrient cycling.

To round out the day, our Executive Director Carri joined the evening branding at the producer's ranch—getting a hands-on taste of ranch life and the strong sense of community that powers it.

We’ll keep you posted as we collect more data and analyze the results. The photos show what the heavy trash area looked like in spring and how it’s coming along now.

Pictured above: Heavy Trash site on May 9, 2025

Pictured above: Heavy Trash site on July 16, 2025