What do grass-fed cows eat in the winter
posted on
December 18, 2024
Q. Farmstead Acres cows are 100% grass-fed, right? But it's winter time, so how can they eat grass when the grass isn't growing?
A. In the summer, we make hay and feed it to the cows in the winter.
Hay is grass that we mow off and store in bales. If you visit the Farm, you will notice the oversized marshmallow loafs behind the Farm Store. Each of these hay bales weigh almost a ton. Cutting back the white wrap reveals dried summer grass that is slightly caramelized from the lacto-fermentation that occurs after the grass is wrapped in the bale. (This can be compared to harvesting vegetables in the summer and canning for the winter time.)
During the day we let the cows out on pasture to exercise and we unroll a hay bale for the cows to eat since there is no grass growing. This method is called bale grazing. Any hay that the cows do not eat gets trampled into the ground feeding the earth at the same time that we are feeding the cows. Along with their excrement, this is a wonderful fertilizer. When spring time comes you can tell exactly where the cows were bale grazing because the grass is thicker and greener!
During the night our cows prefer the warmth and comfort of our new loafing barn, bedded down on a nice clean layer of straw for the night. Here in the loafing barn we also unroll hay in the feed aisle for any cow that wants a midnight snack.
If you were a cow, would you want to live at Farmstead Acres?
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