Stockpiled Forage, the Backbone of Winter Grazing

Dec 05, 2025

By Victor Shelton

December has a way of bringing the year into focus. By the time the last leaves have blown away, and the pasture has stopped changing from week to week, we finally get a chance to look back and evaluate what the season gave us. Weather patterns across Indiana varied throughout 2025. Some areas received decent moisture; others dealt with dryness or rain that came out of rhythm with forage needs. Even within my own operation, some pastures held up beautifully while others struggled. My forage quality was also precarious. Every year reminds us that the only constant is variability. Even so, winter always arrives, and with it comes the shift from growing forage to managing what we’ve grown.

Stockpiled forage is the backbone of winter grazing, and this year is no different. Tall fescue continues to prove itself as the most reliable winter feed in the Midwest. Its ability to hold nutritional value, stay upright and withstand repeated freeze–thaw cycles is unmatched. Good orchardgrass is worth having, but it should be used first; it doesn’t hold together once winter sets in. Fescue, on the other hand, ages gracefully, and a well-managed stockpile often beats hay that could have been cut from the same field at the same stage both nutritionally and fiscally.

The key to making stockpiling work is timing. Dormancy is the line in the sand. Once plants experience several nights at 25 degrees or below, the risk of damaging next spring’s growth drops significantly. In parts of Indiana this year, dormancy came later because of milder stretches of weather, but some areas are still waiting. That weather variability makes it even more important to watch the pasture itself rather than the calendar. Grazing too early can strip remaining leaves, initiating the plant to try and regrow while pulling from root reserves and setting the plant back. But once forage is dormant, it becomes a renewable winter resource that can be grazed down to a reasonable residual without harming spring regrowth.

Residual height still matters, even in winter. Leaving a few inches protects the soil surface, reduces erosion, enhances infiltration and helps catch moisture from snowmelt or winter rains. Fields that enter winter with strong residue respond better in spring. Controlled allocations, offering livestock one to three days of forage at a time, help stretch the stockpile and keep nutrients near where the forage was grown. Once plants are dormant, back-fencing becomes less critical; but controlled access still helps maintain even grazing and avoid selective pressure. While managing forage, it’s also worth checking that livestock maintain body condition and get adequate minerals, especially in years with variable weather.

Where stockpile is thin or dormancy hasn’t fully set in, bale grazing becomes a useful tool—not only for feeding livestock, but also for improving soil fertility and building organic matter. I’ve used bale grazing on my own farm and can attest to its long-term value when done with purpose. Placing bales strategically across weaker areas, thin soils or places needing more organic matter turns each feeding location into a nutrient deposit and soil-building event. As the animals work through each bale, they leave behind a mix of trampled hay, manure and urine that feeds soil biology and improves water-holding capacity. The results show up in the following growing season: darker soil, thicker forage, more even growth and more resilience during hot or dry spells.

Source : osu.edu

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.