Why the Bale Grazer is the Best Bit of Farm Machinery I’ve Ever Bought
written by Phil White, Doyleys Farn
About My Farming Business
I run a 400-acre regenerative mixed farm in South Oxfordshire, with both beef suckler and arable enterprises.
Like many others, I’ve been on a journey towards regenerative farming since around 2018.
I grow arable crops for Wildfarmed™ using regenerative principles, aiming to minimise tillage and improve soil health through herbal leys, cover crops and integrated cattle grazing. Boosting soil health is the cornerstone of improving both the resilience and profitability of my farm.
Why Bale Grazing Matters to Me
Out-wintering cattle and bale grazing are central to this strategy. Without it, my suckler enterprise simply wouldn’t be financially viable due to the high cost of winter housing. A key aspect of the system—integrating livestock into the arable rotation—would be lost.
I began out-wintering cattle and sheep several years ago, using bale grazing to supplement arable cover crops with a mix of hay and silage, both round and square bales. In the past, I’d move round bale feeders by rolling them over the bales to reduce wastage—but that was time-consuming and physically demanding for some members of the team, especially when shifting between grazing blocks.
Visible Benefits in the Field
What really convinced me of the value of bale grazing was the impact it had on following crops. I saw a massive yield boost where bales had been placed. I even took photos of a crop of spring oats where you could see a distinct wavy line—the crop was significantly taller where the bales had been. A local soil scientist analysed the soil and confirmed significantly increased biological activity in those areas.
In one particularly dry autumn, I drilled a cover crop and saw that the only successful germination occurred where the bales had been. That proved to me, beyond any doubt, the benefits of bale grazing. You’re effectively adding organic matter and supercharging microbial activity. It made the idea of buying in bales much more appealing—not just feeding cows, but also feeding the soil. A true win-win.
Solving the Downsides of Bale Grazing
One downside of bale grazing is the risk of compaction if the ground is wet during feeding. The Bale Grazer eliminates that risk, saving on the cost of remedial cultivations and allowing for more timely spring drilling.
I also like that rolling out a bale means more cattle can access it, improving utilisation and reducing wastage. Let’s say you cut wastage from 15% to 5%—that’s 10% of a £35 bale saved, or £3.50. Multiply that by four bales a day over a 150-day winter and you’ve saved over £2,000. That’s the Bale Grazer paid for in just one season—without even considering all the other benefits.
Why I Believe in the Benefits of Bale Grazing
One of the main reasons I’m fully committed to the Bale Grazer is that it allows me to spread the benefits of bale grazing over a wider area.
I attended a grazing workshop with Allen Williams (a colleague of regenerative pioneer Gabe Brown, of Understanding Ag), where he spoke about ‘supercharging’ strips of fields through bale or intensive mob grazing. These areas of high microbial activity then help accelerate soil health improvement across the rest of the field.
I can roll out 4ft round hay bales by hand, but silage gives more flexibility during tough seasons and offers better forage quality for different stock classes. The penny dropped when I saw George Hosier rolling out silage bales at scale on his Wiltshire arable farm using a bale unroller.
Flexibility Is Everything
A key benefit of bale grazing, if done right, is that you can place bales out in the field ahead of winter, eliminating the need to drive a tractor across wet ground—saving time, money and avoiding compaction.
The only catch is estimating dry matter yield when you drill a cover crop in autumn—you don’t really know what you’ve got until it grows (or doesn’t!). The Bale Grazer gives you flexibility to keep some bales handy in the yard or on the field edge, and top up the pre-positioned bales without creating ruts or damage.
This flexibility has helped me stay on track with grazing plans and fine-tune nutrition. I can add bales during harsh weather or if I see cows losing condition—and equally, I can hold bales back and save money. Flexibility is everything.
Game-Changer: The Pipe Winder
And I haven’t even mentioned the pipe winder attachment! One of the biggest challenges in a rotational grazing system is getting water to the paddocks. The Bale Grazer pipe winder has been a complete game-changer. What used to take hours—and a fair bit of morale—to manually wind up 500–600 metres of pipe is now an absolute doddle.
I’ve invested in a Kiwitech drag trough, which allows me to run pipe with a hydrant every 50 metres or along the fence line. The time savings are huge, and water leaks have become rare. With Thames Water charging £2.67 per m³, a 24-hour leak could cost £50–100. The Bale Grazer and Kiwitech combo is bombproof in that respect.
Final Thoughts
The Bale Grazer has saved me a huge amount of time, money and stress. It’s made integrating livestock far easier and is delivering multiple benefits. Most importantly—it’s made the job a whole lot more enjoyable.
“I genuinely cannot recommend the Bale Grazer highly enough.”