Feeding hay to livestock in the winter is very expensive, and often results in a sacrifice lot where manure gathers. At the same time, manure is considered gold because of its nutrient content, ability to supply organic matter, and to build soil life. In this second episode, Dr. Summer Thomas, education and outreach specialist with the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, takes us on a deeper dive into her research on the benefits of round bale grazing and how it pertains to the four core soil health principles

Summer explains how livestock and round bale grazing are land and soil health management tools for reducing machinery costs, better distributing manure and essential nutrients across pastureland, and truly energizing the system with biodiversity. 

Overall, round bale grazing is a sound management practice that leads to healthy soils, healthy plants, and healthy animals. 

As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning and to follow the four core soil health principles: 

1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends and allies;
2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Practice no-till or gentle tillage in your field or garden as much as possible;
3) Maximize living roots year-round -- to improve biodiversity, soil structure, and life in the soil; and
4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation, farm enterprises, and/or livestock integration.

More details about the Virginia Farm-to-Table Harvest Celebration scheduled for Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at On Sunny Slope Farm in Rockingham, Virginia, can be found at https://virginiafarmtotable.org/2025vaf2tharvestcelebration/

To enjoy recent 4 The Soil blog posts and additional soil health resources, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/blog and https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. For questions about soil and water conservation practices, 4-H and FAA opportunities, and conservation activities for youth, call or visit a USDA Service Center, a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.  

4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.

Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest.

To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website 4thesoil.org. Music used during today’s program is courtesy of the Flip Charts. All rights reserved. 4 the Soil: A Conversation is produced by On the Farm Radio in collaboration with Virginia Tech. The host and co-hosts are Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt.