The Hay Shed

So how does the hay shed work? In spring and early summer excess pasture is cut and made into hay and stored in this shed.

Over summer bedding material is accumulated. This includes black walnut husks, the left overs from another local industry. When winter arrives and the fields are snow covered the Salatin's cattle can take refuge in the barn. There is a deep litter of carbon (straw, walnut husks, whatever is available) which is laced with corn kernels (which pigs love and grass fed cattle distain) and a feed rack for hay which is raised over winter as the bedding and manure pile grows higher and higher.

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Carbon in the bins at the front, hay stored behind.

Hay racks on winches so that they can be moved up as the cattle bedding increases in height over winter.

Once the snow melts the cattle move onto grass and the pigs are brought into the barn for farrowing.