At DCCI all cattle are wintered outside except cattle being semen collected or halter trained. When snow becomes over 6" to 8" deep the cows are fed hay produced on the ranch. Home grown hay is preferred to prevent introduction of foreign weed seed.
At DCCI huge round bales are rolled down steep Appalachian hills allowing plenty of room for the whole herd to feed. Hay rings are not preferred at DCCI because of the trampling and destruction of feeding area grass.
Surplus hay makes bed areas for cows and does some minor re-seeding.
Each DCCI pasture herd contains 35 to 400 cattle. The hay patterns unroll at their own discretion creating new patterns every day.
