Research shows that wastage is as much as 40% or more when cattle are allowed free access to large bales without feed racks. Feed wastage may only be 6% with rings or feeders. Unrolling has feed wastage values of 23%. Wastage is greater with low-quality than with high-quality hay.
Jim Gerrish of the University of Missouri has devised a low-maintenance hay-feeding system. The bales are pre-set during the summer for winter feeding and then ring feeders and electric fence are moved to control access. Each year, the bales are located in a different area of the field where they are to be fed. The bales are about 20-30 feet away from each other.
Other producers unroll their hay. They locate the bales at the top of a hillside or incline behind an electric wire. The bales are placed so they will unroll. Certainly, a barn or other structure should not be in the line of the bale's unrolling.