Soil Health, Quality of Forage and Healthy Cattle are Key to this Sustainable Dairy Farm in Louisiana. Achieved with the Help of a Hustler Bale Feeder.

Delta Dairy LLC, run by Ted Miller and his family is a Louisiana based, sustainable dairy operation with dairy grazing throughout all four seasons. Find out how the Hustler Chainless bale unroller plays a critical part in this kind of farming system and how it helps improve soil and cattle health for the Millers.

Ted and his son Jared Miller welcome us in Baskin, Louisiana where they are one of few sustainable, grass fed dairy organisations in the US. The cattle are outside on pasture throughout the weather and the period of lactation. The operation consists of approximately 450 milking cows and 600 head of replacements and bulls, rotationally grazed on 1,200 acres of pasture.

“The nutrients coming out of the back of the cow are valuable to us!”

Soil health is key to the Millers and the Hustler Chainless plays an important role in that. “The nutrients coming out of the back of these cows are very valuable to us”, Ted explains and this is simply put, fertiliser. So it is no surprise that a lot of attention is placed on the quality of feed and nutrients these cows receive and pass. Hustler bale processors gently tease apart the hay and stalks without destroying the leaf or grain, unlike hay shredders or similar. This way, as much nutrients as possible are preserved and can be absorbed by the animals. 

Another great feature of the Hustler Chainless bale unroller is, that the machine fluffs up the hay when fed out. This way it is more palatable for the cows and wastage is almost zero. “The cows eat almost everything”, Jared declares. 

Hustler Bale Feeder for Rotational Grazing

From a nutrient dispersing point of view “unrolling is a key step to how we feed hay” the Millers explain. “As the manure is essentially fertiliser for us, we target the placement of these nutrients.” From a practical farming point of view, this means the cattle are spread out and rotationally grazed to ensure an even spread of the valuable fertiliser. And this is where the Hustler comes into play. 

The unique features of our Chainless mounted bale unroller provide maximum versatility. The feeder can be front or back mounted, including telehandler and compact loader mounts available. Feeding into troughs or over fences is no issue and the compact size means you will get through any gateway. Our Snaplox automatic connection system means you can connect and disconnect the feeder from the comfort of your tractor seat and the bale is fed out within minutes. Square and round bales alike, for increased efficiency. 

“The Machine has sold itself to us!”

“We’ve been impressed, as we just haven’t done anything to the feeder other than routine maintenance. No repair work on this machine unlike other brands we’ve had,” Ted notes. 7,000-10,000 bales have been put through this particular model since 2014 and it is still going strong. “The machine has sold itself to us.”

To find out more about the sustainable way the Millers are farming head over to our Feed Grass For Good blog feature.