Within the current cattle market in western Canada, profit margins for cow-calf producers are often very low or negative.  Winter-feeding alone can account for as much as 70% of the total costs to a cow-calf producer.  Research into winter feeding systems has found for every day that a cow remains on pasture at the end of summer ranchers can save $0.25/head/day.  Alternative winter-feeding systems are one way that ranchers can cut their costs of production, which will in turn increase profits.  Swath grazing is one method of winter-feeding that can be used to cut the cost of winter-feeding.  With this winter feeding system a high nutrient value crop, typically small grain cereals such as oats or barley, is planted in late spring, and then harvested at the soft dough stage in early to mid fall.  The crop is left on the field in swaths and the cattle are turned out to graze on it in late fall or early winter.  The savings in feeding costs come from the reduced handling of both the feed and the manure.  The cattle are used as the machine to harvest the crop, so the costs incurred to bale, store and feed will be reduced.  In addition, since the cattle are not in dry lot for the winter, manure does not have to be handled in the spring.  Swath grazing has the potential to increase the grazing season by 100 days, reducing feeding costs by as much as 50% over traditional winter feeding, which can help to increase ranch profit margins.