Grant-Kohrs Ranch offers Beaverslide Hay Stacker demo with horses

The Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge, Mont., is offering the public a chance to see the Beaverslide Hay Stacker method, a historic way of creating large hay piles for winter, in action with teams of horses. The next demonstration event is scheduled for Aug. 13 from 1-3 p.m.

The Beaverslide Hay Stacker was invented in the Big Hole Valley (Beaverhead County) in 1908 and many of the “slides” can still be seen dotting the countryside throughout Montana. The name of the method comes from the longer name of “Beaverhead County Hay Stacker” that was eventually shortened to just “Beaverslide” in community usage.

The “Beaverslide” method consists of bringing a large pile of hay to the slide (a vertically angled platform with a carrying cage) that then dumps the hay into a holding box where it is packed. The method has worked well in the arid West where 10 inches of annual precipitation, including melted snowfall, was not enough to cause the hay to mold, according to the National Parks Service (NPS). The method also enabled farmers to build haystacks right where the hay was cut.

“This was really the development of modern ranching,” said NPS ranger Dan Scott. “People went from being able to cut 3-5 acres of hay with a hand scythe per day to cutting 30-40 acres of hay with horses. Now, of course, we can cut thousands of acres with a tractor and very few people.”

Seeing the Beaverslide Hay Stacker in action requires the use of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch’s on-site draft horses, as well as outside teams. In addition to cutting the hay with a sickle mower a few days before the demo, teams must then be on hand to pull the side delivery rake and dump rake to make a windrow, and then another team to push the hay onto the Beaverslide with the buck rake. Once loaded with roughly 1,000 pounds of hay, a final team pulls the Beaverslide carrier to the top of the slide and drops the hay into the square holder. A team of people on the ground spread the hay evenly with pitchforks so it can be packed down.

Julie Croglio, NPS Chief of Interpretation, said the ranch continues to offer the Beaverslide Hay Stacker demonstration to the public because it was such a critical part of the ranch during the open range cattle era.

“We are here to tell the story of the open range cattle era and that includes keeping the heritage skills alive,” she said. “We hay one of our smaller pastures with the historic equipment and then use that hay for winter feeding.”

Once the headquarters of a 10-million-acre cattle empire, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site preserves these symbols and commemorates the role of cattlemen in American history, NPS said.

The Grant-Kohrs Ranch keeps a herd of roughly 65 cattle, along with horses year-round.

But the ranch is not the only outfit in Montana working to bring in summer hay. The winter feeding of hay is still an essential part of ranching in the state. Despite improved moisture conditions this year, 65 percent of the state is still considered to be in drought, reducing hay volume while demand is also increasing.

According to a USDA Montana Hay Report, cattle herd expansion is on the minds of many, and the demand for hay and grain is increasing as producers try to sustain extra animals.

The highest cost for hay in July was $200 to $250 a ton delivered in northern Montana and an average of $160 to $190 per ton in the state for good quality alfalfa in round bales.

For more information on the upcoming demonstration at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch, visit