Wouldn’t it be nice if we could graze 365 days out of the year? Think about the feed, fuel, time and overall money you would save! While it’s a great goal to aim for, it simply isn’t realistic for all climates or ranches. If you fall into the category of cattlemen and women who simply must supplement feed at some point during the year, understanding the quality of your feed and how to reduce feed waste is vital to your success each year. Dr. Karl Hoppe, Livestock Systems Specialist at the Carrington Research Extension Center, offers insight into how cattle producers can better understand the nutritional requirements of their cows and how to pair that with the quality of feed they have available during Season 7, Episode 35 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.
Body condition scoring is a common method of evaluating if your cows’ nutritional needs are being met. To use this information effectively, ranchers must know how long it takes to move their cows up a score if they are thinner than desired.
“When it comes to winter feeding, you need to think six months ahead,” Hoppe says.
Depending on the cow, there is approximately a 80-pound difference from one body condition score to the next. How long it will take you to make that gain depends on the genetics of your herd and a variety of environmental factors one being feed quality. To set your herd up for optimal performance, you must know what they need for nutrients and what our feed sources have to offer.
“People often think if cows are thin, they can just throw a few extra bales out for them,” Hoppe says. “This happens during cold, wintry days too. But the cows need energy, not just extra feed. We tend to miss this and don’t realize how much energy our cows need.”
The solution is simple, test your hay each year.
As soon as your hay is put up, you can test it and get results back within a few days. It is encouraged to test for energy, protein, calcium, phosphorus and trace minerals. However, it can be beneficial to test for toxins such as nitrates which are more common during dry years.
When it comes to collecting samples, Karl says, “Make sure you get at least a quart bag full of corings for an adequate sample.”
Additionally, it is wise to test bales from each field because there can be large variances between different types of hay and the land it was grown on. For those who grind and mix different quality hay, test before you grind as the ground hay pile isn’t mixed enough to offer a representative sample. If you don’t have a probe to collect samples, reach out to your extension agent, feed store or feed company representative for help. If you need to test feed that is supposed to be ensiled, be sure to allow this process to take place before collecting samples. For distillers, ask the plant or location you are purchasing from if they have averages for quality so you can formulate an accurate ration. Feed and hay samples can be sent to commercial laboratories that run these tests often. The National Forage Testing Lab website is a good resource for cattle producers to find a lab near them.
Testing the feed is one thing. Raising high-quality, cost-effective feed is another. We tend to do a lot of things like generations before us, but our cows and economy are not the same. This makes it important to explore different options and be flexible with our environment and weather to raise cost-effective, high-quality feed. This might look like grazing or haying different feeds like rye, barley, winter wheat, sorghum-sudan mixes, oats, forage sorghum or corn silage. From an energy standpoint, corn silage is a great feed source to include in your total mixed ration (TMR), which can also be cost-effective. Your location may also provide access to different byproducts such as wheat middlings, soy hulls, beet pulp or corn gluten-feed just to name a few examples. Hoppe helps North Dakota producers incorporate these into their rations.
You can raise it. You can test it. How do you make sure you don’t waste it?
There are numerous strategies to reduce feed waste depending on what and how you are delivering this feed. For those feeding a TMR, feed bunks are the best option to reduce waste. For round bales, look at different feeders to help keep the hay in the feeder and not on the ground. Karl reminds producers, “Cattle don’t waste high quality hay. Cattle do waste poor quality hay.” So, take this into consideration when deciding how and what to feed your herd. There are opportunity costs to consider when deciding to feed a TMR or stick to bales. Hoppe said, “It costs money to grind hay, run two tractors and own a mixer wagon; so if you own a small amount of cows it might be cheaper to let cows waste a greater percentage of hay rather than feed a TMR. But, don’t forget to consider the cost of that hay that is now considered bedding. Your hay could be $100/ton which is expensive bedding compared to $40/ton straw or stover.” Before you get into the argument of which option is best for you, be sure to know your costs to get the most accurate picture.
As we work toward increasing our grazing days and decreasing our feeding days, remember there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Start by knowing your costs, what resources you have available, the needs of your cows and your goals. From there, don’t be afraid to ask around and try new methods to determine which feeding strategies best fit your operation. And of course, TEST YOUR HAY!
Listen: Casual Cattle Conversations Episode 35
Read more on hay and forage:
Understanding Forage Quality Analysis
Options for Producers When Facing Short Hay Supplies
