Livestock producers can stretch short supplies of hay this year by using a simple ammonia treatment on bales, says University of Missouri Extension agronomist Rusty Lee.
Be cautious when turning livestock into pastures with certain warm season grasses as toxic nitrate and prussic acid can accumulate in drought situations.
The person who originated the adage, “It beats a snowbank” may have been thinking about feeding corn stalk bales. However, like most forages there can be quite a bit of variability in nutritional value.
Ten cattle died on one Texas ranch where 82 cattle were seized, while another ranch in Texas had eight head die and six cattle confiscated. All of the cattle are believed to have been deprived of water or feed.
If drought conditions persist, producers could find themselves seeking winter feed options. The program will focus on what producers can do to maximize on rainfall or plan ahead for various scenarios this winter.
Research by the University of Nebraska investigating summer dry lotting of cow-calf pairs has shown seasonal dry lotting can be a cost competitive option to traditional production systems.
While most farmers certainly won’t turn down a year with ample rain, the frequency of rainfall can pose a challenge to putting up high-quality hay for the winter months.
Poisonous plants are responsible for considerable losses in livestock although many cases go unrecognized and undiagnosed due to a lack of knowledge of which plants could be responsible.
Farmers in Texas and other areas experiencing drought are in dire need of hay supplies and dryland crops are burning up. Because of this, grain farmers are abandoning their grain crops and baling them for cattle feed.
Stunted, stemmy pastures unable to support grazing cattle have potential. Depend on fall rains to bring fall regrowth, says University of Missouri Extension forage agronomist Craig Roberts.
Method of storage throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall and winter is important to maintain forage quality, as well as minimize waste and simultaneously cost of production.
