Latest News From winter feeding

Winter Hay Supplies Higher
Winter Hay Supplies Higher

U.S. hay production in 2023 was 6.3% higher than the drought year of 2022, but remains 7.8% lower than the 10-year average. Hay stocks were higher in eight of the ten states, with decreases only in Kansas and Kentucky.

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Protecting Your Pastures While Winter Grazing

If your pastures were able to recover from drought, winter grazing of stockpiled grass produced during the growing season might be an option to extend the grazing season and reduce winter feed costs.

Preparing for Winter Calving
Preparing for Winter Calving

Calving during the winter months can present some unique challenges. What can we do to make calving in the late winter months as problem-free as possible? Get prepared.

Mastering Temporary Wire Fencing: Key Strategies for Cattle Owners
Mastering Temporary Wire Fencing: Key Strategies for Cattle Owners

Leasing pasture is common in the beef industry, especially for those just getting started. However, fencing leased pastures can be a challenge depending on the conditions of the existing fences.

Bale Grazing: Enhance Soil Health and Forage Production Through Innovative Hay-Feeding
Bale Grazing: Enhance Soil Health and Forage Production Through Innovative Hay-Feeding

Areas on the ranch lacking vegetation or poor productivity? Now's the time to strategically designate these spots for hay feeding to enrich the soil with essential nutrients.

Winter Cow Syndrome: What You Need to Know
Winter Cow Syndrome: What You Need to Know

Some individual cows or groups of cows experience significant decline in body weight and condition over the winter known as “winter cow syndrome.” The best strategy of prevention is twofold.

Protein Supplementation: What to Know Before Purchasing
Protein Supplementation: What to Know Before Purchasing

In developing a protein supplementation strategy, it is important to consider what is the goal of feeding the protein supplement and that not all protein sources are equal.

Get Ready for the Next Cold Snap
Get Ready for the Next Cold Snap

When cows get below their lower critical temperature and get into cold stress, they can adapt by increasing feed consumption to increase their basal metabolic rate and increase heat of fermentation.

Your Cattle Forage Analysis Results Are In: Now What?
Your Cattle Forage Analysis Results Are In: Now What?

These four measurements can help you determine what your herd needs are for additional nutrition.

Beyond Windbreaks: Proactive Winter Management Tips
Beyond Windbreaks: Proactive Winter Management Tips

Buddy Rowlett of Richmond, Kansas covers the basics of managing added snow pressure with fence design, working with frozen ground and offers a creative solution for electric fences during winter storms.

High Fed Cattle Prices but Narrow Margins: Strategies To Consider
High Fed Cattle Prices but Narrow Margins: Strategies To Consider

Although U.S. cattle inventories declined, following widespread drought, cattle feeding margins are not as wide as in the previous period of low cattle inventories. Here's some management strategies to consider.

Feed Smarter, Not Harder: Strategies to Minimize Feed Waste and Increase Profitability
Feed Smarter, Not Harder: Strategies to Minimize Feed Waste and Increase Profitability

Here's some tips and strategies to help cattle producers stretch their dollars when it comes to winter feeding, shared by Aaron Berger, extension educator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Understanding Protein in Feed
Understanding Protein in Feed

As cattle producers, we see abbreviations, such as CP, RDP, RUP and MP, in relation to feedstuffs. It is important to understand the different terms related to protein in feed.

Stay Ahead of the Freeze: Strategies for Winter Watering Success
Stay Ahead of the Freeze: Strategies for Winter Watering Success

Keeping cattle fed, bedded and out of the wind is one thing; but making sure they have flowing water is another. Here's some tips on winter watering your livestock.

Winter Management Strategies of Herd Bulls
Winter Management Strategies of Herd Bulls

Bulls are often a part of the cow herd that slips through the cracks during the winter months as breeding seasons end. Bull management strategies can impact a bull’s performance in the upcoming breeding season.

Trace Mineral Source Could Negatively Impact Forage Digestion
Trace Mineral Source Could Negatively Impact Forage Digestion

Utilization of winter forage will be critical in many parts of the country this year. Plan ahead to maximize utilization of forage resources, including: reduce wastage, maximize digestibility and extending the supply. 

What to Know About Grazing Frosted Forages
What to Know About Grazing Frosted Forages

The first frost may be welcome for its fly-killing ability, but for cattle on annual forages, a few management steps this time of year can make sure that first frost doesn't have the same effect on cattle.

Winter Rate of Gain & Implant Strategy Influences Hot Carcass Weight
Winter Rate of Gain & Implant Strategy Influences Hot Carcass Weight

In an effort to evaluate the potential compensatory effects of winter rate of gain and implant strategy across the entire production system, a two-year study by the University of Nebraska addressed those questions.

Thinking of Backgrounding Calves this Fall?
Thinking of Backgrounding Calves this Fall?

Cattle prices have responded to lower cattle inventory. Yet, with increasing costs of maintaining a cow, producers may wonder: to increase revenue in 2023, is it worth retaining or backgrounding calves?

Feed Prices Favor Limit-Feeding Stockers a High Energy Diet
Feed Prices Favor Limit-Feeding Stockers a High Energy Diet

For cattle producers that are set up to feed calves in a bunk, limit-feeding a high energy diet may be a cost-effective option for growing calves this fall and winter.

Now is the Time to Manage Livestock Winter Feeding Areas
Now is the Time to Manage Livestock Winter Feeding Areas

Composting livestock manure will increase the volume reduction compared to stockpiling, as well as reduce internal and external parasites, pathogens and weed seeds.

Mineral and Vitamin Considerations When Drylotting Cows
Mineral and Vitamin Considerations When Drylotting Cows

Managing cows in a drylot can be a way to maintain the herd when forage production is reduced. However, it's important to make sure cows are getting the vitamins and minerals they need.

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Check for Adequate Mineral Supplementation with Drought Stressed Forages

Feeding cows through the winter after a drought season is always challenging. Did you know the mineral content of forages, even if the same hay fields that are always used, is likely different than normal?

Forage Testing is Good Management
Forage Testing is Good Management

Testing forage and feed for nutrient quality helps ranchers ensure they are meeting nutrient requirements for optimum beef cattle performance.

Strategic Feedlot Bedding
Strategic Feedlot Bedding

Providing bedding is one of the time-tested strategies for dealing with winter weather. But how does bedding affect the bottom-line?

Fence Designs for Winter Pastures
Fence Designs for Winter Pastures

Who loves winter fencing? Here's a look at some tips and strategies for working around the challenges winter throws at cattle producers when it comes to the not-so-loved winter task.

Weather the Freeze: 3 Tips to Ensure Cattle Have Winter Water Access
Weather the Freeze: 3 Tips to Ensure Cattle Have Winter Water Access

Strategies to keep your water sources open and clear to drink to optimize your cattle’s performance during winter.

The Best Water Tanks for Winter
The Best Water Tanks for Winter

Breaking ice on water tanks is often a daily or multiple times per day task this time of year. What water systems do you have on your operation to ensure cattle always have water on the coldest days of winter?

Top 5 Production Stories Ranchers Found Helpful in 2022
Top 5 Production Stories Ranchers Found Helpful in 2022

The past year has been no walk in the park for producers. As we prepare to close out another year on the calendar, here’s a look back at the top production stories that cow-calf operations found helpful this year.

Helping Cows Cope with Cold Stress
Helping Cows Cope with Cold Stress

Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement and can pull down her body condition. As winter storms have already swept through cattle country, here's some tips to help your herd now through spring.

Do You Have Mold and Mycotoxins in Your Silage?
Do You Have Mold and Mycotoxins in Your Silage?

Understanding the amounts of mold and mycotoxins present can help with deciding which classes of cattle to feed and how much silage can safely be included in the diet.

Purchased Hay: The Extra Costs
Purchased Hay: The Extra Costs

If you do need to purchase hay to fill a forage gap this winter, there are some risks that need to be considered.

Hay Feeder Design to Reduce Hay Waste
Hay Feeder Design to Reduce Hay Waste

Improving hay feeding efficiency represents “low-hanging fruit” in many seedstock and commercial operations. Feeding strategies for large round bales can be separated into use of a hay feeder and rolling bales out.

7 Tips to Get Livestock Through the Winter
7 Tips to Get Livestock Through the Winter

Pasture and hay supplies are short in many areas. Here's a list of options and tips for livestock producers to consider for feeding their livestock this winter.

Choose the Best Cattle Mineral Supplementation for Your Operation
Choose the Best Cattle Mineral Supplementation for Your Operation

As grazing or forage-based livestock, cattle present a few challenges when it comes to mineral intake. However, here’s several considerations to help you provide the best nutrition to your herd.

How Does the Cost of Feeding Distillers Grains Compare to Corn?
How Does the Cost of Feeding Distillers Grains Compare to Corn?

Distillers grains offer many nutritional and digestive benefits over corn, including lower starch content, higher total digestible nutrients and higher crude protein content. So, how do the feed sources costs compare?

Protein Supplementation: What Should I Know Before Purchasing?
Protein Supplementation: What Should I Know Before Purchasing?

In developing a protein supplementation strategy, it is important to consider what is the goal of feeding the protein supplement and that not all protein sources are equal.

How Much Hay Will A Cow Consume? Estimate Your Winter Feed Needs
How Much Hay Will A Cow Consume? Estimate Your Winter Feed Needs

Estimating forage usage by cows is an important part of the task of calculating winter feed needs. Hay or standing forage intake must be estimated in order to make the calculations.

Bulls in the Off-Season: Prepare Now for Breeding Season
Bulls in the Off-Season: Prepare Now for Breeding Season

Heading into the next several winter months, how will you keep your “breeding athletes” prepared for the season to come?

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Be Careful Grazing Alfalfa

Grazing regrowth on irrigated alfalfa fields is likely in fall grazing plans for many producers. However, alfalfa has several challenges to grazing from animal and plant health perspective.

Grazing Corn Stalks or Corn Residue?
Grazing Corn Stalks or Corn Residue?

Having corn stalks to graze is a great resource for livestock producers, as a relatively inexpensive feed and helping get rid of corn remaining in the field. But are cattle really grazing stalks?

Minimizing Storage Losses of Round Bale Hay
Minimizing Storage Losses of Round Bale Hay

Baled forage probably constitutes the highest percentage of winter feed cost we have wrapped up in a cow. Here's how to best protect the asset from the elements.

Exercise Caution When Grazing Cattle on Drought Stressed Cornstalks
Exercise Caution When Grazing Cattle on Drought Stressed Cornstalks

Considering grazing cornstalks this winter to help ease feed needs? Here's some things to consider before turning cattle out in the field.

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Grazing Alfalfa in Fall or Winter

There is often fear associated with grazing alfalfa due to bloat potential or hurting the alfalfa stand. However, with proper management, fall and winter grazing may be an option to harvest quality feed.

Managing Fall Calving Cows is Different than Spring Calving Cows, Especially During Drought
Managing Fall Calving Cows is Different than Spring Calving Cows, Especially During Drought

Nutritional management of fall-calving cows is a little different than spring-calving herds throughout the production cycle. Here's some things to consider.

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Plan Now to Purchase Your Hay Supplies

The U.S. hay supply is at a 50-year low. Couple this with rising costs and it becomes prudent to plan fall, winter and next spring’s hay needs sooner rather than later.

Swath Grazing
Swath Grazing

As expenses increase and producers evaluate more-efficient management techniques to lower production costs, one alternative may be to incorporate swath, or windrow grazing.

The Importance of Testing Hay Quality
The Importance of Testing Hay Quality

Testing the quality of your harvested hay is important as hay quality is variable depending on the type of forage, soil type, fertilizer rate, and the maturity of the forage when it was hayed.

Control and Prevention of Wheat Pasture Bloat
Control and Prevention of Wheat Pasture Bloat

Wheat and other small grain pastures have been short, but as growing conditions improve, forage growth comes on rapidly. Rapidly growing small grain forage can lead to bloat of grazing cattle.

Cow Nutrition Considerations at Calving and Early Lactation
Cow Nutrition Considerations at Calving and Early Lactation

Cows/heifers are faced with nutritional and environmental stressors. Knowing the stress periods that cause nutrient deficiencies is where you must help the herd meet these nutritional challenges.