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The Drought

Surviving. The Drought. Background . High Corn Prices Scarce hay supply Drought Heat. Impact on-. Summer Grazing Winter Feed Water Supply Nitrates / Poisonous Plants. What do I do to meet needs when forage quality is not the issue but forage quantity is? DROUGHT!. Assess Situation.

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The Drought

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  1. Surviving The Drought

  2. Background • High Corn Prices • Scarce hay supply • Drought • Heat

  3. Impact on- Summer Grazing Winter Feed Water Supply Nitrates / Poisonous Plants

  4. What do I do to meet needs when forage quality is not the issue but forage quantity is?DROUGHT!

  5. Assess Situation • Inventory Cattle • Inventory Feed Supply • Do the numbers match?

  6. Animal Management Issues • Pregnancy check, cull opens • Cull older, lower producing cows • Cull problem cows, disposition, arthritic, teat, udder and feet problems.

  7. Conduct a feed and animal inventory • Use ASC-78 as a guide • Group animals by their needs • Compare how much feed is needed vs what is on hand

  8. Quality of Hay High Low Classes of Cattle Young Calves Weaned Calves Replacements Yearlings Bred Heifers 2-year old Cows Lactating Cows Mature Cows, last 1/3 of gestation Mature Bulls Mature Pregnant Cows, first 2/3 of gestation Allocation of Hay to Various Classes of Cattle Based on Quality

  9. Nutritional Quality of Forages Source: Parish, Jane etal. 2007. Producer Guide to Coping with Drought Conditions

  10. Approximate forage intake by beef cattle

  11. Are Alternatives Available on the Farm? • Corn that will make little or no grain yield • Chop it as silage • Do not graze or roll it for hay due to nitrates • Soybeans that will not set a bean • Graze or roll as hay, prevent bloat if grazing • Cut and roll when all leaves are still green

  12. Soybeans for Hay or Silage • For silage, harvest at R6 stage • May need to wilt after cutting • Forage beans yield 3-4 tons/ac of DM • Grain beans yield 2-3 tons/ac of DM • Animals do not like the silage, eat 20% less than corn silage

  13. Soybeans for Hay or Silage • Hay may need to be harvested at a little earlier stage • Should be conditioned to crush stem or hard to cure • If too mature at cutting, will lose bean due to conditioning • May have feeding loss of up to 20% due to stem refusal

  14. Baling or Grazing Corn Stalks • 120 bu corn = 4 to 5 tons residue/acre • Cows consume grain, leaves, husks, cobs, stalks in order • 1 acre of stalks = 30 days grazing/cow with mineral, protein supplementation • Should be strip grazed • Baling leaves much of the best (grain, leaves, husks) in the field

  15. Corn Stalks • High Nitrates have been detected • Low quality feed • Requires protein and energy supplementation • Considerable waste in feeding • Stores poorly

  16. What is an Acre of Stalks Worth to Graze?

  17. Performance of Cows fed Baled Corn Stalks

  18. Cow Rations with Baled Corn Stalks

  19. Cow Rations with Baled Corn Stalks

  20. Gain of Stocker Cattle on Normal or Drought Corn Silage

  21. Nutrient Analysis

  22. Baseline Assumptions

  23. Nutritional Needs

  24. What will it take?

  25. What will it cost?

  26. What can I pay for silage? • Based on previous estimate, hay costs $178.31 per cow to winter • How many tons of corn silage will it take to winter them? => 3.06 tons • You can pay $58.27 per ton of corn silage if hay is $125 per ton

  27. What can I pay for Corn Silage?

  28. If I need to buy feed, what should I buy, hay or something else?

  29. Nutrient dense feeds such as grains, commodities, etc., are cheaper per unit of nutrient compared to hay.Be sure and compare on a dry matter basis.

  30. Stretch Hay with Supplement Feed the hay on hand and buy supplement • Corn will replace hay at the rate of 1.0 lb. Corn can replace 2.0 lb. of hay

  31. Alternative Feeds

  32. How much hay does a cow have to have daily?

  33. Limit fed Corn vs. Hay Rations for Cows, 3 Year Summary

  34. Limit Feeding High Energy Rations for Growing Cattle

  35. Economics of Corn vs. Hay to Cows *Corn purchased at $4.90 / bu from feed dealer **Assumes 130 day winter feeding period

  36. Assuming 130 Day Winter Feeding • Corn based may be cheaper depending on hay / corn price • Even if hay is cheaper, what is the goal? • Do we want to minimize costs, or maximize profit? • What is the value of a 21 lb increase in weaning weight and a 7% increase in conception rate?

  37. Value of Increased Production *613# @ $100 / cwt, 634# @ $98 / cow

  38. What about by-products?

  39. Moisture content Nutrient profile Storage Contaminants Economics Availability Transportation Limitations

  40. Soy Hulls • Excellent palatability • Less starch content than grains; therefore, less negative effect on forage utilization • Safer, less incidence of founder

  41. Type of Energy Supplement and Gain of Steers on Hay Based Rations

  42. Corn Gluten • By-product of soft drink industry • May be wet or dried • Corn gluten “feed” is around 22-25% CP; corn gluten meal is about 60% CP • Low starch

  43. Corn Gluten Feed • High level of Sulfur (around 0.6%) • Limit to 50% of DMI due to its high sulfur content (Cu deficiency and polio)

  44. Distillers Grain

  45. Distiller’s Grain (30%CP)

  46. Storage of Wet Distillers Grains

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