1 / 43

Matching Forage Fertility Management to Your Cow Herd

Matching Forage Fertility Management to Your Cow Herd. Brian C. Pugh Area Agronomist OSU Extension. What is the most efficient forage harvesting tool?. Scythe Round Baler C. Bessie. Is Fertilizer Too Expensive?. Fertilizing Vs. Feeding.

sveta
Download Presentation

Matching Forage Fertility Management to Your Cow Herd

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Matching Forage Fertility Management to Your Cow Herd Brian C. Pugh Area Agronomist OSU Extension

  2. What is the most efficient forage harvesting tool? Scythe Round Baler C. Bessie

  3. Is Fertilizer Too Expensive?

  4. Fertilizing Vs. Feeding • Compare the cost of fertilizing vs. purchasing hay. • Assumes stocking density has been determined • Assume a cow needs 43/lbs forage per day. • Compare the cost of feeding: • 43 lbs/day of grazed forage to • 43 lbs/day of hay for 1 cow.

  5. Cost for 1200 lbs Round Bale ($/bale) $/head/day expense for 1 cow 43 lbs X cost of grass Cost of Urea $/ton

  6. Cost/head/day for 43 lbs/hay @ $35/bale When the column is above the line: It is cheaper to feed hay When the column is below the line: It is cheaper to feed grazed forage Cost/head/day for 43 lbs/day of grazed forage With 50 lbs N (109 lbs Urea @ $350/ton)

  7. Hay vs. Fertilized Forage Quality? Urea $514 DAP $571 $27.95/ton $16.76/bale

  8. Nitrogen Costs • When buying fertilizer maker sure to price it by the pound of nitrogen not by $/ton. Example: Which is a better buy? Am. Nitrate @ $400/ton or Urea @ $500/ton Ammonium Nitrate 2000 lbs x .34 = 680 lbs N $400/680 = $0.588 Urea 2000 lbs x .46 = 920 lbs N $500/920 = $0.543

  9. Nitrogen Fertilizer is Just too Expensive!Right? • Urea - $514/T ($0.559/lb N) • 1 Ton Forage = $27.95 Nitrogen ($16.77 per 1200 lb bale) • What does a 1200 lb bale cost you in local area? • $25 to $30 ??? , $20 ??? • At $60/ton = $36 per 1200lb Bale. Even purchased at $20 dollars per bale its cheaper to grow it !

  10. Is Fertilizer Feasible Under Risk of Drought?

  11. Many producers rely on 5 months of Bermuda production to supply the cow’s needs for the whole year. What happens if we don’t get summer rains?

  12. Fertility during drought? Effects of Fertility On Degraded Bermudagrass Cover.Muskogee County, 2012 Bermuda = 31% WS Grasses = 36% Broadleaf = 33%

  13. Fertility beats drought! This was with 2.97” of rainfall! No history of bad weed problems or overgrazing.

  14. This was with 4.08” of rainfall! Half the production of 2013, but better than 400 lbs of Bermuda/A!

  15. N Source Effects On Yield Kinta, OK 2005 Brian Pugh & Chris Rice 7.40” Rainfall Statistically no significant differences! Plots harvested on Oct 17th 6.05” Rainfall 3.95” Rainfall Application of 100 units N – 294 lb/ac amm. nitrate, 217 #/ac urea, or 217 lb/ac of urea+Agrotain.

  16. Rainfall for Payne County (1981-2011) Fertilize warm season grass Fertilize cool season grass Fertilize Warm or cool season grass 36.75 inches average total rainfall

  17. How Much Fertilizer?

  18. OSU Rules of Thumb - Fertility • It takes 50 lbs actual N to make 1 additional ton of warm season grass • It takes 60 lbs actual N to make 1 additional ton of cool season grass • For E. OK, 1 acre will produce 1 ton of forage per year without fertility!

  19. Increase fertility or decrease stocking rate? How do we determine what will be in our best interest when determining dollars returned?

  20. Fertilizing With a Goal in Mind. • Conduct a Forage Budget to determine forage production needed for the year. • Set production goals for the whole place, taking into account the production potential of soils in each pasture. • Put fertilizer resources where and when they will do the most good.

  21. Forage Budgeting. • A forage budget is simply determining how much forage you need to grow in order to supply your cows with the groceries they need each day for 365 days of the year! • Its not exact, buts its closer than guessing. • It also allows you to utilize fertility to grow the forage you will need during the wetter periods of the year and thereby avoid forage shortages during a droughty summer. • It should also help to reduce the need to supplement forage supplies with expensive purchased hay in times of shortage.

  22. Forage Budgeting.(F-2584) 8 tons forage/cow/year? Unfertilized pasture = 8 Acres • Livestock description__________ • Total number of days__________ • Dry matter consumption__________ • Lbs/animal_______ x #animals_______= • Total # forage required_________/2000 = • _________tons of forage required. 1200# cow 365 43 lbs/day 15695 100 1,569,500 785 At best only assume 70 % utilization of standing forage.

  23. Currently running 100 cows @ 4 acres/cow. Buying hay (or baling from another field) to make it through 150 winter days in avg year. Feeding hay 180 days in drought year. 150 acres 125 acres North West 125 acres South

  24. Forage Budget - Current Pasture. Total 400 tons of supplied forage Avgyears need ~500 round bales (5/cow), dry years having to purchase an additional 150 round bales. Cost @$30 = $15,000 to $19,500 per winter (just hay).

  25. Determining Needed Forage. Budget cow side = 785 tons Current prod. = 400 tons Currently 385 tons short on needed forage to supply needs of 100 cows for the year. Causes us to purchase quite a lot of hay in poor years.

  26. What if we fertilize West pasture with 50 lbs. N (108 lbs Urea)/Acre in May and fertilize North pasture in late August with 50 lbs. N/Acre to stockpile Bermudagrass for Nov/Dec grazing? 150 acres 125 acres North West 125 acres South

  27. Forage Budget - Current Pasture. Total 675 tons of supplied forage 50 lbs N on 275 acres @ $0.559 = $7,686 (+275 tons, $27.95/t) Avgyears need ~180 round bales (2/cow), dry years having to purchase or bale an additional 50 round bales. Cost @$30 = $5,400 to $6,900 per winter (just hay).

  28. Determining Needed Forage. Budget cow side = 785 tons Projected prod. = 675 tons Now we have gone from a 385 ton shortage to a 110 ton forage shortage for the herd. Less hay to buy and hopefully less days to have to feed it. There are many scenarios to play with if we utilize the budget.

  29. What if we moved some summer fertility for hay production to the South pasture at 60 lbs. N (130 lbs Urea)/Acre in Feb to promote ryegrass for Mar/Apr grazing? Or planted small grains for use in Jan/Feb? Year Round Grazing System! 125 acres 150 acres North West 125 acres South

  30. Fertilizer Application Strategies

  31. Excess forage; harvest as hay Forage required by livestock Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Fertility Timing – Year Round Grazing. Move a portion of fertility resources and haying cost to different time of year. Graze Stockpiled Fescue Graze Ryegrass Graze Stockpiled Bermuda Graze Bermuda Summer growth Bale Bermuda Bale Ryegrass Feed hay

  32. Maximum Yield/ Minimum Inputs Soil Test for 160 acres pH = 6.4 N = 3 P = 10 K = 355 Fertilizer Prices DAP = $571 (50 lbs P = $31.12) Urea = $514 (50 lbs N = $28.01) (50 lbs. N = 1 ton additional production) 50 lbs P @ 160 A = $4979.20 • Each acre gives 1 ton • 160 tons • If we fertilized everything for 1 additional ton • 160 tons • 320 tons Total Production 50 lbs N @ 160 A = $4481.60 Total = $9460.80 or $29.57/ton Bermuda Bermuda 50 lbs P 50 lbs P 50 lbs N 50 lbs N Bermuda Bermuda 50 lbs P 50 lbs P 50 lbs N 50 lbs N

  33. Maximum Yield/ Minimum Inputs Soil Test for 160 acres pH = 6.4 N = 3 P = 10 K = 355 Fertilizer Prices DAP = $571 (50 lbs P = $31.12) Urea = $514 (50 lbs N = $28.01) (50 lbs. N = 1 ton additional production) 50 lbs P @ 40 A = $1244.80 • Each acre gives 1 ton • 160 tons • If we fertilized 40 acres for 4 additional tons • 160 tons • 320 tons Total Production 200 lbs N @ 40 A = $4481.60 Total = $5726.40 or $17.90/ton Bermuda Bermuda 50 lbs P 200 lbs N What if 40 A had sufficient P? Don’t try to “build up” your entire property! Bermuda Bermuda 40% less money for same yield!

  34. Summary. • Fertilizer costs might look high, but we can still grow forage cheaper than we can buy it! • Making the cow do the work is cheaper and easier than us providing for her. • Fertility can increase yields even in dry years. In fact, fertility can prevent significant stand loss and herd liquidation.

  35. Summary. • By getting a better handle on how much forage we need to produce for the year, we may be able to reduce input costs associated with providing forage off the back of a truck. • Forage budgeting allows us to tailor our fertility applications to the times of the year when we get the water we need to grow the forage required by the herd. • Focus on your best soils first and double up!

  36. Questions? Brian C. Pugh OSU Area Agronomist Northeast District Stan Fimple OSU Extension Educator Pawnee County

  37. Alternative Fertilizer Trial(Sea Salts) Cody Linker & Brian C. Pugh Lincoln Co. Oklahoma 2012-2013

  38. Fertility Treatments • Urea @ 20 lbs/A • Urea @ 217 lbs/A • Sea 90 @ 5 lbs/A foliar • Sea 90 @ 50 lbs/A broadcast • Sea Minerals from AR (SMFA) @ 4 lbs/A foliar • Urea 217 + Sea 90 foliar • Urea 217 + SMFA foliar

  39. Projected Yield & Nutrient Cost Select N Source based on cost of actual N/lb! Both treatments cost $8 / Acre Urea $811/ton Sea 90 $1/lb SMFA $2/lb

  40. LSD = 764 lbs • OSU Rule of Thumb – Each 50 units N applied will yield 1 additional ton of WSG • A 100 lbN application as Urea (217 lbs) increased yield approximately 2 tons • 217 lbs Urea produced 3.6 times more forage than the untreated check • Sea Salt products made no difference in yield when applied per label • Conditions in 2013 were good for Bermudagrass growth

  41. Forage Expense in Relation to Fertility Control Yield @ 1677 lbs/A

  42. Alternative Fertilizer Summary • Base fertility on lbs supplied nutrient • Over a century of University research • Put a sharp pencil to new “cures” • Try a demo strip • Buyer Beware! • Liquid Lime, Microbial soil trt, fish oil • If it sounds too good to be true…it probably is!

More Related