– Ted Wiseman, and Dean Kreager Extension Educators in Perry and Licking County
You may be thinking enough already with the hay quality talk. Many articles have been sent out on this topic starting before some people even baled their first cutting. Last year a lot of the hay was very poor quality and many animals lost significant weight through the winter. Some animals even died with hay in front of them because the hay did not have enough nutritional value. Hay quality affects all types of livestock but I will concentrate on beef cows since they are less likely to receive supplemental feed than most other animals.
Thin cows are more likely to produce calves that are less healthy and will not grow as well. Those cows often take longer to breed back which will carry into the next year with later born calves. Below is a summary of 45 forage samples from hay made this year. This data represents 2 important test numbers. These 2 items do not tell the whole story when it comes to Continue reading