The Impact of Rain on Hay Quality

Ted Wiseman, OSU Extension, Perry County (originally published in Farm & Dairy)

Did rain damage your hay before it got baled?

Hay, a vital feed resource for livestock, needs to be of high quality to ensure animal health and productivity. Unfortunately, when hay gets rained on during the curing process, its quality can be significantly compromised. Understanding how rain affects hay and what can be done to mitigate these effects is crucial for every hay producer.

How Rain Affects Hay

Rain during the hay curing process can lead to several issues. One primary concern is the leaching of nutrients. Rainwater can wash away essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and minerals, reducing the overall feeding value of the hay. Even a light rain can cause substantial nutrient losses.

Another significant issue is the Continue reading The Impact of Rain on Hay Quality

Is creep feeding calves right for you?

– Bill Halfman, Beef Outreach Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension

Considering whether or not to creep feed is complex.

With cattle prices at record highs and favorable feed prices, producers are likely considering creep feeding their beef calves to add additional pounds.

Creep feeding provides supplemental feed to nursing beef calves in an area that the cows can’t access. It is common for creep feed to consist of grains, protein supplements and limiters, but many other feed sources can be used as creep. The feed may be an on-farm mix or a commercial feed of various types, and usually is fed using a creep feeder.

Whether creep feeding will pay off is more complex than just adding pounds to calves; many factors come into play. Research results over the years have been mixed. It is important to evaluate numerous factors, including Continue reading Is creep feeding calves right for you?

Prioritize a water source in a rotational grazing system

Dean Kreager, Licking County Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator

Water, the most important nutrient!

Water is the most important nutrient for grazing animals.  Without it they won’t live a week and with limited or poor-quality sources they won’t perform up to their potential. Often availability and placement of good quality water sources is the biggest limiting factor to designing pasture lots.  Figuring out ways to split pasture lots and still have a nearby water source is a challenge.

We are often reminded of the benefits of rotational grazing and frequent movement of animals. Improved pasture productivity, increased stocking density, better distribution of nutrients back onto pastures, and reduction of weed issues all sound great, but what about a water source. Research has shown that beef cattle need 5-20 gallons per day, sheep and goats 2-3 gallons, horses 10-15 gallons, and dairy cattle 15-30 gallons. Finding ways to meet the needed water demands can improve the efficiency of pasture use.

The amount of water that needs to be available at Continue reading Prioritize a water source in a rotational grazing system

Breeding, Growing, Processing and Marketing Local Beef

Find each session’s recording linked below.

Regardless if you presently are, or have an interest in the future to breed, grow, process and market local beef direct to the consumer, a review of this winter’s Virtual Beef School is a must! Each session was recorded and posted to YouTube and can be accessed and reviewed at your convenience. The presentations included:

* on January 18, 2024
Genetic Selection: What Matters; See recorded video presentation
Allen Gahler, OSU Extension Sandusky Co.
Planned Calving to Meet Demand; See recorded video presentation
Dean Kreager, OSU Extension Licking Co.

* on February 15, 2024
Feeding to a Harvest Date; See recorded video presentation
Garth Ruff, OSU Extension, Beef Cattle Field Specialist

* on March 21, 2024
Selling Retail vs Wholesale, Yield and Added Value;  See recorded video presentation
Lyda Garcia, OSU Extension Fresh Meats Specialist

* on April 18, 2024
Producer Roundtable: What Works, What Doesn’t?; See recorded video presentation
The featured pproducers included:
Krysti Morrow – Rocky Knob Farms
Brad Berry – Berry Family Farms
Lindsey Hall – Maplecrest Meats & More
Dale Phillips – Phillips Meats

Beware of Reducing Feed at Calving!

– Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

Reducing the feed at calving causes problems!

I presented at a Master Cattlemen session recently and, after the meeting, got asked a common question about body condition and feeding cows at calving. His question was he had heard that he should reduce feed to his cows before calving to keep birthweights lower to reduce calving problems. He indicated that the BCS of his cows as they begin to calve was only 4. This is a frustrating question because it comes up often and nothing could be further from the truth.

Several researchers have addressed this issue over the last 20-30 years. Each of these experiments had cows that were fed to maintain weight, decrease weight, or increase weight right before calving began. The result of underfeeding cows before calving results in the exact problem the producer is trying to avoid. The research demonstrated that poor nutrition and low BCS precalving:

• Increased calving problems
• Decreased calf health (low colostrum consumption and poor-quality colostrum)
• Increased calf death loss
• Increased the number of days for females to resume estrous cycles.

One of the most extreme Continue reading Beware of Reducing Feed at Calving!

Minerals: Too Much of a Good Thing

Dr. Katie VanValin, Assistant Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

Minerals are an essential nutrient for beef cattle. This means like protein and energy, minerals must be supplied in the diet, however minerals make up a very small portion of the total diet. Many feedstuffs are deficient in one or more essential minerals which is why mineral supplementation is a critical component of meeting the nutritional needs of the herd. So, this begs the question, “if a little is good, isn’t more better?”. The truth is we can have too much of a good thing when it comes to minerals, and this can lead to serious and sometimes fatal consequences.

Sulfur
The sulfur requirement for beef cattle is 0.15%, with maximum tolerable concentrations of 0.3% in high concentrate diets (15% roughage or less), and 0.5% in high roughage diets (40% or greater roughage). By-product feeds including corn gluten feed and distillers grains can be high in sulfur content. According to the Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle (NASEM, 2016), sulfur content of corn gluten feed, dried distillers grains, and distillers solubles averaged 0.58%, 0.66%, and 0.82% S, respectively. Sulfur content of forages also needs to be accounted for and can range between Continue reading Minerals: Too Much of a Good Thing

Ensuring Healthy Herds: The Critical Role of Water Management for Livestock in Winter

Kate Hornyak, OSU Extension Program Coordinator, Delaware County (originally published on Ohio Farmer on-line)

A heavy equipment tire can be a large capacity water trough.

Water stands as an essential nutrient for beef cattle, much like it does for humans. It plays a vital role in various bodily functions, including growth, reproduction, lactation, and the regulation of body temperature. However, the winter season intensifies the challenge of providing a sufficient and accessible water supply. This difficulty is compounded by the freezing temperatures and changes in the behavior of the livestock during colder months.

Challenges in Winter Water Management

Managing water for livestock during the winter months presents distinct hurdles. The primary issue is the freezing of water sources, limiting cattle’s access to water. Cattle often increase their water consumption in colder weather to meet their heightened energy needs. This requires more focused management strategies to ensure they receive sufficient hydration.

In colder temperatures, cattle consume more feed to maintain body heat. If water availability decreases, feed intake also drops, leading to Continue reading Ensuring Healthy Herds: The Critical Role of Water Management for Livestock in Winter

Tips to Stretch Short Hay Supplies

– Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, PhD, PAS, Beef Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

Below are a few tips to consider stretching limited hay supplies. For additional information contact your local Extension agent. It is recommended to consult with your feed nutritionist or County ANR Agent before making drastic changes in your feeding program.

  1. Inventory hay – know how much hay you have available; weigh a few bales to get an average weight or estimate the weights based on available information from Extension publications.
  2. Minimize storage losses – keep hay off the ground on a surface that will allow water to drain away; keep bales covered or stored inside a barn; if bale grazing limit the number of bales placed in the field to provide 2-4 weeks of feeding to reduce weathering losses.
  3. Reduce feeding loss – consider minimizing feeding losses; using hay rings with skirts / metal on the bottom, tapered ring designs, chains to suspend bales, or cone inserts to keep hay inside the feeder has been proven to reduce hay feeding losses compared to hay rings with openings at the bottom; using an electrified temporary poly-wire placed down the center of unrolled hay will reduce losses from cows laying on the hay, trampling it into the mud, and defecating on the hay; feeding processed hay into a bunk or large industrial tire reduces waste compared to feeding processed hay on the ground.
  4. Cull – consider selling less productive females, open cows, and cows with structural/functional issues to reduce the number you must over winter; consider selling the bull as the market may provide the opportunity to sell a mature bull and replace him with a younger bull next spring.
  5. Limit time access to hay – research has shown dry cows in mid-gestation can be maintained on good quality hay when they have restricted access time to only 6-8 hours a day; the hay savings comes from less waste as feeding behavior is altered; all cows must be able to access hay at any given time; this is not recommended young or thin cows, lactating cows or growing animals.
  6. Substitute hay with grain – calories and protein can be provided from supplements; grain/commodity mixes can be used to replace hay; cows can be maintained on a low hay diet by using grain supplementation that balances the nutrient supply and animal requirements; consult a nutritionist before making extreme feeding changes.
  7. Deworm young animals – animals with an internal parasite burden will have reduced efficiency.
  8. Feed an ionophore – if grain supplementation will be used, consider adding an ionophore to increase the energy efficiency of the feed consumed. Consult your nutritionist to discuss inclusion rates and developing a supplement program. Previous work has shown that feeding 200 mg of monensin allowed cows to maintain body condition on 10-15% less hay.

Nutritional Considerations Going into Calving

– Lawton Stewart, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, UGA

Nutritional requirements change with the stages of reproduction.

As we start 2024, many beef cattle producers are about to start the calving season. Across the state, forage availability is variable. Some places have seen severe drought in late summer/early fall, causing producers to feed more hay and deplete their winter hay supply. Many producers were able to put up plenty of hay. However, we have received several emails and phone calls dealing with hay quality being lower than expected this year. Entering the peak of hay feeding season, here are a few situations we are seeing, and the potential ramifications.

  1. I will restrict feed in the last trimester to decrease calf birth weights.
  2. I need more protein to go with my hay.
  3. There is a tendency to underestimate crude protein and overestimate energy.

I will restrict feed in the last trimester to decrease calf birth weights.
Is this correct? Absolutely! The problem is that is not the only thing it will affect. Recent research has focused on fetal programming. Fetal programming is the concept that maternal stimulus or insult during fetal development has long-term effects on the offspring. One of the most critical aspects of fetal programming involves adequate nutrition, or lack . . .

Continue reading Nutritional Considerations Going into Calving

Don’t overlook nutritional needs of 2-year-old cows

– Bill Halfman, Agriculture Agent, Monroe County, Wisconsin

If the young cows are left in with the rest of the herd they can be pushed away and not have sufficient access to feed.

A frequently heard recommendation for beef farms is to separate the 2-year-olds and thin cows from the main herd during the winter-feeding period. Three-year-olds may also benefit from being in this group because they are still growing. This is important every year, and likely even more important during years of limited forage resources.

For the first time in their lives, 2-year-old heifers have a lot going on over the spring and summer when they calve for the first time. They are feeding a calf and recovering from calving. They also need to rebreed within 80 to 85 days of calving to get on a 12-month calving interval and remain valuable members of the herd.

Amid all these events, they are still growing themselves. Their rumen capacity is lower than . . .

Continue reading Don’t overlook nutritional needs of 2-year-old cows