SEDALIA, Mo. – There are roughly 60 days from now until we can reasonably expect to have some pasture available for our cow herds. This still allows adequate time to make adjustments to winter feeding programs and realize some feed cost savings.
At the recent Ag Expo in Sedalia, I presented some strategies for dealing with high feed prices. It is interesting to add some production and economic information to those ideas.
First, let’s deal with forage quality. I recently compared feeding programs for fall calving cows in late lactation using book values for full bloom (53% TDN) vs. mature (50% TDN) fescue hay. Full bloom hay reduced the need for supplemental grain mix by 2.5 pounds per head per day. Using current feed prices, this amounts to approximately $0.24 per head per day in reduced supplemental feed costs.
The simplest way to manage winter feed costs is to know the quality of hay that makes up the majority of the animal’s diet. Hay test and get an appropriate supplement built based on hay quality and animal need.
Second, I highlighted several research studies showing hay feeder type has a huge impact on wasted feed. Cone-type hay feeders with sheeting around the bottom of the feeder can reduce hay waste by as much as 10%. Reducing hay feeding waste from 20% to 10% results in a hay savings of 2.75 pounds of hay per cow per day.
A third strategy is to include Rumensin® in the supplement of mature beef cows. Research has shown this can reduce forage intake by over 7% without affecting cow body weight or cow body condition score. It can also decrease days to estrus post-calving by 18 days, however research has shown a 5-pound increase in calf birthweight. This may or may not be a big concern depending on the genetics of the bulls used in the breeding
program.
What does all of this add up to? I already mentioned if you have a slightly higher quality hay, in some particular situations supplemental feed can be reduced by 2.5 pounds per cow per day. Reducing hay waste can save 2.75 pounds of hay per cow per day. Feeding Rumensin® can save 1.4 pounds of hay per cow per day.
Using current, local feed prices, this totals up to a potential feed saving of about $0.45 per cow per day. Assuming we have about 60 days left of hay feeding season, this adds up to $27 per cow.
Simply looking at hay savings from hay feeder design and reduced hay intake by feeding Rumensin®, we can save just over 4 pounds of hay per day. Based on a 1,200 pound bale over a 60-day hay feeding period, this equates to saving one bale of hay for every five head of cows, or about $65 in the current hay market.
We are in a situation where small improvements in management can add up to some significant savings over time. Think about the impact of saving $25 or so per cow for the next two months multiplied by the number of cows in your herd. That would go a long way toward paying for an upgrade in round bale feeders or other equipment to improve the efficiency of the beef cow enterprise.
If I can be of additional assistance, please feel free to contact me at schmitze@missouri.edu or by calling the Pettis County Extension Center at (660) 827-0591.
— Gene Schmitz, MU Extension
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