Nutrition significantly affects your herd’s health during the cold winter months. In order to meet this need, producers should plan ahead when it comes to their fall and winter forages. There are many factors to consider when figuring out how much hay will be needed.
To add insult to injury, this year has also seen commodity prices reach the highest it has ever been. Primary inputs like grain, fertilizer, and even fuel are getting terribly expensive. What makes it even scarier is that these prices only appear to be going down for a while.
While looking at using a hay bale, many people tend to look at the upfront cost. While this may be good initially, it is not always best to be the only way. You will want to look at how much that particular will cost per unit of energy or protein.
Hay quantity factors
Length of season: This will vary depending on your geographic region. Northern parts of the country will have to feed longer than ones in the southern. Now, it may be tempting to graze them earlier in the year to later, but this could damage next year’s pasture production.
Temperatures: Animals that will be in areas with more extreme temperatures will need more calories to maintain their body condition. If this is your area, you will need to calculate your hay amount on the higher end of the scale.
Number and Weight of your animals: This may seem pretty basic, but it can be easily overlooked. Be sure to calculate any additional animals you will be buying or selling. Also, any births that may occur over winter should be included.
Stage of Cycle: This plays a factor because gestating and lactating animals will require more hay than those in the “dry” stage. Growing animals will need an increasing amount of hay as they develop.
Quality of hay: The quality of the hay you will feed also plays a role in the amount you need on hand. Lower-quality hay will require more of it to meet the same nutritional output as the higher quality.
Factoring Total Amount
I have included a table to the left to give you a general idea of how much hay your cattle will consume. Although some factors may change this, it still can work as a general rule of thumb.
Once you have the numbers from the factors listed above, you are ready to figure out your total amount. The formula will be the amount required per day X number of animals X total number of days. This formula will give you the number of pounds needed for winter. If you want it in total tonnage, divide it by 2,000, and this will provide you with the total Weight in tons that you will need.
In determining how much hay to use, it will be essential to consider the quality of the grass. Higher-quality forages have more significant concentrations of certain nutrients. This concentration means that animals eating it will more likely be able to meet their nutrient needs just from the forages. The drawback is that higher quality will increase intake. Consumption of low-quality forages will amount to 1.5% of body weight. In comparison, consumption of high-quality forages will amount to 2% of body weight.
You will need to know another number to figure out how much hay you will need. Any hay bale will not be 100% Dry Matter. Dry Matter is the amount of forage the animal can consume that will be of any benefit. To figure out that amount, you will have to test the hay to see how much is dry.
Consider hay alternatives this winter.
As with most of the country, it has been very dry for an extended period of time. According to Texas AgriLife Extension, because of the drought and high fertilizer prices, this year’s hay season looks bleak. The quantity and quality have gone down while the overall price has gone up this year.
This difference can be harmful because hay will be needed more than ever, with forages not growing that well. Typically, beef producers depend on grass as the primary feed ingredient for their winter feeding programs. With this valuable ingredient, overall production can thrive.
Most producers will supplement using grains to fill in the gaps, but that won’t be easy this year. Because of a lack of production and high fuel prices, the prices for many grains have skyrocketed. This year is intent on making things as difficult as possible.
With hay, along with grains, getting expensive or virtually nonexistent, it is vital to make what you do have as efficient as possible. There is a better time to waste everything that you have. Things like making sure every bit of hay is used can add up in the long run. If you are interested in learning some ways to reduce your overall feed costs, then check out my previous post, “Some simple ways to reduce your feed costs”.
Have your winter hay tested.
Analyze for moisture, protein, and energy.
A producer should analyze cattle feed for moisture, protein, and energy. Producers may also want to have their forages tested for critical minerals as well. Feed sample results are usually reported on an as-is and dry-matter basis.
When developing a ration for cattle or comparing feeds to one another, always use a dry-matter basis. Since types of feeds will have different moisture content, this will give you a more accurate comparison. After you have formulated the ratio, you can then convert it to an as-is basis using the moisture content of the feed. This new ratio will tell you how much feed you will actually need to use.
Analyze forages for nitrates.
Things like moisture, protein, and energy may not be all that you need to analyze. Annual forages harvested for hay like oats, Sudan grass, and sorghum-Sudan hybrids should be examined for nitrates.
These annual forages can accumulate high levels of nitrates under various growing conditions that can potentially reach toxic levels. The only way to know if high levels of nitrate accumulation have occurred is to test for it.
