Few things are worse than paying for good hay, stacking it, and then watching it rot before any cow gets a bite. Hay storage isn’t glamorous, but it can mean the difference between enough feed and buying more when prices are high. Every bale holds your time, money, fuel, fertilizer, and future cattle feed.That’s why good hay storage matters well before winter. Once pastures go dormant or drought reduces forage, only protected hay remains to feed. Poor storage causes mold, weather damage, dry matter loss, and reduced feed value, resulting in less hay and less nutrition for your cattle.
The good news: you don’t need an expensive hay barn or a big budget to improve storage. Simple habits can stretch every bale. Tight bales, good drainage, airflow, sunlight, proper covering, and keeping hay off the ground all help reduce waste.
This article walks through five practical hay storage tips that work for both small cattle producers and larger livestock operations. Whether you’re putting up first cutting, buying hay ahead of dry weather, or trying to protect winter feed, a little planning now can save you a lot of money later. Better hay storage means less waste, better feed quality, and more confidence when your cattle need it most.
Feed costs remain the single most significant expense for any cattle producer. Depending on different factors, this expense can easily be half of the total annual expenses for a rancher.
Roughages are an essential but often overlooked part of a cow’s diet. Most of the time, people only focus on things like crude protein, energy, and possibly even mineral content. While those are vital for the overall production of cattle, roughages play just as important a role. Consuming a certain amount of roughage is essential to keep the rumen functioning, thus allowing the digestion of things like protein, energy, and minerals.
A good pasture is the foundation of any profitable livestock operation. It provides the forages needed not only to sustain but also to allow the livestock to grow. Having enough forages for all of the animals is essential to keep your feed costs down to a manageable level. However, keeping a pasture at this level can be complicated.
As sure as the turning of the world being in winter means having to buy feed. The reason for that is that during this time, forages go dormant and provide less for animals. Though they do not like it, producers must buy supplements to feed their animals during this time.
Formulating a ration for cattle is critical to any successful beef operation. There are times when forages alone will not supply what the cows need for the stage they are in. When it comes that time, you will need to provide a supplement that will fill in the gaps to keep them producing.
Winter this year is going to be a rough time for producers. Worries about the continuing drought and how it has affected forage production have taken a large part of our thoughts. Because of this, there will be limited to no stored forage available to feed cattle this winter.
Growing your own feed despite the cost of time and equipment can have many benefits. Having an inventory on hand can reduce some risks of short supplies. It can also help protect you from any seasonal price volatility. Both energy and protein production can better match your herd’s requirements for simple feed use.
Having to feed supplements is sometimes necessary for cattle operations. That being said, it is something other than what most ranchers like to do. Feed costs remain the single most considerable expense for any cattle producer. The amount really depends on different things, but it can easily be half of the total annual expenses.
Feed costs remain the single largest expense for any cattle producer. Depending on different factors this expense can easily be half of the total annual expenses for a rancher.
