Drought is a normal part of the livestock production cycle. Dealing with dry periods and decreased feed supplies should be part of an overall management plan. The time to be making a decision on this is not when all of the hay is gone.
To add insult to injury, this year has also seen commodity prices reach the highest it has ever been. Basic inputs like grain, fertilizer, and even fuel are getting terribly expensive. What makes it even scarier is that these prices do not appear to be going down anytime soon.
When forages seem to be gone, you may need to use hay substitutes in order to remain profitable. Picking which to go with can be a bit of a head-scratcher since there seems to be a ton of information out there. It can be difficult to pick which is right and which is, basically, nonsense. Here are some things that you may need to consider when looking at substituting your hay.
