Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to talk with OSU Extension Northeast Area Livestock Specialist, Earl Ward, about ways that cattle producers can reduce their feeding costs and more.
One of the first things producers need to evaluate, Ward said, is how much forage they have available. Taking action to improve forage quantity and quality, Ward added, will make a big difference in the long run when it comes to minimizing haying days.
The OSU Extension office offers forage testing for $14.
“That gets you your percent dry matter, percent crude protein, and percent total digestible nutrients, which is our energy value,” Ward said. “By getting that 14-dollar forage analysis, that allows us to fine-tune your supplementation program and pick the right supplement that best matches that forage. Therefore, you are not underfeeding and overfeeding the animal.”
The type of hay feeder used can also make a difference when it comes to hay waste, Ward said, as some feeders are designed to prevent waste.
“If we see an open bottom ring feeder, we see a lot of waste as that cow takes a bite and steps backward, some of it falls on the ground, and she steps on it,” Ward said. “We waste up to 20 percent on some of those types of feeders.”
Selecting a feeder which separates the animal from the bale, such as a cone feeder, allows the animal to take a bite, but when they step back, the hay falls back into the feeder.
“Every day that we feed hay, that increases our total annual cow cost,” Ward said. “Nobody really wants to talk about it, but you could also sell cows and get down to the level where it is manageable. A lot of big ranches run way below their carrying capacity to offset the times where we are really short on forage and things like that.”
Ward also talked about how a producer’s grazing system can have an impact on profitability. In a regular pasture, Ward said cattle will be more selective, but when put in a smaller area in a rotational grazing plan, they will graze on plants they would not have shown much interest in before.
“When we do that, they can no longer be as selective,” Ward said. “So, we are going to force them to eat, maybe different plants that they don’t want to.”
In summary, Ward said more rotational grazing means a greater increase in efficiency.
