Across southern and southeastern Ohio, it has been significantly dry since the beginning of June. Pasture conditions are continuing to deteriorate from a lack of rainfall. Ponds are low, and only the best springs are continuing to flow in parts of the state.
In areas that are experiencing drought, farmers are faced with making decisions on how to 1) feed their livestock and 2) conserve resources. To accomplish those goals, there are a number of options to consider.
Feeding hay
Livestock producers who are short on grass, may turn to feeding hay to hold livestock over until soil moisture and forage growth reboot. While feeding hay is often the first consideration in a drought, hay inventories coming into 2024 were already lower than average. Couple that with the dry conditions and many producers are making a second cutting of hay that is 25-50% of normal.
Hay as an energy source is relatively expensive given the current market. Feeding poor quality or leftover hay from last year is an option, but is it the best option?
Supplementing corn
Grain prices are as low as they have been in several years. If a livestock producers can purchase some corn from a neighbor or has uncontracted corn that is available to feed, there may be an economic opportunity to “walk” the corn off the farm rather than hauling it at today’s cash price.
We have known that corn has to be awful expensive to not be the best return on investment when considering purchase of energy-rich feedstuffs. At current grain prices, I would argue that supplementing corn is considerably more cost-effective than purchasing hay.
Early weaning
I have had a few reports of cattlemen in our area beginning to wean calves a bit ahead of schedule to conserve what pasture they do have. Early weaning can be a good tool if the calves are managed properly. Cattle health and a marketing plan should be considered if early weaning is the pasture conservation plan of choice.
If feed is of a concern, cattlemen may choose to forgo some of the backgrounding programs that typically generate a premium in the marketplace. Consider the value of those premiums against the price of supplementation when making decisions about timely marketing. The lack of feed may dictate the selling of stock early than when one would traditional do so.
Culling females
When drought conditions persist over time, culling females from the herd is perhaps the most extreme management strategy. If this is the management strategy of choice, begin moving females that have other potential reason for culling.
Poor productivity, feet and legs, docility, low body condition and age are potential culling criteria. Young productive females should be the ideal candidates to provide supplemental feed to.
Bottom line is that farmers have options to combat feed shortages due to drought conditions here in Ohio. For more information, the OSU Extension Beef Team has a tab on our webpage, beef.osu.edu, that addresses these options and many more for addressing feed shortages.
