By Allen Gahler
The end of winter is near, and for ruminant livestock producers in Ohio, that means grazing season is right around the corner. But it also means the beginning of the season that perhaps challenges the profitability of a cow/calf or sheep operation more than any other aspect — the season of mud!
That’s right, feeding an animal through the winter is tough, but the early spring can be even tougher as we still have the high cost of stored feed, but are now battling conditions that challenge our facilities and our patience.
Plus, for traditional spring calving beef herds, the cow’s intake has now increased dramatically, and she is at her peak of nutrient demand and intake for the course of the year.
The difference between the producer that has had and will have continued success in a slightly different economic climate and the ones who have and will struggle, will come down to management. Not just marketing management, but input management, or in other words, feed and nutrition.
Management
Most anyone involved in agriculture in Ohio has very likely heard about the concept of 4R management in agronomic crop production in order to preserve the soil and ensure water quality — using the “right” fertilizer or pesticide product, putting it in the “right” place, at the “right” rate, at the “right” time.
The producer who will be the most cost effective at getting their flock or herd through the winter and early spring while maintaining proper body condition and herd health will likely be the one making the most money come weaning time on the next crop. That producer will be feeding the “right” amount of the “right” feedstuff to the “right” contemporary group at the “right” time of the year.
How does one know what those 4 “R’s” are for feeding the herd or flock? Well, there are four main factors a producer needs to consider – the nutrient value of available feedstuffs, the cost of production or purchase price of those feedstuffs, the storage of those feedstuffs and the nutrient needs of each age group of livestock.
To simplify the rest of this discussion, we will focus on the life cycle of a beef cow and the one main feedstuff utilized to winter most beef cows in Ohio: hay.
Nutrient content
2021 was a challenging year to make quality hay in Ohio. Yield was significant on most farms, and most producers consider a big crop to be a good crop. But is it? How do you know what the nutrient content of that hay is without a forage test? Was the hay made dry with no rain after being cut?
Is any bale of hay you can purchase for a reasonable price that looks or smells good going to have enough protein and energy to maintain your cows? Did you not only test that hay, but save your highest quality hay to feed right now at the end of the winter-feeding period, matching with the peak of nutrient demand from your pregnant or nursing cows?
A nutrient test on hay will cost anywhere from $20-50. So, if you have three cuttings from the same field, $150 will tell you what is inside the bale, unlocking thousands of dollars’ worth of information. Compare that to the cost of one lost pregnancy, or one 2-year-old that does not breed back.
Cost of production
Many producers raise their own hay and therefore have no real cost in it other than the fuel in the tractor and a little bit of fertilizer, right? What about opportunity cost of making that hay and using the ground for extended grazing or crops, rather than purchasing your hay?
There is realistic market value for that hay which must be applied in order to accurately make best management decisions. And with today’s fertilizer prices compared to current Ohio hay auction reported prices, there may be some pencil sharpening to be done to analyze just what it really costs you to produce that hay instead of buying it.
Storage
Where is that hay stored? In a barn, on a field edge under a tree line, in a stack of round bales alongside the barn? Was that hay brought in from the field right after baling, or did it sit for two weeks and collect rain or flood water first? When you take that forage sample, do you sample it at the time of baling, or at the beginning of the feeding period so you can account for storage loss?
Age groups
Do weaned heifer calves, bred heifers, 2-year-olds and mature cows all have the same nutrient requirements? What about fall calving — does that cow hitting peak lactation Nov. 1 have any different nutrient needs than a mid-gestation spring calver?
Most producers know the answers to these questions on each of the four factors presented or know how to get the answers, and for those that do, their key to success is choosing to use that information.
For those that do not know the answers, or how to find them, seek out advice from your county extension educator, nutritionist, feed salesman, veterinarian or all of the above, and learn how to become a “4R” cow/calf producer. Your cows and your pocketbook will thank you.
(Allen Gahler is an OSU Extension ag and natural resources extension educator in Sandusky County.)
