A variety of conditions can trigger the need to hay pastures. Season, location, precipitation, and freezing temperatures can all have an impact on the availability of forage. Forage growth and access is often reduced in pastures flooded by water. Forage also tends to die off when snow covers grass. Calving season is another trigger for haying. In addition, the availability of forage is affected by weather, such as drought and snow.
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Ingredients
Beef cattle are ruminants, and their primary diet consists of roughage, such as grass hay. Although they are able to tolerate some mold, some types can actually cause abortion in pregnant cows. Beef cattle are best fed 50 percent grass and fifty percent alfalfa hay, preferably mixed together. Beef cattle should be fed once a day, in feed bunks. A mature beef cow will eat approximately 20 pounds of hay per day. Hay is often made up of several different ingredients, including grass, hay, and grains.
The first step in determining the correct hay for cattle is to check it for quality. Look for leafiness, maturity, and texture. Also, check for any foreign material in the hay. Cattle tend to ignore foreign objects, and wire and other wire fragments are particularly harmful. Cattle are not able to sort these materials before eating them. As such, it’s best to choose a hay product that contains less nitrates than it contains.
Storage
There are several ways to store hay. The first is to place it on a well-drained base. You can also place it on a coarse rock base to reduce spoilage of the bottom of the bale. When storing hay, it should be stored in rows that are 10 feet apart and north-south in orientation. Stacking the bales will increase the chances of spoilage and may even cause mold growth.
Poor storage methods and improper feeding practices can cause as much as 50 percent of hay to be wasted. The loss associated with hay can be high, but you can minimize your losses and maximize the benefits of your hay crop. Here are some rules of thumb for the storage and feeding of hay:
Trampling
The UM Extension emphasized the importance of putting out only a small amount of hay per day. By feeding a full round bale per day, cattle can lose as much as 12 percent of their daily hay intake, while putting out a week’s worth at once can result in as much as a 43 percent loss. By feeding smaller amounts of hay each day, you can reduce waste and trampled hay by up to 43 percent.
The width and height of windrows also influence the amount of hay trampled or defecated. Windrows with smaller diameters and higher heights cause more cows to stand perpendicular to the row. The soil samples obtained before and after feeding showed higher levels of nutrients in areas immediately surrounding the hay feeders. Trampling increased the amount of manure and waste hay incorporated into the soil. A proper windrow placement will allow for an even distribution of nutrients in the soil.
Soiling
The benefits of soiling hay for cattle are numerous. This crop is high in carbon content, ranging from 40 to 50 percent. While some of it is contained within the cells as sugar, the bulk is found in the plant fiber. It serves as a layer of armor for the soil, providing the same benefits to the water cycle as plant litter. In addition to being beneficial to the soil, hay contributes to the overall fertility of a pasture.
To minimize the soiling and trampling of hay, feed it in small amounts at once. Feeding hay in a “hay ring” or bunker limits the opportunity for cattle to soil it. This practice is labor intensive and results in a high soiling and trampling loss for each bale. Feeding hay to cattle each day will result in a lower loss rate than feeding hay in small amounts each day.
Cost
Cows need to eat, and hay is an excellent source of dry grass for your animals. Hay comes in cubes or round bales, and is ubiquitous in farms in the US. Each bale contains about 260 pounds of dried grass, and the difference in price per bale could be up to 20 percent. This could add up to nearly $5,250 per 100 cows, and a difference of that much can make or break your profit margin.
The cost of hay varies by grade and variety. The first variety is usually the most expensive. If you are unsure of what type of hay you need, you can research the prices on company websites. Even then, you may find that the estimated prices differ from the actual costs. Remember, prices fluctuate constantly. It’s best to do as much research as you can beforehand. Once you know the range you need, you can set a budget for the purchase.
