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BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor
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Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter
Issue # 609
November 5, 2008
The Weather Is Nice, But the Cows Are Thin - Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Let's get right to the point. The weather is nice and the cows are thin. Now is the time to feed them.
The harshness of winter will demand more thermal output for the cows to survive. The third trimester of pregnancy and the corresponding accelerated growth of the calf are waiting in the wings.
A good intake of food will be needed to keep the calf growing and stoking the cow's internal furnace. When the calf is born, the cow turns into a perpetual milking machine, which means feed in, milk out.
Now is the best time for the cow to gain some weight while the fetus is not so demanding. She still feels good, not like late pregnancy when she has to carry 100 to 200 pounds of extra weight balanced on her legs and pelvis.
Now is a good time to be nice to the cow and let her gain a little weight and put some flesh on. However, in the traditional timing and business of fall work, it is easy to miss this point.
The philosophy of skimping on feed is counterproductive to good management practices. The other day, I was amazed how thin cows can look.
As usual, the cows were walking up a hill in single file. Their udders were swollen, which is indicative of a recent weaning,
It was easy to be sympathetic. The cows still were on the lookout for their calves. They were thin and lonely.
A touch of a cold northwest wind reminded me that winter is not far away. The body condition score of the cows also reminded me that the cows needed a nutritionist.
Every manager of a producing cowherd needs to understand the annual requirements of a cow and be prepared to have the appropriate feed available. An overlooked time is right now. The cows are thin, but there is not enough nutrition on short pastures or barren cropland. What are they supposed to eat?
Managers need to set priorities. While caring for newly weaned calves and getting ready for winter is first and foremost, the care of the cows and next year's production is paramount to success.
A common thought is that cows are not nursing calves so they can survive until we need to feed them. We tend to think that is triggered once the ground is white. I guess white equals feed and brown equals survive.
While saving feed is money in the pocket now, it could be costly. A thin cow is unable to add condition and muscle for her well being as the pregnancy progresses.
Once winter gets here (let's say early January), the April calving cows are in their third trimester. The March calving cows move into their third trimester in December.
While one can feed to the nutritional requirements, there are many extenuating circumstances not accounted for. In many cases, the cow is unable to rebuild or add some condition and muscle for her own well being.
This process starts a vicious cycle. The cows are calved too thin, so the calves may be deprived of adequate colostrum and the cow may not rebreed on time to maintain a 365- day calving interval.
If this cycle repeats itself for a year or two, the culling rate goes up and the overall health of the cow and the calf is put in jeopardy.
So do not skimp in hopes of saving a few dollars. Rather, reduce the cow numbers to meet the current appropriate feed inventory.
Visit your nutritionist. Remember, the weather is nice and the cows are thin, so feed them.
Be A Smart Hay Buyer - Dan Morrical, ISU Extension Sheep Specialist
Many acreage owners are faced with purchasing hay for their animals. Cows, sheep, goats and even horses can get most of their daily nutrient needs from quality hay.
When evaluating hay for purchase, the best method is based off a laboratory test. Most labs are running tests with NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy) equipment. It is cheaper and faster than wet chemistry analysis. Lab test results will list moisture, crude protein, energy and some minerals. Energy values are expressed as digestible energy (DE), total digestible nutrients (TDN) or net energy for maintenance (NEm). The higher the values the better, with most hays running between 50 and 60 percent TDN. Many hay auctions have hay analysis available, especially if the auction caters to dairy operations.
If laboratory analysis is not available, hay evaluation is generally based on color, leafiness and fineness of the stems. Grass hay with seed heads present indicates it was first cutting and that the hay may have been pretty mature when cut. As forage matures it contains less energy and less protein. Legume hays, such as alfalfa and clover, have higher crude protein levels than grass hays. This higher protein level is generally not needed unless the hay is being fed to really high producing animals.
In most cases, buying hay by the ton or on a weight basis is the best method of purchase. Bale weights vary and generally are overestimated by both the seller and buyer. Extremely heavy bales might be an indication the hay was baled too wet. Wire tied bales are much heavier because they can be packed much tighter in the baler chamber.
Prices for hay tend to follow their quality as determined by subjective methods of visual appraisal or objective methods via a laboratory analysis.
The key for hay buyers is to buy the quality of hay that matches your animal's needs. Horses with minimal work loads can consume average hays and stay in good condition. Nursing mares or horses under heavy training will need higher hay quality and supplemental concentrate to maintain condition.
Animals do not have nutritional wisdom. Let me repeat: animals do not have nutritional wisdom when it comes to consuming only the amount of hay that meets their daily needs. If given the opportunity, they will eat more and become over conditioned (fat). This is very often the case when animals are considered pets rather than livestock. Full feeding super high quality hay to your pet goat keeps the goat fat and sassy but also leads to a lot of wasted hay. This hay becomes mixed with manure and becomes very expensive natural fertilizer for the garden or farm fields.
The decision that needs to be made is to buy super fancy hay and limit feed it or buy average hay and feed more per head per day. Full feeding hay of any type generally results in more waste. Use of hay rings or other feeders is very critical to limiting waste to 15 percent or less. Full feeding (i.e. letting them have all they can eat) will result in up to 50 percent waste even with the highest quality hays.
There are many excellent extension publications on feeding livestock that can be acquired on the web or through your county extension office. Becoming a knowledgeable animal owner on the nutrient needs of your animals and then buying hay that meets those needs can save a lot on the annual feed bill. If you cannot find hay of adequate quality, then feeding less hay and adding more supplemental feed can also meet your animal's requirements. This can be a cheaper feeding program that also results in less waste to haul every spring. With limited amounts of hay offered, animals can be as finicky and will consume a higher percentage of the hay offered.
Hay prices are generally much cheaper during the summer months than the winter. Developing a feeding plan and calculating the year-round needs for the animal enterprise facilitates purchasing the amount needed during the summer when prices are the lowest.
Hay will lose roughly 10 percent of its dry matter during storage. Bales stored outdoors may lose 25 to 50 percent of the dry matter. Storage indoors is the best approach to limit storage loss and stretch the hay dollar. Big round bales should be stored on pallets or old tires to reduce rotting at the bottom of the bales. Even large rock or telephone poles can make a suitable base. Net wrapped bales also have 10 to 20 percent less storage loss compared to twine wrapped bales. The last aspect of storing big bales is to place them butt to butt as tight as possible to minimize weathering on the exposed surface. Rows should be at least five feet apart to allow ventilation and insure rows do not touch once hay bales squat down.
Forage Focus: Hay Testing - Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension Educator, Athens County
For those who have livestock, the economics of feeding livestock are improved by matching the nutrient needs of the animal to the quality of the forages on hand or purchased. The only way to really have a good handle on forage quality is through forage testing. Just as it was in soil sampling, so it is true in forage testing, reliable results depend upon submitting a good sample. Here are some tips for collecting a hay sample:
* Use a hay probe to collect the sample. Reaching into a bale of hay with your hand and pulling out a sample is not accurate. A hay probe allows you to take a good cross section of the bale, getting a representative sample of both leaves and stems. There is a hay probe available at the Athens County Extension office that can be signed out and lent for use.
* Take cores from 15-20 bales within a lot of hay to get a more accurate average of hay quality.
* A lot of hay can be determined by species, cutting date and location. For example, 1st cutting fescue hay vs. 1st cutting orchardgrass hay would be two different lots of hay, requiring two different samples submitted for testing. A first cutting orchardgrass hay baled on May 20th vs. a 1st cutting orchardgrass hay baled on June 20th are far enough apart in quality that separate samples should be submitted even though both are 1st cutting. A 1st cutting hay baled from a high fertility field vs. a 1st cutting hay purchased from a neighbor's rarely fertilized field should be considered as two different samples even if the hay was cut and baled about the same time and has similar species.
* Once the quality of your hay or forage is known, it can be compared to the nutrients needs of the livestock at the time you are feeding the forage. If the quality is low compared to the nutrient needs of the livestock then the ration will have to be supplemented. Without this knowledge, producers have made the error of supplementing when there is no need or supplementing inadequately. Both can be costly.
EDITOR's NOTE: For more on Forage Testing for Beef Cattle, review the Ohio State University Extension publication by the same name at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0002.html , or find a list of forage testing labs you might consider using under this link.
OCA's Bred Heifer Sale is Canceled
The Ohio Cattleman's Aassociation Bred Heifer Sale Committee has canceled the sale which was originally scheduled for December 13th near Newark. The Committee will continue to evaluate bred heifer sale opportunities for 2009, and will make more information available next Spring.
Livestock Mortality Composting Program is Scheduled - Mark Mechling, OSU Extension Educator, Muskingum County
A livestock mortality composting program has been set which will teach how to dispose of dead livestock in a safe, odor-free and economical manner. In order to be legally certified to compost livestock mortality, one must complete a class. This program will be offered from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, November 24, at the OSU Extension, Muskingum County Office, 225 Underwood Street in Zanesville.
Composting of dead animals is an option that is available to all livestock producers. It is a natural process in which the livestock carcass is biodegraded by bacteria to avoid pollution of air and water. When done properly, composting destroys disease-causing bacteria or viruses and reduces the problems associated with flies, vermin and scavenging animals at the composting site.
Topics covered on November 24 will include mortality composting principles, site selection, facility sizing, facility management and utilization, bio-security, rules and regulations, economics of composting and trouble-shooting.
Cost for the program is $10 per farm which includes a manual. The program is open to any Ohio livestock producer.
For more details, contact the OSU Extension, Muskingum County Office at 740.454.0144. Deadline to register for the mortality composting program is November 20 and is sponsored by OSU Extension and Muskingum SWCD.
Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report - Mike Roberts, Commodity Marketing Agent, Virginia Tech
LIVE CATTLE futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) were up Monday except for the February contract. The DEC'08LC contract closed at $93.325/cwt up $0.625/cwt and $4.550/cwt higher than last Monday. FEB'09LC futures closed down $0.10/cwt at $94.150/cwt. Packer buying and shorter numbers of ready-cattle are expected to push sales later this week. This and short covering were supportive while December/February spreading limited gains. USDA put the 5-area price at $90.45/cwt, up $0.66/cwt over last Monday. USDA on Monday put the Choice Box Beef price at $142.55/cwt, up $0.34/cwt. Packers are expected to trim demand later in the week on weaker margins. According to HedgersEdge.com, the average packer margin was lowered $7.65/head from this time last week to a negative $46.05/head based on the average buy of $90.80/cwt vs. the average breakeven of $87.23/cwt. It might be a very good idea to buy up another 40%-50% of the 2009 feed needs. Corn may be headed up if the financial markets strengthen after the elections.
FEEDER CATTLE at the CME were up on Monday except for the October contract. The NOV'08FC contract finished at $99.700/cwt, up $1.075/cwt and $4.150/cwt higher than this time last week. JAN'09FC futures finished at $99.175/cwt, up $1.25/cwt. Higher live cattle and lower feeder numbers were supportive. Lower feed costs are locked in for a while on lower corn prices. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was placed at $96.06/cwt; up $0.19/cwt from Friday but $1.55/cwt lower than this time last week.
CORN futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were up on Monday. The DEC'08 contract closed at $4.030/bu; up 1.5¢/bu from Friday and 17.75¢/bu higher than a week ago. MAR'09 corn futures closed at $4.206/bu; up 1.5¢/bu but 15.75¢/bu lower than this time last Monday. Short covering by funds advanced prices while lower crude oil and lower than expected exports limited gains. The CFTC's Commitment of Traders report from last Friday showed funds increasing short positions to net-bear positions for the first time since January 2006. Large speculators increased net-bear positions by 12,500 lots to 19,484 contracts. USDA placed corn-inspected-for-export at 17.245 mi bu vs. expectations for between 25-29 mi bu. In other news, ethanol processor VeraSun Energy Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday. The market has been aware of financial troubles for that company ahead of that announcement so little fundamental impact is expected. More ethanol plants following suit could impact prices later on. Ethanol futures ended lower. Cash corn in the U.S. Midwest was higher amid slow farmer selling. Even lower barge rates weren't attracting too much business. Cash corn in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic States was up slightly ranging from 1.0¢/bu - 2.0¢/bu higher in most places. It will most likely pay to store what's not priced.
Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events
BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868
Fairfield County Agriculture and Natural Resources
