Are You Ready for Winter?
Dr. Teresa L. Steckler
SIMPSON, ILLINOIS
The weather this fall has been mild and dry. This week the temperatures will begin to gradually drop lower at night and the winds have been blowing out of the south or north. The weather this year has required some livestock producers to feed hay much earlier than they would have liked, especially since this year’s hay production is down for most. However, it is more important than ever to assess hay stocks (quantity and quality), stage(s) of production, and ways to minimize hay losses.
Hay losses come in two main forms; dry matter (DM) and nutritional quality. Dry matter losses refer to the decrease in the physical amount of hay present and available for consumption. Nutritional quality refers to the specific nutritional value of the hay, such as total digestible nutrients (TDN), or crude protein (CP). Dry matter losses will generally fall into one of two main categories; storage losses and feeding losses.
Keep in mind that if hay feeding began in November and continues through March (151 days), cows will eat 2-3% of their body weight each day (1200 lb cow will eat 30 lbs per day). Thus one 1200 lb cow will eat at least 2.5 tons each winter (holding prior assumptions constant). Assume you have 30 cows; you will need at least 56 tons of hay for your herd for the winter.
Forage analyses will help determine the quality of your hay and what additional supplementation may be needed. If forage supplies are tight, grazing corn stalks can add days to your stored forages. In central Illinois there are fields of baled corn stalks; which can also be used for bedding and the cows will eat the leaves. Certain commodities are more reasonable right now; e.g. feeding corn stalks and wet distillers. With the cooling weather, wet commodities will keep longer than summer-time temperatures. A couple of producers will be ammoniating straw.
Storage is probably where most beef producers in southern Illinois have the greatest loss of hay. I have seen many strategies employed while traveling – hoop structures, under trees near fence rows, east to west rows that are side by side, bottom of hills, etc. Location of your hay can have a dramatic influence on how much hay you have to feed.
Storage losses are any reduction in DM from the time the hay is rolled or baled until the hay is fed. The first factor impacting the severity of storage loss is the moisture content of the hay at baling. All hay will lose some DM in the weeks immediately after baling. The dryer the hay is at baling the lower the expected DM loss will be. Hay dried to 15-20% moisture prior to baling should have minimal DM loss, whereas hay baled with over 20% moisture has the potential for considerable DM losses. In the case of high moisture hay DM losses will be accompanied by decreased nutritional content and palatability. There is also an increased risk of fire when high moisture hay is stored. For these reasons it is crucial that adequate drying occurs prior to baling.
How and where hay is stored after baling also has a significant effect on the amount of DM lost. Weathering (environment) reduces the dry weight of hay and changes its composition. Weathering lowers the feeding value of hay 15 to 25%, in addition to any dry matter losses. Weathering losses are greatly influenced by climatic variables; higher rainfall and more humid conditions cause more loss than drier climates.
Protecting hay from the environment, especially moisture is crucial to prevent DM loss. A worst-case scenario would be bales wrapped with twine and stacked uncovered directly on the ground. This scenario could result in over 25% DM loss in one year. Ideally, hay bales would be completely protected. This protection could come from a permanent structure like a barn, or from more individual/temporary measures like bale sleeves, B-wrap, or individual wrapping in plastic wrap. These forms of protection reduce DM storage losses to around 5%.
You can easily double your hay usage if your method of feeding is to place bales out in the pasture or lot without any type of feeder. In this situation the hay becomes expensive bedding for the cows. You will also double your winter feed costs. When feeding hay the waste can vary from 5-50% depending on how you feed the hay to your cows and can significantly increasing your feed costs.
A recommendation given often to reduce feeding loss is to use bale rings when feeding large round bales. A 3 year South Dakota State University study included 3- to 10-year-old cows allocated to three treatment groups. The hay was either rolled out on the ground, fed in a windrow using a bale processor or fed in a tapered-cone round bale feeder. Gestating cows were fed an average 58 days to document feed waste, cow performance (weight gain, ultrasound fat depth change, body condition score change and hay intake), labor inputs, and feeding time, which were subsequently used to develop an economic analysis.
Hay required per cow was based on a dry matter intake equation which took into account cow body weight and net energy maintenance requirement. Cows in the cone bale feeder treatment had an increased ending weight, backfat depth and body condition score, but decreased hay consumption when compared to other treatments. Hay quality between treatments was similar. In this study, feeding method not only influenced the amount of hay fed, but cow performance as well.
How? When hay is fed on the ground, a certain amount will be spread around and leaves will be shattered and trampled, leaving stems. The leaves of any plant have the highest levels of protein and energy, so we inadvertently lower the quality intake of the cattle. When this data was put into an economic model, the tapered-cone feeder lowered equipment cost, feeding time and overall wintering cost. Other studies have shown feeding losses as high as 45% when hay is fed on the ground versus in some type of restrictive feeding method. This loss would also include animal refusal due to other factors such as spoilage.
Another study on hayfeeder design and associated waste was conducted at Oklahoma State University. Four different feeders were evaluated: cone, sheet, ring, and poly. Hay waste for the feeders was: cone 5.3%, sheet 13.0%, ring 20.5%, and poly 21.0%. Costs were analyzed as well. They assumed hay cost $116/ton or $70/bale. Assuming a producer with 30 cows will feed 180 bales in a season, the costs associated with hay waste were: $667 (cone), $1,638 (sheet), $2,583 (ring), and $2,646 (poly) per season.
Based on these studies it is easy to see that improved feeder designs like the cone-shape hay feeder can save you money by reducing hay waste and stretch short hay supplies.
Regardless of whether you have sufficient hay supplies this year, assess hay stocks (quantity and quality), stage(s) of production, and ways to minimize hay losses. Reducing hay waste will also save you money. The data supports the use of round bale feeders to reduce hay waste; the amount of reduction will vary by type. Round bale feeders can also help maintain the quality of hay during feeding by protecting it from trampling, which can in turn influence cow performance. Remember good management will always pay. ∆
Dr. TERESA STECKLER: Extension Specialist, Animal Systems/Beef, Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, 618-695-4917