Happy New Year!

Brandon Sears

County Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources

859-623-4072 or brandon.sears@uky.edu

If you have plans to buy or sell hay this winter, mark your calendar for Saturday, January 11th at 10 am, Madison County Fairgrounds for the “Annual Hay Consignment Auction”.

Hay available at the auction includes: Small Squares & Rolled bales of hay, Alfalfa, Alfalfa/Grass, Timothy Mix, Mixed Grasses, Clover Mix, Straw. (Hay is open for public viewing January 7 through January 10, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and day of sale at 7:00 am.)

Hay will be accepted January 7th through January 10th from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. NO HAY ACCEPTED DAY OF SALE!!!

All hay will be tested on Friday January 10th for nutrition levels by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Nutrient analysis and average bale weight will be listed for each lot prior to sale.

The auction will be held rain, snow or shine at the INDOOR FACILITIES at The Madison County Fairgrounds, 3237 Old Irvine Road, Richmond, Kentucky 40475. Website: http://www.themadisoncountyfair.com/

Auctioneer Chuck Givens: 859-582-5822

For more information call: Madison County Extension Office (859) 623-4072

Please Read! If you received this newsletter in the mail and wish to be removed from our newsletter mailing list, or if you find an error on the mailing label, please contact the Madison County Extension Center at 859-623-4072. Thank You!

Beef Nutrition and Reproduction Update - January 23rd, 6 pm Join us on Thursday January 23rd at 6 pm for an update from Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler and Dr. Les Anderson as we work to get our cows through the winter and on toward spring breeding season. Topics covered include which commodity blends to supplement with, pros and cons of protein tubs, overcoming increased energy needs from harsh weather, managing rebreeding in thin cows or first calf heifers, and getting more cows bred. Managing body condition score is the overall theme. This will be a timely topic and a meeting you won’t want to miss. *This meeting qualifies for CAIP education credit.*

A meal will be served, give us a call to reserve your spot by January 22.

Baleage Production Update - January 30th, 6 pm On Thursday January 30th at 6 pm Dr. Jimmy Henning and I will share findings from our most recent work to determine the best practices for making good baleage. We have taken samples from dozens of farms across Central Kentucky for the past two years looking at baleage moisture, nutrition content and fermentation quality. Several of the samples came from here in Madison County. We are finding ways to make better baleage and will be sharing them with you. If you are thinking about baleage for the first time or want to improve your methods, make plans to join us. Producing baleage gives us a great option for putting up high quality cattle forage, especially during rainy spells. *This meeting qualifies for CAIP education credit.*

A meal will be served, give us a call to reserve your spot by January 29.

By Morgan Hayes, Ph.D., P.E. Assistant Extension Professor Livestock Systems As we are currently in the feeding season, this seems like a prime opportunity for discussing hay wastage. Often when farmers ask about hay wastage they tend to focus on type of hay feeding structure (rings, panels, etc.) used. While the method of providing hay does influence wastage, I’d like to take a little bit broader look at hay management and its impacts on the wastage. I would contend there are four other factors which have strong influences on hay wastage.

Hay Storage The first factor I want to address is hay storage. The first suggestion I would make for providing better storage conditions is to bring hay out of fields and onto a well-drained surface (gravel or concrete pad). The amount of loss of the bottom of the round bales of hay can be significant; even on a well-drained surface there is some degradation on the bottom of the bale. There is published data that suggests that net wrap and plastic twine bales maintain more biomass than sisal twine bales. If those bales are in a low area of the field or have wicked up significant amounts of water, the hay being retained because the twine does not degrade and the bottom of the bales do not fall off does increase the mass of the bale but due to its poor quality it will be wasted by the animals in most situations. Also, bales that best retain a round shape will result in less surface area being in contact with the ground which will also influence wastage due to surface contact. Storing hay in a barn not only protects the bottom of the bales but it also protects the whole outside of the bale. The outside four inches of a bale of hay typically contains more than 20% of the total mass in the bale. Even moderate weathering on the outside of the bale will affect the quality, and while the weathered portion of the bale may be eaten by the animals, it is more likely to be wasted due to lower palatability and digestibility.

Frequency of Hay Delivery to Field

The second factor I want to address is the regularity with which hay is delivered to the field. The most extreme differences in wastage are shown when hay is not fed in rings. Studies have demonstrated that unrolled hay eaten in less than 12 hours is fairly effective, with wastage as low as 11%. Three-day or seven-day feeding patterns could result in wastage of over 40%. Data shows the same trend when feeding hay in rings. If hay is put out in rings for a week at a time there is more wastage than if a one day supply is provided. This may be due to the animals selectively picking through bales looking for the preferred forages early in the week.

Also, it has been shown that the more hay available, the more time cattle spend at rings. Some of this wastage may also be due to boredom, as often there is more space available around bales when weekly supplies are put out at once. While feeding hay daily does have its challenges and can be a significant labor demand, studies do show that daily feeding will reduce hay wastage.

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Whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter, you can Plate It Up with delicious recipes that put a new twist on your favorite Kentucky Proud foods. Visit http://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/piukp-recipes to find all the Plate It Up recipes using Kentucky Proud products.

Next meeting is Mon Jan 27, 2020, at the Madison County Extension Office. For more information call Kent, 859-623-3576 or Paul, 859-582-6172.

Feeding Surface The third factor I want to address with regard to hay wastage is the local weather and the surface on which hay is being fed. Animals tend to tear up the ground around hay bales, creating significant amounts of mud. Hay that is pulled off the bale, falls on the ground, and lands in mud is unlikely to tempt an animal to eat it. If the ground is frozen and hay lands on a solid surface, animals are more likely to eat it. Certainly, when ground is frozen we can reduce wastage just because the hay is not being trampled into the soil or being coated with mud and manure. Strategies for reducing this wastage due to surface may include moving rings more often or even building heavy use areas on which to feed hay.

Hay Quality

One final factor worth mentioning about hay wastage is the need to consider hay quality. Ultimately animals will select their preferred forage when on pasture in the summer; they will also be selective during the winter if adequate supplies are available. This hay quality issue also ties in closely with the regularity of feeding, when hay is fed every day or even twice a day, the quantity available at any one time is limited and the animal is more likely to choose to eat a less palatable portion of the bale. As a counter point, if a farmer has moderate to poor quality bales, he or she may choose a management style that allows more wastage to allow the animals themselves to avoid mold in the bales or to choose the more palatable forages in the bale. This strategy can allow the animals to maintain their body condition.

Ultimately, hay feeders can reduce wastage and certain designs are more effective than others. However, the factors described above (hay storage, feeding regime, feeding surface, and hay quality) can have even stronger influences on the amount of hay wasted compared to the hay feeder itself.

Many livestock producers would say that mud is a natural part of livestock production. But the creation of mud costs producers money and makes them less competitive. Livestock that walk through mud require more feed for energy but actually eat less because walking in mud requires more effort to get to feed and water. Therefore, mud decreases average daily gains. The benefits of hardened surfaces for livestock operations are that they have the potential to increase production and profitability by decreasing mud. In many cases, the costs of installing all weather surfaces are outweighed by the benefits in production. In addition, these best management practices can add improve aesthetics and water quality, creating a more successful farming enterprise. This publication gives a step by step guide to building an inexpensive all-weather feed pad or dry lot. Visit http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/aen/aen115/aen115.pdf for the full version.

Plowing Ahead is available by email! Please help us reduce our mailing costs, and sign up for this email option. If you wish to receive this newsletter in email format, please email me at brandon.sears@uky.edu. In the subject line, put the word newsletter and your name. We will not share your email address with any outside groups. If you wish to continue receiving this newsletter by regular mail, you don ’t need to do anything at this time. Watch this newsletter for more information in 2020.