Hay Considerations

Part of the Ruminant Livestock: Facing New Economic Realities

Meetings

Basics

• Feed cost can account up to 75% of the cost of keeping a cow.

• It is generally 3x more expensive to feed an animal than to make them graze it.

Effects of three cow wintering systems on feed costs

Item Pasture Limit-fed corn

Hay

Total days harvested feed 20.3 112 112

Harvested feed cost/cow/da

$.12 .84 $1.61

Total harvested feed cost/cow

$13.44 $94.08 $180.32

Pasture rental, $/cow/d $.36

Total cost, $/cow/d $.48 $.84 $1.61aPrices used: Corn = $2.00/bu, Hay = $80/ton, Supplement = $150/ton. Source: Loerch 2005

Hay is Cheap?

• Fertilizer replacement cost per ton of hay = $75.55• Equipment/labor cost

Per acre– Mowing - $10.50– Tedding - $5.85– Raking - $5.90Baling (per bale)– Small square - $0.44– Large Round - $17.35

• Land, Quality ??

Nutrient Removal in HayNutrient Lb.

Removed per Ton

Price per Pound

Replacement Value

Nitrogen 45 $0.79 $35.55

Phosphate 15 $0.65 $9.75

Potash 55 $0.55 $30.25

Total = $75.55 per ton of hay

Prices from February 19, 2008

Defining Forage Quality

Common quality measures:• DM• ADF• NDF• CP• DDM• DMI• RFV• RFQ

Defining Forage Quality

• Dry Matter (DM)• all material that is not water

• Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF)• consists of cellulose & lignin

• does not represent the total amount of fiber in a feed

• diets low in ADF promote health problems

Defining Forage Quality

• Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF)

• the best measure of total fiber

• includes all of the structural carbohydrates

• includes cellulose, hemicellulose & lignin

• NDF is a good index of forage quality

low NDF = high quality

• NDF is the single best indicator of total fiber

Defining Forage Quality

• Crude Protein (CP)• is the total nitrogen in a sample x 6.25• is easily & accurately measured• CP can be used as a general indicator

of forage qualityhigh CP generally implies high quality

BUT…high CP doesn’t always mean low fiber

Defining Forage Quality

• Relative Feed Value (RFV)• an index used to rank forages by their potential

intake of digestible dry matter

• calculated from ADF and NDF, CP content is not considered in RFV

• is used to allocate the correct forage to animal performance, to price hay, & to assess forage management skills

• typically, higher RFV = higher price

Defining Forage Quality(New Method)

• Relative Forage Quality (RFQ)– an index to rank forages by their potential

intake of Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN)– a better rating when comparing grasses &

legumes

Forage Quality

• The Importance of Testing & Analysis– forages play an important role in animal

production

– forages are a high value crop & require mgmt.

– livestock producers require analysis for ration balancing

– forage analysis is necessary for marketing purposes

Sampling Hay• Collect one sample per lot

• 10 to 20 small bales (one core per bale)• 5 to 8 large bales (4 cores per bale)

• Hay probe• sharp tip• no greater than 3/4” and no less than 3/8”• 90 degree angle• avoid cutting leaves from stems• adequate sample size• penetrate bale at least 12”• never subsample, send entire sample to lab

• RANDOM, RANDOM, RANDOM

Forage Quality Summary

• There are many tools available to measure forage quality

• Sampling forages on a periodic basis is important

• There is no substitution for lab analysis

• You need to know the quality of your forages to make management decisions

Grasses Leafy Boot Heading Bloom

Legumes Leafy Prebud Bud Bloom

High

Medium

Low

Com

posi

tion

, Rel

ativ

e V

alue

s

Growth Stages

Protein, %

Leaves, %

Minerals, %

Stems, %

Fiber & Lignin, %

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Farm #2 Farm #4 Farm #7

Tot

al G

row

th lb

s. D

M p

er a

c.

1st cut Grazed

Affect of letting field go for hay.Affect of letting field go for hay.

Alfalfa Quality by Maturity

Stage CP ADF NDF RFV

Late vegetative 23 28 38 164

Bud 20 29 40 154

Early bloom 18 31 42 144

½ bloom 17 35 46 125

Full bloom 15 37 50 112

Grass Quality by Maturity

Stage CP ADF NDF RFV

Vegetative 18 33 <55 113

Early heading 16 36 58 106

Head (milk-dough) 11 38 63 91

Head (dough) 9 44 64 81

Mature <8 >46 >65 <73

Timely hay harvest

Date CP % RFV Lbs.

4/28 15.7 108 2415

5/5 15.1 130 1981

5/26 12.6 92 5666

6/2 13 91 5315

6/9 10.5 83 6491

6/16 7.6 79 6902

Nutrient Density Requirements of Beef Cows

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Ap M J J A S O N D J F M

Months Since Calving

% D

ry M

atte

r

TDNCPDM, lbs

1200 lbs. Mature Body Weight & 20 lbs. Peak Milk

Can hay meet the cows needs?

• Late Bloom Orchard Grass Hay.

• TDN – 54 %DM• CP – 8.4 %DM

Nutrient Density Requirements of Beef Cows

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Ap M J J A S O N D J F M

Months Since Calving

% D

ry M

atte

r

TDN

CP

CPOrchardGrass

TDNOrchardGrass

1200 lbs. Mature Body Weight & 20 lbs. Peak Milk

The best time to feed our poor quality hay?

• Right after weaning