High grain prices could cause problems this year for beef producers trying to keep winter feeding costs in check.
Ken Ziegler, a beef and forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture, said cattle producers anticipating high grain prices should be looking for alternatives to feed grain.
“In years when grain was cheap, it was logical to make up for nutrient shortfalls with a bit of extra grain,” Ziegler said.
“Today, because of the rising cost of grain, the quest to control the cost per pound of gain is more challenging.”
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He said feeding high quality hay or silage can eliminate the need for supplemental grain.
Hay or silage that contains total digestible nutrients (TDN) of 65 percent will provide backgrounded calves with enough energy to record an average daily gain (ADG) of 1.75 pounds.
Using implants or feed with even higher TDN values could improve gain rates to as much as two lb. per day.
Ziegler said producers hoping to harvest high quality forage should cut their feed at the optimal stage of plant growth and minimize quality losses during storage.
Forage quality is high but yields are low early in a feed crop’s growth cycle, while yields increase but forage quality decreases as the plant matures. That’s because the amount of fibrous stems increases relative to leafy material, where most nutrients are found.
Jenifer Heyden, a regional livestock specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said stage of maturity is the most important factor affecting hay quality.
“As plants age, protein and energy decrease and fibre increases,” she said.
“In 2010, we saw a lot of over-mature hay or hay that was severely impacted by weathering. Most feed analysis came back as low protein, low energy and high fibre.”
Ziegler said cutting grasses at the early bloom stage and forage crops at the bud to early flower stage will ensure a high quality harvest.
Producers should consider cutting their forage crops a week to two weeks earlier than normal this year, he added.
Ziegler said curing and moisture content also warrant close consideration.
Losses during cutting and harvest are caused primarily by respiration and leaf shatter.
Producers should cut feed early in the day to reduce respiration-related losses and lay material in wide swaths to increase solar drying.
Ideally, producers will make round bales when the moisture content is close to 18 percent. Square bales have a lower moisture tolerance and should not exceed 15 percent, although bale density should also be considered.
Andre Bonneau, a forage management specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said producers might be able to bale hay at slightly elevated moisture levels depending on the size and density of the bale and its ability to release heat.
Baled hay’s moisture content can be increased if chemical or biological forage preservatives are used, but the cost may be prohibitive and the efficacy of some products are hit and miss.
To hasten dry down of cut crops, wide swaths can be raked with little of no forage loss when moisture content is 40 to 50 percent.
Leaf loss or leaf shatter is a critical consideration.
Leafy material generally dries down three to five times faster than stems and become brittle at moisture levels below 30 percent.
The risk of nutrient losses and weather damage can be greatly reduced if swathed forages are harvested at moisture levels of 40 to 55 percent.
Harvesting as chopped silage is a proven strategy for maximizing quality.
Another is haylage or bale tubing.
While traditional hay is normally baled at less than 20 percent moisture, haylage can be baled at up to 50 percent moisture.
The bales are wrapped in a polyethylene tubing at harvest and are resistant to spoilage and weather damage as long as the wrapping is not punctured.
Drawbacks include additional machinery costs and the weight of the bales during handling and transport.
Zeigler estimated that 10 percent of the hay made in Alberta is wrapped as haylage.
Producers who dry down feed and harvest as hay bales should ensure bales are stored properly.
Dried bales should be moved off the field immediately and placed under cover, either in a hay shed or under a tarp.
