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cheapen in feed
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<blockquote data-quote="Alberta farmer" data-source="post: 605368" data-attributes="member: 8978"><p>This is just my personal opinion. Works for me.</p><p>A cow has basic feed requirements that need to be met if she is going to be productive? There are many different methods to get there?</p><p>Now being basically lazy and thrifty i try to get her fed with as little work as possible and as cheaply as possible!</p><p>In general I figure it is cheaper to buy hay than grow it. I think a sharp pencil is your best piece of equipment! Pretty hard to justify haying equipment unless you are doing at least 500 acres of hay a year?</p><p>Also consider this: When you feed a bale of hay you grew you are returning manure value to your land, less the energy the cow took out? With bought hay you are actually adding nutrients to your soil?</p><p>If you feed out in the fields you don't have the cost of spreading the nutrients the next year...a cow is a very efficient manure spreader? </p><p>Most hay is right around that 12% protein level? A dry cow certainly doesn't need 12% protein so why not feed about half of her needs with that good hay and half with straw? Grain is pretty hard to justify unless it is incredibly cheap?</p><p>In Alberta the winters are long and cold. Most people will be feeding for about 200 days. To be profitable you really do need to be able to feed that cow as cheaply as possible?</p><p>Heres how I try to do it: 22 lb. hay@$.03/lb. = $.66/day 15 lb. straw@$.01/lb= $.15</p><p>For a total of $.81/day. Just roll the bales out in a different place everyday.</p><p>This year I expect to feed for a total of 140 days. I have banked native pasture that allows cattle to graze late...if it snows earlier the grass is still there in the spring. </p><p>I figure my grazing costs at $.79/day so all in all my total feed costs for the year are $291.15/cow/year.</p><p>Of course you need a tractor/truck to feed the big bales and that has an added cost. I use a 95 hp Kubota which is very fuel efficient and I keep it in a heated shop so no warm up is necessary. And by the way the shop/house etc. are heated by one of those outdoor wood furnaces and all the wood comes from the farm.</p><p>With the poor prices in the cattle business I believe everyone who wants to stay in the cattle business should be looking at doing things as cheaply as possible? Just my opinion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alberta farmer, post: 605368, member: 8978"] This is just my personal opinion. Works for me. A cow has basic feed requirements that need to be met if she is going to be productive? There are many different methods to get there? Now being basically lazy and thrifty i try to get her fed with as little work as possible and as cheaply as possible! In general I figure it is cheaper to buy hay than grow it. I think a sharp pencil is your best piece of equipment! Pretty hard to justify haying equipment unless you are doing at least 500 acres of hay a year? Also consider this: When you feed a bale of hay you grew you are returning manure value to your land, less the energy the cow took out? With bought hay you are actually adding nutrients to your soil? If you feed out in the fields you don't have the cost of spreading the nutrients the next year...a cow is a very efficient manure spreader? Most hay is right around that 12% protein level? A dry cow certainly doesn't need 12% protein so why not feed about half of her needs with that good hay and half with straw? Grain is pretty hard to justify unless it is incredibly cheap? In Alberta the winters are long and cold. Most people will be feeding for about 200 days. To be profitable you really do need to be able to feed that cow as cheaply as possible? Heres how I try to do it: 22 lb. hay@$.03/lb. = $.66/day 15 lb. straw@$.01/lb= $.15 For a total of $.81/day. Just roll the bales out in a different place everyday. This year I expect to feed for a total of 140 days. I have banked native pasture that allows cattle to graze late...if it snows earlier the grass is still there in the spring. I figure my grazing costs at $.79/day so all in all my total feed costs for the year are $291.15/cow/year. Of course you need a tractor/truck to feed the big bales and that has an added cost. I use a 95 hp Kubota which is very fuel efficient and I keep it in a heated shop so no warm up is necessary. And by the way the shop/house etc. are heated by one of those outdoor wood furnaces and all the wood comes from the farm. With the poor prices in the cattle business I believe everyone who wants to stay in the cattle business should be looking at doing things as cheaply as possible? Just my opinion. [/QUOTE]
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