dcara
Well-known member
A article from Drovers. Maybe should have been posted on the feedyard board but the feedyard folks probably already figured this out.
The web site referenced in the article doesn't seem to be up yet though.
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Calculate the cost before feeding hay
Hay prices have reached the stratosphere in many areas, especially those hit hard by drought, such as the Southeast. Mark Hilton, DVM, Purdue University, cautions producers to calculate the cost of hay on a per cow basis. "Don't buy expensive hay to solve your problem," he says. "A 1,250-pound cow will eat about 37 pounds of hay per day, and waste an additional 8 to 13 pounds if fed free-choice from a round bale feeder. At $100 per ton, that's $2.25 to $2.50 per cow per day. That won't work." He also urges producers to "limit-feed" hay rather than allowing cows free choice hay. "Recent work here at Purdue showed cows with free choice round bales 'used' (actually wasted) 37 percent more hay than those limit-fed round bales for four hours per day. Cows on the full feed hay did weigh 9 pounds more per head after the 90-day trial, but the difference was not significant." For more information, visit Hilton's Web site at http://www.mwbeefcattle.com.
The web site referenced in the article doesn't seem to be up yet though.
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Calculate the cost before feeding hay
Hay prices have reached the stratosphere in many areas, especially those hit hard by drought, such as the Southeast. Mark Hilton, DVM, Purdue University, cautions producers to calculate the cost of hay on a per cow basis. "Don't buy expensive hay to solve your problem," he says. "A 1,250-pound cow will eat about 37 pounds of hay per day, and waste an additional 8 to 13 pounds if fed free-choice from a round bale feeder. At $100 per ton, that's $2.25 to $2.50 per cow per day. That won't work." He also urges producers to "limit-feed" hay rather than allowing cows free choice hay. "Recent work here at Purdue showed cows with free choice round bales 'used' (actually wasted) 37 percent more hay than those limit-fed round bales for four hours per day. Cows on the full feed hay did weigh 9 pounds more per head after the 90-day trial, but the difference was not significant." For more information, visit Hilton's Web site at http://www.mwbeefcattle.com.