North central WV here ....Wintering 11 head and looking for suggestions on best way to stretch the hay farther. We buy all our hay and good sized bales run $30-$35 every year. We can only haul 6 at a time on our trailer so by the time we add in fuel we have over $210 in 6 bales. I can buy a ton of 11% feed for $234 at a local feed store. We grain the cows everyday in winter but it isnt much. Its just to keep them coming to the barn each day instead of exploring the countryside looking for them in the field. I will always keep hay free choice out for them. I am just wanting suggestions on how much feed they would need to put a dent in thier hay consumption and at those prices would i just be better off buying more hay.
Stretching hay
- Thread starter Lotu
- Start date
grannysoo
Well-known member
On the hay that you're buying.... has it been tested and do you know what the protein is?
1982vett
Well-known member
What is the protien content and TDN of the hay you are buying? What does one of the bales weigh?
http://foragesoftexas.tamu.edu/pdf/ForageQuality.pdf
You must know these things to figure which protien source is more expensive.
Unless they hay is small bales (less than 1000 lbs) and bad quality it is still probably cheaper than the feed bag.
http://foragesoftexas.tamu.edu/pdf/ForageQuality.pdf
You must know these things to figure which protien source is more expensive.
Unless they hay is small bales (less than 1000 lbs) and bad quality it is still probably cheaper than the feed bag.
Lotu":33n7kbvg said:
Cows will eat - so stretching is not what you want to do - but you can put straw out for them as well. Yes - there are possible issues with straw - but old oat straw is their favourite - the more weathered the better.
I have fed hundreds of cows on straw over the long Canadian winters.
Or you can cut back on your expenses - buy in more hay and still come out ahead. It all comes down to your pencil!
Biggest dent would be to have it all delivered in one shot - your fuel comment is not really true - you have a lot more tied up than just your fuel cost - you actually are closer to 300 bucks and maybe more per load - you have not figured in all the added expenses.
Less travel, less fuel, less wear and tear on vhicles and equipment, less time spent doing the travel, and better oppotunity to actually know what you are getting if the entire load is run over the scales on the way to your place. It all adds up and folks seldom add in their time - what is it really worth?
Do you really know how much you are paying per pound of hay? I bet you do not.
Do you know the feed content and quality of your hay? I bet you do not.
As for grain - in your part of the world if you have 7% hay for hold overs and cattle coming into winter, 9% hay for those in the second trimester and 11% hay for those about to calve - you can cut out the grain cost all together.
Sounds to me like you really do not know what you are getting for your money and you might very well be able to kill the grain cost all together. Everyone makes the same comments as you do about grain - but it IS a cost and it very well might NOT be needed.
If you MUST have grain - remember - every time you feed out a bag you spend money. For that matter buy it in bulk if you must - one tonne bulk is cheaper than one tonne bagged - if it is not then get a new supplier. A cheap box in the corner of a shop makes a fine small bin.
Anything more than 11% protein generally gets pizzzed out on the ground behind the cow unless she is milking hard - so hay is truly all you probably really need.
You need to sharpen your pencil - soon - it will save you big bucks
Lots more, but that would be a great start - there are a tonne of cost cutting measures small holders generally do not look at because they do not mind spending the extra money - after all - it is only a small bit of cash and it only comes once every few weeks - total it up though and it is a big sum.
Cost control allows you to save money AND buy in more hay - a win win situation.
You want more ideas we can talk. My best.
Regards
[Bez]
farmwriter
Well-known member
The way you feed the hay can make a difference in how much is consumed and how much is trampled underfoot. How do you put it out for them?
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Thanks for the replies...We farm just for a hobby and something to do, but money is still money.I know that if we count pennies and figure in our time spent we are going in the hole but money is not what we do it for. I read somewhere that West Virginia leads the nation in number of small farms. Everywhere you go in the state you will see people running just a few head to butcher or to sell a few calves.
The hay we get only comes from a farm 5 miles down the road and have never had it tested. And we only feed in the hay rings and move them each time we feed to a new location to get them out of the mud.
The hay we get only comes from a farm 5 miles down the road and have never had it tested. And we only feed in the hay rings and move them each time we feed to a new location to get them out of the mud.
novaman
Well-known member
This statement sums up everything. At that distance you may as well buy whatever you need and haul it home. Buying grain or some other feed in a bag is going to be far more expensive than putting out all the hay they can take in.Lotu":2m2kz0g4 said:
bigbull338
Well-known member
heres the main q how long does those 6 bales last.with 11hd a 1000lb should hast you 3 or 4 days.an the daily cost is $9 to $12 a day in hay.thats a cost of .80 to a $1.05 a hd a day.feeding a 50 lb sack of feed everyday would cost you $6 to $8 a sack for feed.feed cost would be .60 to .70 a day.combined daily cost of feed an hay is $1.50 a day or $45 a cow a month.
TexasBred
Well-known member
dun":s9bzcrn3 said:
OR buy the additional hay and enjoy your hobby.
bigbull338":2da7s20h said:
Yea right now its costing .775 cents a day to winter on hay alone. What does it cost you guys to winter a cow per day and what part of the world are farming at? Also are you buying and producing your own hay/feed ?
Also we feed hay from last week in Oct through middle-to-late april
Lotu":1qqrcvrr said:
I would suggust you stop feeding hay free choice. Anytime you give an animal hay free choice they will pick out the best parts, and waste the rest. Get your hay tested, find out what kind of protein/TDN it has, and start feeding them what they need based on the rule of 2% of their body weight, watch them and adjust as needed. Once you know what your hay is delivering, you will know what - if anything - you need to provide to complete their ration.
novatech
Well-known member
:clap: Ain't it nice to have the cows working for you instead of you working for them?dun":hw3ins12 said:
In my case it is not a matter of reduction of cattle. It is haw many can I add until I have to feed hay.
I realize that some cannot make it without hay. Quite frankly I don't know how they make ends meet.
Down here the frost has not even had an effect on the grass. The native rye and stockpiled forage is keeping them full. The clover is starting to grow. With my stocking rate there should be plenty to make it through until spring. My neighbors have been feeding hay for a month now. It seems as though most people want to stock their pasture for when the grass is at it's best. They spend most of their time managing their cattle and very little time managing their pasture. You can even see it on the CT boards. One of the most important topics is "Grasses, Pastures and Hay", yet it is not used near as much as I would have expected.
There has been a lot of talk on the other topics about cattle size and efficiency. Those are single traits. In the cow business taking care of ones pasture properly is just as important as picking out the proper cattle for it. The cows are just one piece of the business.
3 years of drought can be a good education, painfull but a good education none the less. Now we're in a wet cycle and have been for a few years but most of the people around here still have poor pastures because they abused them so badly during the drought and still maintain too high stocking levels.novatech":3rok53dn said:
bigbull338
Well-known member
it cost me .20 a hd to feed hay to all the cows an calves.we feed hay from dec to mar more or less.so our hay cost is about $24 a cow a year.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
[Bez said:
I tried bale grazing a mix of new oats straw and meadow hay last winter. The meadow hay got cleaned up real well but I still have a lot of year old oats straw. Some bales are black in spots...
Then I went and bought 3 trailer loads of hereford and rwf cows that needed a good home. So I need to stretch my feed too.
How would you bale graze a mix of year old oats straw and 14% protein upland hay?
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
dun":2nvisk90 said:
Was this based on a financial calculation or something else? I have been stocking heavy and buying in hay - - thinking I was improving the land.
It was based on dollars. Hay was high and the return on calves was way below what the hay cost. One year we fed hay from the binning of june through the following may. Now we put up some hay then graze the hay fields during thefall/winter.Stocker Steve":4lk3sh7i said:
novatech
Well-known member
You may be improving the land but you will not see it until you get rid of some cows.Stocker Steve":pwebh23z said:
I lease a pasture that was severely overstocked for over 20 years. After 5 years of under stocking the grass is coming back strong especially where the guy fed hay. The stocking rate is gradually being increased as the grass improves. As I can only get a 1 year lease at a time it is not feasible to make long term monetary improvements.
Feeding hay and other supplements will add nutrients to the soil but is sure sounds like an expensive way to do it.
