Who's fixin to start feeding hay

[TexasRancher]

Since Jan 2022 gotten only 3 to 4" rain. Last good rain was in April. We're a tinder box, crunchy grass where the weeds cannot even produce seed heads and the weeds are only thigh high...a foot. It's disheartening to see several time a "V" rain formation....that hit both sides of us...but never my ranch. My cattle look healthy, I feed them cubes twice a week....i don't know what they're eating but dried material...2 to 6" high. I've been dropping big trees every time i go out...they love the leaves. Now, these are tree that horses have pretty much killed off 2 years ago (removing bark-decay and ants came in)...they're going to die and drop soon anyway. Plus I have too many trees.

If anyone is nearby and has equipment to hay I have tall johnson grass (literally over my head in some places) at the Ladonia ranch (near commerce Texas) that can be cut and bailed. I'd partner and share over 50% of the yield.
As far as my Ferris ranch...I'm inexperienced, there's no hay left in the area (big horse lovers here). Hay used to be $60. last year now it's $80 to $100. if you can find it. My inexperienced drought plan is to supplement 20% protein cubes with bailed corn stalk-age fairly soon. Nobody wants the bailed corn and it was fairly cheap at $30. a 4x5 bail...maybe it'll be $40 this year.

...I don't know what to do...other than cattle cubes and corn stalkage from August 2022 to end of Febuary 2023. My original plan was to start feeding really good wholesome hay in Dec 1st 2022....but this drought changed all that.
...here's my inexperienced fear....I'm scared i will over grain/protein them without enough roughage/grass (hope the cattle are forgiving enough for what I'm about to do to them)

 

[fnfarms1]

Over graining or to much protein is rarely an issue. Especially when nutrition is short anyway. There's some food value left in dead grass just not enough usually. Also be careful of that Johnson grass in this drought, get it tested. That crap can be poison with nitrates to cows or any animal really. Real expensive mistake

 

[cowgirl8]

Since Jan 2022 gotten only 3 to 4" rain. Last good rain was in April. We're a tinder box, crunchy grass where the weeds cannot even produce seed heads and the weeds are only thigh high...a foot. It's disheartening to see several time a "V" rain formation....that hit both sides of us...but never my ranch. My cattle look healthy, I feed them cubes twice a week....i don't know what they're eating but dried material...2 to 6" high. I've been dropping big trees every time i go out...they love the leaves. Now, these are tree that horses have pretty much killed off 2 years ago (removing bark-decay and ants came in)...they're going to die and drop soon anyway. Plus I have too many trees.

If anyone is nearby and has equipment to hay I have tall johnson grass (literally over my head in some places) at the Ladonia ranch (near commerce Texas) that can be cut and bailed. I'd partner and share over 50% of the yield.
As far as my Ferris ranch...I'm inexperienced, there's no hay left in the area (big horse lovers here). Hay used to be $60. last year now it's $80 to $100. if you can find it. My inexperienced drought plan is to supplement 20% protein cubes with bailed corn stalk-age fairly soon. Nobody wants the bailed corn and it was fairly cheap at $30. a 4x5 bail...maybe it'll be $40 this year.

...I don't know what to do...other than cattle cubes and corn stalkage from August 2022 to end of Febuary 2023. My original plan was to start feeding really good wholesome hay in Dec 1st 2022....but this drought changed all that.
...here's my inexperienced fear....I'm scared i will over grain/protein them without enough roughage/grass (hope the cattle are forgiving enough for what I'm about to do to them)

We use to live in Commerce and where are there too many trees...lol... How many acres is your ladonia field? We just went out and looked at the stuff we cut first and amazingly a storm popped up over it and dumped an inch of rain a couple weeks ago over it. Its head high johnson grass with no weeds.. The guys will work their way back to it to get a second cutting. This morning we pulled test plugs out of 5 of the fields we've cut to see what nutrition is in the hay.

 

[alacowman1]

There's a video of guys lined up at Emory Texas stockyard a mile long ,can't get it to load though, Yet..

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

Quality hay is 4 hours away from me this year it is $300 at the stack last year it was delivered in the barn $260 a ton. Scary

 

[Caustic Burno]

Since Jan 2022 gotten only 3 to 4" rain. Last good rain was in April. We're a tinder box, crunchy grass where the weeds cannot even produce seed heads and the weeds are only thigh high...a foot. It's disheartening to see several time a "V" rain formation....that hit both sides of us...but never my ranch. My cattle look healthy, I feed them cubes twice a week....i don't know what they're eating but dried material...2 to 6" high. I've been dropping big trees every time i go out...they love the leaves. Now, these are tree that horses have pretty much killed off 2 years ago (removing bark-decay and ants came in)...they're going to die and drop soon anyway. Plus I have too many trees.

If anyone is nearby and has equipment to hay I have tall johnson grass (literally over my head in some places) at the Ladonia ranch (near commerce Texas) that can be cut and bailed. I'd partner and share over 50% of the yield.
As far as my Ferris ranch...I'm inexperienced, there's no hay left in the area (big horse lovers here). Hay used to be $60. last year now it's $80 to $100. if you can find it. My inexperienced drought plan is to supplement 20% protein cubes with bailed corn stalk-age fairly soon. Nobody wants the bailed corn and it was fairly cheap at $30. a 4x5 bail...maybe it'll be $40 this year.

...I don't know what to do...other than cattle cubes and corn stalkage from August 2022 to end of Febuary 2023. My original plan was to start feeding really good wholesome hay in Dec 1st 2022....but this drought changed all that.
...here's my inexperienced fear....I'm scared i will over grain/protein them without enough roughage/grass (hope the cattle are forgiving enough for what I'm about to do to them)

That Johnson grass is some deadly stuff!
Especially in a drought.
Remember this you can't sell dead cows or feed profit into one in a drought.
This is real easy you sell, pocket the money to fight another day.
Actually right now we're pretty lucky on slaughter cow values for the conditions we're in.

 

[cowgirl8]

That Johnson grass is some deadly stuff!
Especially in a drought.
Remember this you can't sell dead cows or feed profit into one in a drought.
This is real easy you sell, pocket the money to fight another day.
Actually right now we're pretty lucky on slaughter cow values for the conditions we're in.

From what I've been told is that as long as johnson grass gets cured, especially with drought stressed, its fine as hay... You just dont want to graze it while its stressed.

 

[Brute 23]

From what I've been told is that as long as johnson grass gets cured, especially with drought stressed, its fine as hay... You just dont want to graze it while its stressed.

For the most part, yes, mainly with PA. Nitrates don't disapate as much but if your are conservative on your fert it shouldn't be a problem. When you start using chicken litter and thing like that it can drive them up too high to disapate.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Unless I read it wrong the OP said it was standing.
If it's standing Johnson grass right now it's stressed.
I planted and baled sorghums for a lot of years. Great stuff that can be deadly.

 

[Hpacres440p]

There's a video of guys lined up at Emory Texas stockyard a mile long ,can't get it to load though, Yet..

Friend of mine posted that-looks like it's going viral. Those trailers were all loaded, not full, but sure weren't empty. Terrible. I thought they had been getting a little more rain in E Texas. Guess it was pretty spotty there too.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Several confirmed cases of prussic acid/stressed johnsongrass around these parts.
I, myself, have held em off my normal rotation.

Culling/thinning the herd, keeping only the best and buying some hay is an option too

 

[Brute 23]

Friend of mine posted that-looks like it's going viral. Those trailers were all loaded, not full, but sure weren't empty. Terrible. I thought they had been getting a little more rain in E Texas. Guess it was pretty spotty there too.

 

[Travlr]

Gotta wonder what prices are like in that kind of market...

I wouldn't want to be the guy with the last cattle that go through the auction.

 

[wbvs58]

I'd be worried about running out of fuel waiting. I wouldn't be too optimistic about getting a fair price.

Ken

 

[chaded]

Emory said 2 hours ago that they had almost 3500 head in and got caught up around 3:30.

526 sellers.

 

[MurraysMutts]

That's terrible!
Never seen a line like that.

 

[Hpacres440p]

That's terrible!
Never seen a line like that.

That's probably not all cattle either. That sale does goats and horses too. Bad times

 

[Brute 23]

When sales push over the 3000 mark here you will see those lines in the evening. I've sat in line for an hour or hour and a half before. It really kills you if you have multiple loads.

One more plus to paying the ab to haul. They don't sit in line... I can assure you.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

Since Jan 2022 gotten only 3 to 4" rain. Last good rain was in April. We're a tinder box, crunchy grass where the weeds cannot even produce seed heads and the weeds are only thigh high...a foot. It's disheartening to see several time a "V" rain formation....that hit both sides of us...but never my ranch. My cattle look healthy, I feed them cubes twice a week....i don't know what they're eating but dried material...2 to 6" high. I've been dropping big trees every time i go out...they love the leaves. Now, these are tree that horses have pretty much killed off 2 years ago (removing bark-decay and ants came in)...they're going to die and drop soon anyway. Plus I have too many trees.

If anyone is nearby and has equipment to hay I have tall johnson grass (literally over my head in some places) at the Ladonia ranch (near commerce Texas) that can be cut and bailed. I'd partner and share over 50% of the yield.
As far as my Ferris ranch...I'm inexperienced, there's no hay left in the area (big horse lovers here). Hay used to be $60. last year now it's $80 to $100. if you can find it. My inexperienced drought plan is to supplement 20% protein cubes with bailed corn stalk-age fairly soon. Nobody wants the bailed corn and it was fairly cheap at $30. a 4x5 bail...maybe it'll be $40 this year.

...I don't know what to do...other than cattle cubes and corn stalkage from August 2022 to end of Febuary 2023. My original plan was to start feeding really good wholesome hay in Dec 1st 2022....but this drought changed all that.
...here's my inexperienced fear....I'm scared i will over grain/protein them without enough roughage/grass (hope the cattle are forgiving enough for what I'm about to do to them)

TR> Just now had time to get back,, Your heaviest cows are most likely your greatest asset and well as liability. Anything with plenty of
flesh should bring a premium over drought stressed. Check on the cost of high protein tubs to feed with the bailed corn stalk-age as
compared to the 20% cubes. If you have a market you trust, talk to them first and they may have buyers looking for what you have to offer.
The protein tubs can be limit fed through time allowed at the tub but I would not if all they are getting to eat is high fiber. This might be the
time to cull with a sharp pencil and keep the creme de creme. Figuring 30 lbs of feed per 1000 lbs of beef per day I would see how I
could get the greatest number of animals that I thought would turn a dime through the crisis. Don't know if you operate in more than
one county but some NRCS offices are easier to work with if one needs to do so.. Stay tuned. LVR

 

[Brute 23]

What blows my mind is people are just now getting it through their head that it's dry and selling cattle.

Packer prices were good the first of the year and a lot of cows were in decent condition still. We pulled cattle at every place I worked cattle at from Jan- May and weaned early to help put what was staying.

July and Aug is too late to move the needle.